Anbody Ever Had A Dog With A Broken Toe?

[DesertDobes]

My boy dobe has broken a middle toe on his back leg. Unlike people breaking toes, dogs apparently don't heal very well on their own and surgical repair or amputation is what has been suggested to me by the vet. I was told by the vet and have since found the same info online that the two middle toes on a dogs foot don't knit properly when broken and often develop arthritis so splinting is not a good option.

I'm not at all concerned about cost difference but want to know if anyone has had a dog with a broken toe and what the course of action was? I don't want to have the toe amputated, but I don't know if thats the best option or not. I live somewhere with no orthopedic specialists so any surgical repair would be done by a normal vet so I can see that an amputation of the toe would be less complicated.

[Danois]

Yes. It was the outside toe though.

From memory we put him in a cast for 6 weeks or so - this was done as both me and my vet knew my dog would not keep quiet and would reinjure it bouncing around.

Healed fine with the cast and being kept quiet.

[HazyWal]

Broken toes happen quite a bit with racing greyhounds, they usually amputate but I guess that's to get them back on the track quicker. I've seen a few with amputated toes and there hasn't been any issues.

[persephone]

A couple of our workers have broken a toe - kept working ..and just had a crooked toe ...

[OSoSwift]

Yes and badly sprained. The racing Whippet community have a very good strapping technique - depending on where the break is.

You can also pin them - again depending on where the break is. I know of some who have been strapped and pinned with success. I figure you have not much to lose as amputation can always happen down the line, but pinning or strapping can't once the toe is off.

[OSoSwift]

I will attempt to find the photos for you and share, however it won't be for a few hours.

[jemappelle]

My cattle dog has had broken toes on 4 occasions. He wore a special bandage that was longer than his leg so that he couldn't weight bear (I forget the name) and rest.

[persephone]

My cattle dog has had broken toes on 4 occasions. He wore a special bandage that was longer than his leg so that he couldn't weight bear (I forget the name) and rest.

that sounds a good plan :)

[Rascalmyshadow]

Years ago our first toy poodle broke a middle toe, vet bandaged and splinted it, healed fine. Maybe a heavier dog would have more issues.

[trifecta]

My cattle dog has had broken toes on 4 occasions. He wore a special bandage that was longer than his leg so that he couldn't weight bear (I forget the name) and rest.

I think you mean a Robert Jones bandage - a type of soft splint bandage.

I have been looking for a photo of our Rogan wearing this type of bandage when he broke his toe, I can't find it at the moment & will look again tomorrow.

With middle toes you can tape them together so that the good toe acts as a splint.

I have never had a dog that needed a toe amputated, they have all healed well with strapping.

[DesertDobes]

Yes and badly sprained. The racing Whippet community have a very good strapping technique - depending on where the break is.

You can also pin them - again depending on where the break is. I know of some who have been strapped and pinned with success. I figure you have not much to lose as amputation can always happen down the line, but pinning or strapping can't once the toe is off.

Thanks, yes thats kind of what i feel at the moment too. I guess if the dog racing community amputates toes too then they must not have any trouble with running ect but I'd rather leave that as a last resort.

[DesertDobes]

Years ago our first toy poodle broke a middle toe, vet bandaged and splinted it, healed fine. Maybe a heavier dog would have more issues.

Thats what I'm wondering, I don't want him having any movement issues later because it will all put more strain on his good limbs!

[DesertDobes]

My cattle dog has had broken toes on 4 occasions. He wore a special bandage that was longer than his leg so that he couldn't weight bear (I forget the name) and rest.

4 times! Do you know how he did it? I have no idea what my dog did but I think maybe he got his toe stuck in a deck chair. My dog has a splint at the moment while I decided what to do- its not a cast just vet wrap and strapping over some padding and the splint, is that what you mean?

[DogsAndTheMob]

One of my dogs broke her toe when she jumped through a closed window on New Year's day. She also cut through a small artery, and we rushed her to the vet, who stopped the bleeding and bandaged the foot. By the time I realised the toe was broken (out of alignment with the other toes), it was too late to do anything. I wish we'd known about the injury soon enough to treat it, as she sometimes licked it as if it was causing pain.

[pheenyx]

My last dog broke 3 toes being run over by a go kart the vet just put a cast on it and it healed up fine, He had no issues at an older age.

[jemappelle]

My cattle dog has had broken toes on 4 occasions. He wore a special bandage that was longer than his leg so that he couldn't weight bear (I forget the name) and rest.

4 times! Do you know how he did it? I have no idea what my dog did but I think maybe he got his toe stuck in a deck chair. My dog has a splint at the moment while I decided what to do- its not a cast just vet wrap and strapping over some padding and the splint, is that what you mean?

Looks like what my boy had but I think his might have been longer. And he broke them chasing balls on dry hard ground - cattle dogs play hard and keep playing, even when injured. So it wasn't until we got home each time and he had cooled down, that I discovered there was a problem!