AEB

So sorry for all your boy's troubles. I know I sound like a broken record when I advocate for soft bandages for toe issues on hounds, by it's because I learned the hard way (unfortunately) and not with my own hound (fortunately) that vets, even specialists, lack the experience that even a mediocre dog trainer has. Coupled with their dire warnings of doom and their condescending approach, it's a bad situation for most hound owners. I've posted before that my 13 year old had a toe amp and recovered in less than 2 weeks without issue. If amp is going to solve ongoing toe troubles and the pre op tests come back good, it's not a bad surgery at all. My boy passed a few months later of other causes, and I'm glad I made the tough choice because it meant our last months were spent with him happy and mobile. Perhaps I should have been clearer- if he's getting around ok, I would just watch and wait. But, Swifthounds is right, if the toe is hampering his quality of life amputation is worth considering. For me that might mean something different than it does you. I would not hesitate to take a toe off now seeing how things have played out with Kevin- but the doctors do not want to remove the toe unless it doesn't heal. Oh and I believe with surgery he'd be in a soft bandage afterward so the sores are not likely to happen. Maybe I'm all wrong here, but I believe that's correct. My worries with an older hound are anesthesia and complications like infection. But if you boy is healthy and his labs are good, then that's less of a concern. I am thinking from the perspective of someone who had a 13.5 year old grey with kidney issues and any surgery wasn't really an option. Also, trust your gut. I did not like the splint idea from the beginning and wanted a soft bandage or amp. I wanted Kevin to recover comfortably and/or quickly. And now it's being dragged out. I also felt Iike I should do the bandaging or address padding the splint better. And I should have and I feel guilty that I didn't force the issue. It looked padded well, but I did not see the actual splint and it's pointy edges. You know your dog best. Good luck today!

I'm sorry my thread freaked you out! Was it the bandaging issues? It's certainly not my idea of a good time, but now he's in a soft bandage (which I requested for fear of sores from the beginning but was told it wasn't enough to immobilize the toe). I feel more hopeful now that he's comfortable and has more mobility. The sores seems a little better and I hope they continue to head in that direction. A very different situation from your guy. Don't worry too much about soft bandages. Your guy. First of all, good luck today! Let us know what they say. You were not entirely clear about how long THIS problem has been going on so I will assume that it's recent and different from his other toe issues. Senior dogs develop lots of bumps - weird bumps, weird places. Once you know it's not the dreaded C word you can relax some. I hope that it's something simple like he jabbed it with a stick. If he's walking well now, that's good. WIth an 11/12 year old I don't think I'd risk surgery unless it was the dreaded C and isolated to that toe. Otherwise, if my pup was moving around and generally happy and comfortable, even with some off days, I'd probably just watch it carefully and try to see what helps. Maybe supplements, maybe several walks a day. But that is just my opinion. I know I haven't offered too many real suggestions here, but try not to get too worked-up about this at this stage. There are so many simple and manageable things it could be. Best of luck to you and Ave today. Give him some kisses from us. April

He was happy to see his "ladies" at the vet. The tech sat on the ground with him and said she had to spend some time with her "boyfriend, Kevin." He then tried to roach while they were bandaging him. Is anyone else's dog that comfortable at the vet?

Thanks Batmom!

Ok everyone, I took Kevin to the vet this morning and she said it is the tendon we're seeing and it looks ok. It seems to be healing and it seems that I did a good job bandaging. She said it could be two weeks or more until it heals. So now he has a glow in the dark bandage for Halloween! He hasn't cried since Friday- he's doing really well in the soft bandage.

I will have to look this up! Maybe I'll start a separate thread. Thank you! Thank you!

Tonight's update: I changed his bandage and it still looks terrible but there was much less blood and pus. maybe 1/3 of yesterday's. We think that yellow in the hole might be pus. I hope so. I globbed some silvedine on it and spread some on the pad. I wrapped it tighter and higher. It wasn't easy to get some cotton between the toes and I hope I did ok. Left the space next to the broken toe alone. He hasn't cried since Friday when he went into the soft bandage. Tonight he was running (with all 4 legs!) in the house and we had to get in his way and yell at him until my husband could bundle-up and take him on his second walk of the day. He had a long one earlier in the day and he was tired afterward. But he had a ton of energy tonight. So I hope this is a good sign. We'll make the appointment with the vet tomorrow and maybe they can clean it up and put my mind at ease. I do see him stretching it more and using it for balance. He actually almost tried to stand on it a little tonight. Thank you again everyone for your help and your concern for Kevin.

Do you know if the fractures went into the joints? Arthritis usually only happens secondary to a fracture if it involved the joint. So if Kevin got lucky, and there was no joint involvement, that may not be an issue. However, with multiple fractures in a toe, chances are that either one or both joints was affected. I'm dealing with arthritis in multiple toes with my boy Wiki, and I find that for the most part, it doesn't interfere much with normal activity. He runs and plays and rarely limps at all. For long term maintenance, I just have him on joint supplements. Laser therapy can also help. I will ask my vet tomorrow but the fracture seemed to go right up to the joint where it enters his foot. No one has said to me that it broke in the joint. i think it might not have and that's why he was not a good candidate for any surgery- little toe bone shattered and not the joint. But I will verify. Supplements are a good idea- hadn't thought of those as he's not even 4 yet. I have some springtime fresh factors and some conquer k-9. I can also ask about PT and laser therapy. If it can help we are willing to try. I'll update later after the bandage change.

Just wanted to mention that toe fractures don't always heal up to where the bone look fully healed on x-rays. But if the area is stable and non-painful, you don't always have to address it further. Some surgeons say that you don't even need to repeat x-rays on toe fractures because they can be misleading, and the important thing is clinical improvement. Can you tell if the broken toe is feeling more stable on palpation? Is there callus formation (a hard swelling created by the healing bone) in the area? Once the sores heal up, if he walks normally on the foot and doesn't limp, it may be healed enough that you won't need to do any more with it. Jennifer that is great information! The toe looks much less swollen but is a bit bigger than the others. I have not touched it much. I can try when I change the bandage this morning. But it does seem more stable to me. He is not putting any weight on it because of the wrap. The big test will be once the wrap is off and the sores are healed. I worry about arthritis. I am not sure what I can do to help with that. Will PT help?

Thank you! I'll let Kevin know. The specialist (ortho) is the one who has seen him the last 3 times. But he has tolerated antibiotics well in the recent past. Was on 6 weeks of Cephalexin this summer. So, I hope it just heals-up well. He's a young, healthy dog. I can't imagine going through this with a senior. I am seriously considering no more dogs after Kevin because when they are hurting it is SO upsetting to me. I'm glad Sadie is better now!

We thank you. Ok, I thank you as Kevin is asleep on my lap. Thanks to everyone. I just fear he'll go through 8 weeks of this and won't heal. I even worry he could lose his whole leg as a result of these sores. Does anyone think he will develop more being in just a soft wrap?

He just got put on Cephalexin yesterday and has only had 3 doses. He developed the sore before being on the antibiotic. I think he'll be ok til Monday (we're also having a big snow storm here tonight into tomorrow). He seems comfortable. He has that leg resting on me right now. I am not sure how long to give the antibiotic to start working.

Lindsay, I am so sorry. I am so happy you made her last months as good as they could be.

I know the wrap should tighter. But it seems to be staying in place. I will change it in the morning to make sure things aren't sliding around and put cotton between his toes (forgot tonight) and to put a bigger gob of silvedine on it. Then I will probably leave it on until we see the vet Monday unless he is uncomfortable. We also ordered him a plastic splint like in the prior thread. I am going to discuss with the vet doing a lighter bandage and using the splint when he's moving around. He hops on 3 legs luckily but balances on it a bit when lifting his leg (he just HAS to lift his leg!). He can wait until Monday to be seen, right? I am very worried about him. Green is never good. I sure hope the antibiotics get him healing quick. Anyone have any idea how long it will take to close this deep dime-sozed hole?

Green fluid. It's nasty. there's probably some infection. He's got the silvedine and cephalexin pills. We'll take him Monday to our vet who hasn't been involved since 2 days after this happened. Maybe I'll see them (local and we trust them) until 4 weeks from now, if we make it that long. Hopefully things will heal quickly and well. I did a lighter bandage not as tight as I should have tonight at the expense of support to try to get more air in there. So, Batmom, you think I should bandage daily until the big wound stops oozing and then do 2-3 days between changes? Makes sense. And we have never complained about vet bills, but we've spent nearly 1K so far on this injury and I feel my dog is worse off because no one would listen to me. I find it hard to believe that that big sore wasn't there Monday. Forgive me if I am ranting- I'm just very upset and feeling helpless.

Bumping this to do an update. Kevin had a bandage change Monday and had developed a small sore between his toes. I noticed he had been fussy. He seemed much better after the change. I asked if he had any other sores. I was told no. He had a rough night thursday. So Friday morning I got an appointment for an examination and change of bandage. When the bandage was removed he cried a lot and it turns out he developed a bunch of sores since Monday. One really big one on his knee joint and it was oozing like crazy. I asked them to x-ray and the bones are not showing much healing yet- 4 weeks out. they bandaged him in a soft bandage - no more splint. And I am now doing daily bandage changes of the soft bandage. He is on anti-biotics and we have silvedine to put on the wounds. Tonight I changed it and it almost looks like you can see the bone in the sore. It could be ointment or pus, but it looked even worse than yesterday. The large pad was soaked with blood and pus. I am beside myself. The two vets won't even talk to me about amp until we put him through another 4 weeks of this. I don't know what to do. I am thinking I will make an appointment with our regular vet Monday and show him how bad the sore is. Poor thing. I am sick to my stomach.

Judy, I'm so sorry you couldn't have more time with your sweet girl. My condolences to your family.

What I meant by nutrition is a nutrient deficiency. I'm not sure what dogs need and what yours are getting and the type of seizures. But, in humans lack of magnesium and other nutrients, or a malabsorbtion thereof can lead to seizures as can blood sugar issues. I really hope she feels better soon. Seizures are scary! Hugs.

Hope things get better with Mira and that lump goes away.

Thinking of Gee and hoping for good news.

Some of this may be dependent on some facts not known to me. Forgive me, I don't know anything about meningitis in dogs. First, is meningitis in Lucy a danger to you or your other dogs (if you have others)? How would it be treated? Will she die If there is no treatment if it is meningitis? If it is a tumor what can they do for her? Would you be willing to pursue those paths? If there is little they can do, or that you would be willing to have her undergo, then why bother with one or both tests? Seizures have a root cause. A seizure is only a symptom of something else that is wrong. It is termed idiopathic when they do not know why the seizures are happening. What kind is she having? It could be a brain injury, a tumor, a poison, a medication. But it can also be something more simple and correctable (at least in humans)- something nutritional. I doubt that unless you're sanding lead paint and she's eating the flakes or breathing them that it would cause seizures by the small amount in the air. Of course I am am looking at the situation having had a 13 year old grey that likely had some form of cancer and had kidney failure. We would not have put her through surgery or chemo with her issues so we did not bother to test because it really did not matter what was wrong. We were going to make her as comfortable as possible until the time came. Good luck.

Feel better soon sweet girl.

This sounds very much like our situation when we got Kevin. He stunk- like an oily smell. I also felt it was because he was a boy- it came from his parts area. He would turn over and air his bits and that's when you'd really get it. His urine smelled strong too. I thought my dog this beast is funkifying my whole house. Sadie never did this! THis slowly changed and now he has no odor, but his feet still smell like greyhound feet, which smell like Fritos. Now I like to smell his head. He smells good. He has not had a bath since January. I think what changed is: -he grew fur where he was bald so his skin did not seem oily anymore; -his food- we feed him very high quality food and I wonder if that helped; -and we had his anal glands expressed about every 5 weeks when we first got him- he would get a fishy smell and get fussy and after he was expressed it was gone. We started giving Missing Link supplement which I saw someone else mention as being a help with the anal glads (probably helping to firm the poops so the glands empty). Anyhow, once we started giving him that we did not have to have him expressed again. -he had what might have been a skin infection this summer- antibiotics for 6 weeks. but he was de-stunk before that, but I wonder if the staph had something to do with it in the beginning. -he settled-in. i often wonder if adjustment and change and the stress that comes with that can have this affect. it can make skin flaky so why not stinky. i can smell a change in breath when my dogs are stressed. Many feed raw here and have found it resolves a lot of issues, like skin problems. I feed part raw. I hope some of this was of help.

I'm so very sorry. I hope OSU has different news.

Agreed.