Grr - The Stella Toe

[Mystella]

Argh.

 

This morning Stella did crazy zooms in the yard, came up limping. By the time I got her in the house she was walking normally again and all looked fine.

 

About ten minutes ago we were outside and she did more crazy running, and started limping and holding up her rear leg. Her toe is obviously dislocated.

 

Of course vets office is closed. Do I take her to the evet ($150 to walk in the door before any treatment!) or let her use the other three legs till morning and take her to the clinic in town (still not our regular vet but not evet either) that is open on Sundays. I know it 'might' go back into place on its own or might not.

 

She did this 3 years ago as well, also on a Saturday evening and when I got to the evet she hopped down out of the car and knocked it back into place, however she dislocated it 3 more times that summer and it has never happened again until today.

 

I am not confident enough about what I am doing to put it back myself.

 

Advice please please please!!!

Edited August 14, 2007 by Mystella

[Guest KyGrey]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to send .

[TheFullHouse]

Maybe someone who has fixed their pups toe can help you. I've never done it and would be afraid to do so. Watch her when she's laying down, I have heard of some pups who will fix their own toes.

[MarcR]

Kara dislocated a toe just last week. Her's went back on its own and stayed that way. I don't have any specific advice but the thread might be useful: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=175530

 

Is she in a lot of pain? If so, an e-vet trip might be worth it.

Edited August 11, 2007 by MarcR

[onrushpam]

Not an e-vet emergency...

 

Given your description, it may reduce (go back in place) on its own. You can try to encourage it by gently pulling out on the end of the toe. Don't force anything, just try to stretch the tendons/ligaments out a bit to allow it to go back into place on its own.

 

Give her some buffered aspirin (the coated kind if you can get it)... adult dose. Ice it (no more than 20 minutes per hour) if she will tolerate it. (Ice in a baggie in a towel wrapped around the foot, or stand her in a bucket of ice water if she will tolerate it.)

 

 

 

 

 

[Mystella]

I have some metacam on hand, would that be better than the aspirin??

[Guest Tenderhearts]

I have some metacam on hand, would that be better than the aspirin??

Both are an anti-inflammatory.

 

If she's in a lot of pain, I'd give the metacam, else use the aspirin.

 

Remember that pain relievers can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes they relieve the pain enough that pup feels really good and reinjures him/herself (been there, done that with a stubborn cocker spaniel mix here)

 

 

[Guest sheila]

putting a toe back is really not that hard. The first time I did it was almost by accident. Kiowa dislocated a back toe and I just took it between my thumb and forefinger and just sort of gently manipulated it and it popped right back. Kiowa didn't even react at all and went right back to his normal routine as though nothing happened. It's never popped out again since.

[BauersMom]

I've been in that situation and have done both the waiting game until the vet opened AND the e-vet.

 

The time with the e-vet the toe healed much better and faster... less overall swelling and I think that's because she wasn't left all night long with a dislocated toe.

 

The time we left it, it was very swollen and never really healed well... lots of scar tissue and the toe still sorta looks funny.

 

Not saying that's what's going to happen with Stella, but that was my experience. And I would go the e-vet route again.

 

(None of her toes ever went back without sedation and manipulation, btw)

[onrushpam]

Yes on the Metacam!

[ZoomDoggy]

Tipper dislocated a toe about a month ago on a Sunday. I called the e-vet and described the injury. They said unless it changed (became very swollen/painful) it could wait until the next day so we could see our regular vet. Tip's foot never swelled at all, just had one toe pointing sideways inward toward the others. He even walked on it with barely a limp, but developed a sore on the side of the toe that was now facing the ground. The next day I brought him to my regular vet, who was able to fix it with light sedation. It was packed and bandaged for two weeks, and has shown no signs of re-injury since. If I'd had the nerve, perhaps I could've fixed it myself. But never having done it, I was way too squeamish.

 

In the meantime, you can try putting cold packs on the foot to alleviate pain and swelling.

 

Good luck with Stella's poor footie!

[Guest saucyaussies]

Just make sure you don't use the metacam and the aspirin together! I can't remember exactly what the contraindication is, but before I knew about it and asked my vet if I could top up the Metacam with a dose of aspirin his response was "do you want to kill your dog?". Not that it is going to make them drop over dead, but I think it is harmful to liver or kidneys. Anyways, I just always remember, one or the other, NEVER both!

[Batmom]

Lots of good advice. Can't add much. I took Zema to the vet as soon as I saw the toe, vet popped it right back in, I wrapped for a week? and kept her from running off-leash for @ 6 weeks.

[CleosMom]

When Athena dislocated her toe (10 p.m. on a Friday evening), I panicked and insisted we go to the e-vet. I blame the panic on her three GSODs.

 

She had to be sedated to put the toe back in place (but it was nasty!). Her foot was bandaged for four weeks (four very long weeks ) and she wasn't permitted off-leash for six weeks.

 

If Stella's toe has popped back into place, can you wrap it until you see the vet?

[Mystella]

Tip's foot never swelled at all, just had one toe pointing sideways inward toward the others. He even walked on it with barely a limp

 

That sounds exactly like what we have.

 

DH and I both tried to gently manipulate it back, no luck. Stella was stoic, as she usually is. I gave her some metacam and she seems to be doing well, but toe is still pointing the wrong way. There is a vets office in town that is open on Sundays, they open in 40 minutes and I am sitting by the phone waiting to call and tell them I am coming in.

 

Thanks for the advice everone. I really hate using our evet, not only because they are expensive, but I haven't had good luck with them, they tend to be alarmist and give contraindictory advice to that of my regular vet who I really love. Don't get me wrong in the middle of the night if something goes wrong I am incredibly greatful that we have an evet clinic, but they are definitely a last resort.

[Mystella]

AAAARGH

 

Okay called a local vet that was open today and took Stella in. He looked at her toe, felt it, said it was in place but the nail was twisted so he trimmed it way down past the quick, told me to give her metacam and leash walk only for a week. Said she will have stretched out the ligaments and it will be sore.

 

This cost $60 which I thought was fine

 

Until I got home. Let Stell leash walk slowly around front yard to pee. Go in and she lays down. About an hour later Dh comes in, takes a look and says "Carolyn, wth did the vet do, her toe is still out" I told him vet says it isn't he says the joint is in place. Dh says come here, look at this, her toe is pointed under the other toe beside and if you look at the bottom of her foot, the pad too us curled around and under the toe.

 

Could he have been wrong about it being in place? Can it be in place yet still be pointing the wrong way and curled under like that? Could it have put itself in place for the 10 minutes we were there and then gone back out again on the ride home???

 

I am frustrated and feel bad for my girlie. I will bring her to work with me in the morning and call my own vet as soon as it opens.

Edited August 13, 2007 by Mystella

[Batmom]

How does it look when she is up on her feet, walking on it?

[Guest KennelMom]

Melody did a number on one of her toes a few months ago...you could pop it in and then a few steps later...or a half hour later...or whatever, the toe would be sideways again. We splinted to toe for a while until some scar tissue could build (I was trying to avoid surgery, even if that meant her coursing days were through). Finally, it would stay in place, but that knuckle looks all weird so she's going back to another vet w/more toe experience to see what we should do.

 

So...yes, it can be in place and then pop back out - if the ligaments are stretched there's not a whole lot to hold it in place.

[Mystella]

When she is walking it doesnt look like she is limping, but I can tell she is not walking normally plus it looks like the side of the toe is getting a sore on it, she is probably walking on the side of it.

 

Should they tape it or splint it or something when they get it back in place???

[Batmom]

Depends on the toe. I kept Zema's wrapped for @ a week as it seemed like a good idea. Vet wanted to use a splint but I felt a good wrap was good enough.

[Mystella]

Sorry I didn't word that very well, I didn't mean which should they do tape or splint, I meant shouldn't they do one of those - something to hold it in place.

 

 

[Batmom]

IMHO it's a good idea to wrap it, just to give it some support and protection while it begins healing. I'm not crazy about hard splints as they tend to cause sores.

[ZoomDoggy]

When they re-located Tip's toe, they put cotton in between the toes to hold their position, and then wrapped up the whole foot in gauze and vetwrap for two weeks. Stella's still sounds dislocated to me, despite what your e-vet said.

[jodyksam]

Stella & Mom

[krissn333]

My friend just had her girl at the evet last night for this. A few days ago she either banged it or dislocated it playing outside. When she hurt it, it cramped up on her and looked all mangled. She hobbled in the house and went to her bed, licked at it, and it uncramped. The knuckle looked a little swollen but she was walking on it fine so her mom didn't think anything of it.

 

Fast forward to yesterday. Again pup is out in the yard playing, this time won't even come in, is just standing there holding up her paw. Toe looks mangled again. Brought her inside, she went to her bed to lick at it again. After an hour or so passed and it still wasn't better they took her to the evet.

 

It is dislocated, and the problem is that when she originally injured it she stretched the ligaments/tendons in there, so even if they pop it back into place, it's not going to stay put because the ligaments are stretched and won't hold it in place.

 

So, they set the toe and she's splinted and wrapped up all the way up to her elbow. Vet told them to keep the splint on for 3 weeks. Didn't Chris's Sequoia go through something similar a long time ago?

 

Hope Stella is feeling better soon!