Do a Little Dance

Some days, I think I have the least graceful dog on the planet.  :)

We "chatted" with the vet yesterday (via email) and we have good news.  Coulee's feet responded so well to the Propylene Glycol soaks that we are NOT going to put her on steroids.  {Insert Happy Dance}.  Every time her feet have gotten better, it has amazed me at how quickly it happens.  In a matter of a few days they go from looking like crap, to looking smooth and healthy again.  It really is quite amazing. Her pads this morning are smooth, soft and only  have a slight grey discolouration. But there are no cracks, no feathering, and no dry chunks.

Because her feet responded to the propylene glycol, the dermatologist is now thinking that she has "Idiopathic Hyperkeratosis of the Golden Retriever".  Which basically translates into "We have no idea why some golden retrievers get dry, cracked and thick pads, but they do and it seems to be genetic/breed related." I don't care what it is, as long as we know how to make it better.  Coulee isn't following the traditional symptoms (they showed up too late in life) but it is our best guess.

So our fingers are crossed that this is not just a huge coincidence in timing, but at this point our plan is to continue with the soaks for a few more days then reduce them to once a week.  We may need to play with the timing of the soaks to determine how often we need to do it, but we'll play it by ear.

Oh and in other happy news - she gets to run completely bootie free again.  AND as hard and fast as she wants.  We may even get a few more swims in before winter hits.  Yippee!