Help! Dislocated Toe

[Guest mcsweeneysmommy]

I am hoping someone who has experienced this can help guide me in the best direction.

 

I adopted Trust 3 years ago after she broke her rear leg (ankle-- not sure of the correct treminology) on the track. She does walk with an awkward gait though she never lets it stop her-- even refuses to stop the hike when the people and other grey are exhausted!! Trust is now 6. In the past month she has dislocated/sublexed her outer toe on her never broken rear leg twice and the outer toe of her previously broken leg once. For each incident we rushed her to the emergency vet (always a Sunday). The first two times they reduced the toe and sent us on out merry way with little down time. We tried to keep her calm and quiet and all was well. They this weekend she subluxed the outer toe on the other rear leg. This time the emergency vet Xrayed the foot and reduced the dislocation. HOwever as we were walking out it dislocated again requiring another reduction and now a soft bandage. SHe will be in the soft bandage for at least 2 weeks changing it this coming Saturday. There is no evidence of fracture, osteo, cancer, or anything else beyond the dislocation. I followed up with my vet who is baffaled by the situation. He is a great vet though no so grey savy and acknowledges he has never seen this before.

 

My questions are as follow:

Is there a supplement, med, etc that may help prevent this from happening again?

Does anyone know of a vet with experience in greyhound toe issues in the NY metro area?

I have a pair of TheraPaws from my other grey (who refuses to wear them) do "you" think they might help once the bandage is removed?

Is there any cause that we should look at which might be corrected?

 

Any ideas, suggestions, help would be greatly appreciated!!

[BauersMom]

Wow, this sounds exactly like our situation!

 

Here is a previous thread:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=170595&hl=

 

She also came to us missing a toe and had a broken hock.

 

I would take it conservatively as you can. We soft splint for 3-4 weeks each time, and then leash walk only after that for a few MONTHS, to give the ligaments time to heal up. In fact, after our last episode, she is on leash-walking only restriction. Haven't had an issue since.

 

Therapaws did nothing to help, as she refused to wear them.

 

And the working theory is that the change in her gait from the broken hock is causing the problem. Who knows though!

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I'm a toe expert now.

Edited May 27, 2009 by BauersMom

[kjw]

Gee, I guess I'm lucky - Bailey's toe has popped out a few times over the years, I just ice it and pop it back in and take it easy for a while. We did go to the vet the first time, but she showed me how to pop it back in myself.

 

If the ligament gets stretched out of shape, you can get a toe that pops out pretty easily.