Puppy Broken Toe

[nightgrace6]

Hi all

My large breed pup either broke or fractured her toe 3 weeks ago, the vet didn't say it was a bad break mind you he did not xray her (she is going in tomorrow because I demanded it) and he said it would heal fine by itself.

The toe is still as swollen as it was 3 weeks ago and I am starting to worry it will stay like that.. Has the vet missed a crucial period of splinting or rectifying it? is there no real rectification of broken toes available? is she at risk of bone problems etc because of this? is there anything I can do NOW that will help?

I am not exactly sure what is wrong with her toe I will find out tomorrow but I would love advice/stories/examples from people who know or have been through this with their dog so I have more of an idea when going to the vets. I would also like to hear about how long toes have taken to heal or how long swelling has persisted.

Thank you in advance!

[Oskar & Zsa Zsa]

We unfortunately had to deal with this situation when Oskar our Hungarian Vizsla first arrived home. It would only have been when he was 10 or 11 weeks old and my wife's mum, ran over his little paw with a shopping trolley full of groceries. It also swelled up badly and he was very lame on it for a few weeks. We of course took him straight to the Vet and recieved exactly the same advice. We can X-ray it, but, at the end of the day the treatment will be the same and that is allow it to heal.

I wasn't comfortable with that determination either, but, when I thought about it, it's what I would do with a broken toe if it were mine. Anyway, Oskar has healed up perfectly, no swelling anymore and he runs and jumps heavily on it without any limping or tenderness later.

[nightgrace6]

oh the poor dear! thank you for replying.. how long did it take for the swelling to go down if you dont mind me asking?

[shantiah]

I have had two greyhounds with broken toes. Both required xrays ( two different vets at two different clinics) to diagnose. Healing was basically 6 weeks confined and 2 weeks supported. Both are now back to normal

Pickle was about 8 months old. She broke the toe completely by kicking a brick and displaced the end so it was pointing sideways An xray was done although we both knew exactly what it would show, just needed to know how bad it was. It required wiring to "reconnect" the end. Then full cast over the foot to the hock. That was left for about 6 weeks, followed by another 2 weeks of soft bandaging. Looked awful when it first came off and still quite swollen. Did go down a few weeks later and now is back to completely normal. The wire is still in place but the vet said more than likely it will need to come out at some stage.

Nina broke two toes only recently. She was 3mths old when she did it. One toe was completely broken through but not displaced. The other toe was like a hairline fracture with no displacement. She had soft bandaging with a splint for 6 weeks with weekly changes (due to how fast she was growing) She was confined to a kennel with onlead toilet walks only. Another 2 weeks of soft bandaging without the splint and onlead exercise. Also an xray was done after the 6 weeks to check on healing. She is now about to turn 6 months old. The toes are completely healed and you wouldnt know she had ever injured them.

[Rebanne]

Miller broke a toe at 3 months, clean break not displaced. Bandaged for a week or two, confined for a month, toe is thicker than the others. He also has a thickened toe on one of his back feet. I assume he broke it at some stage when only weeks old.

[Oskar & Zsa Zsa]

oh the poor dear! thank you for replying.. how long did it take for the swelling to go down if you dont mind me asking?

We were not confident with the diagnosis, so kept a close eye on it, watched for any changes or limping, but he settled within a few days and the swelling slowly reduced over about 6-8 days. If it had bothered him at all, I would have sought another opinion, but he wasn't all that worried about it after a day or so. He would occasionally limp on it if he jumped the wrong way down off something.

If you are concerned then either go back and demand what you want politely, or seek a 2nd opinion. Either way, I hope everything heals soon.