FAT FOOT

I will tell you one thing .... and I have no PROOF of this.....
but...since ladyR's spleen thing .... she has gotten FAT FOOT
quite a bit. And she had it at least 3 times in the YEAR before the SPLEEN thing.

Now I wonder if Fat Foot was / is a symptom of spleen problems.

Did you know that the SPLEEN is part of the LYMPHATIC system?????
I sure as hell didn't know that.
Makes sense now why she would get it, not having a spleen......

======= FAT FOOT CURE ======
The lymphatic system does not have it's own pumping system.
YOU need to pump the fluid for them.
Get 2 ZOOM GROOM's ...... and brush the dog VIGOROUSLY.
All over the body.
Start at his toes..brush to the LEFT going UP toward the heart.
Start at his toes..brush to the RIGHT going UP toward the heart.
Brush the chest, upper arms, armpit (toward heart).
When you get to the heart area, reverse the direction
so you are still brushing toward the heart....
Continue this down tail and hind legs/feet.
GO BACK TO FRONT TOES .....
do a movement like PRESS, 1'' circle 3 x, then brush.
All over the same route you did before.
( USE THE PHOTO BELOW AS A GUIDE )
When finished with this ..... give an all over
VIGOROUS brushing.
Now .... take the dog for a fairly long WALK.
This is tedious, but it must be done.
Not a little bit either !
Do it twice a day until swelling is gone.

LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
The lymphatic system includes the lymph nodes and lymph vessels. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system that helps the body fight off disease. The lymphatic system also works with the cardiovascular system to return fluids that escape from the blood vessels back into the blood stream.
* notice where all the vessels are. The lymph system uses the cardio system pump,
sometimes it may need help.

This picture is reprinted with permission by the copyright owner, Hill's Pet Nutrition, from the Atlas of Veterinary Clinical Anatomy. These illustrations should not be downloaded, printed or copied except for personal, non-commercial use.

====== Descriptions of Fat Foot Syndrome =====

In fat foot the top of the foot swells up quickly, usually overnight. It feels spongy and very hot to the touch. Sometimes in between the toes there is moisture (almost like sweat) and the hair between the toes becomes reddish. The swelling continues up to the pastern within a few hours of the top of the foot swelling. The dog walks on it and very seldom acts in pain, only uncomfortable.
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A Treatment for Fat Foot
We had a Dane that once in a very blue moon would get a "fat foot" never could figure out why , but happened in summer when he walked in the weeds .. anyway this ALWAYS worked to bring down the swelling quickly .. soak the foot in warm water for 5 minutes, then in cool almost cold water for same amount of time.. , do this a couple of times a day and the swelling will go down , we'd give him a multi vitamin B complex pill.. we also found that a magnet ( yes a magnet ) would get rid of the swelling within a day.
Never any pain or limp associated with this either..
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I saw this is my girl Addie... a lot. I called it "fat foot".
My vet did some tests and a color doppler x-ray and was still guessing at the reason. She thought it had something to do with the flow of fluids through the lymph nodes in the armpit.
The remedy "apis" seemed to work really well to get it down in a day or two, but we never "cured" her of it. Another remedy to help it clear is a bath in rubbing achohol...
I don't know why but it helped.
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Two weeks ago Thor's foot did the exact same thing. No pain, no discomfort, no tenderness and no hard physical activity either. We took him to our Vet and it baffled him too. His foot stayed swollen like that for about 3 days and then the swelling just went away almost overnight! Our Vet said that it "may have been" an insect bite and a reaction but none of us could see any such bite and haven't seen even the first insect of any kind in or around our home.
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Three of the five living here have had this at one time or another - one had to have his foot drained occasionally -- I think it is some lymph condition - when we have aspirated puss with clear fluid we have locally injected small dose of antibiotic (slips my mind which) - we have injected with steroids - or not -- we have done ice packs -- this seemed to do pretty well -- most of the time they have passed as mysteriously as they appeared.
We have had one that "worried" the area into lick granuloma.
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Apollo and others from the same bloodline, got it quite often, the breeder called it "fat foot", it lasted anywhere from one to three days and then it was back to normal. Sometimes it would be the front feet and sometimes the back, they would swell to the point that it looked like it was going to burst. It never bothered them.
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Faye 7/25/03