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Oh No, I Think Beth Broke Her Toe


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I let Beth run this morning because it will be our last chance for a few days, and she slipped turning on the wet grass and started to limp on her left rear leg -- long story short, I can see it's something with her foot and her second-from-the-inside toe (weight bearing, sigh) looks funny. No this is NOT the toe she just recovered from the cut and sutures on!

 

We have a vet appointment in half and hour and I'll report afterwards. Worst of all -- I was supposed to go to GEM this weekend and now that's certainly off. For my friend as well presumably. And we've been free from restrictions imposed by the other toe for just a week -- now we're going to have to deal with more severe and longer restrictions, right at the beginning of summer. :(

Edited by PrairieProf

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Guest Cara_Lea

My Quinn dislocated a toe once.. it popped back in and just had to be supported while it healed. If this is what happened to Beth, you can probably go to GEM and just keep a close eye on her.

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Oh no. Keep us posted. So scary.

"Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the day comes God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man."

Persian Proverb

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Back from the vet (without Beth until later in the morning) -- he said it's good news, bad news. The good news is she didn't break anything -- the bad news is that she tore the ligaments in the toe. And he said those don't really heal, so she'll tend to have problems reinjuring it in future, though not necessarily severe.

 

He said she would go home with some kind of soft bandage/wrap (I didn't catch the name) that will stabilize the toe so it doesn't move side to side for a week or so, then we'll see how she does. And she'll be on Deramax for a few weeks.

 

He told me to ask folks if anyone knows of any kind of running brace for greyhounds (I guess kind of the dog equivalent of the elastic ankle brace people might wear) -- I said I'd never heard of such a thing, but I'm asking.

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Many well wishes!

gallery_22387_3315_35426.jpg

Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the Bridge
The WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels.

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Guest Whistle

My Duke dislocated a toe. The vet just popped it back into place and it was fine. I hope it's an easy fix for Beth too.

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Ace has torn things on two of her toes. They don't look right, but they don't bother her at all.

 

You should be able to go to GEM still...just put a Therapaw on her foot over her soft wrap and have a good time!

 

Far as I know there's no special brace for stuff like that-Ace just had to be leash walked for a week or so until it stopped hurting for her to move faster.

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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I remember seeing some type of a support on a broken hock dog. I think maybe Gold Coast Orlando had was using it.

Vallerysiggy.jpg

Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the Day comes,

God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man.

(Persian Proverb)

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Best of luck, sound a little tricky. I know once you sprain your ankle your prone to do it all the time. Would a small wrap work just when she went out. I know greys have to run but this is the reason I freak out when red breaks into a full sprint, and the fact he turned 11 yrs.

Best of luck keep us posted and again huge hugs for your pup hope she comes home fine...FROSTY PAWS MOM!!!

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Guest tinams8

Lucy seems to have a similar soft tissue injury. The vet said it will probably continue to be a problem when she runs in the future. I am starting to understand why racing dogs have toes amputated so often.

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Guest KennelMom

been through lots of toe injuries from the yard and lure coursing...I've posted about Melody's fubar'd toe injury from lure coursing that culminated in a toe amputation. I'm not a huge fan of wrapping toes...wrap it wrong and it will heal wrong. Plus greyhounds don't have the best circulation in their feet and wraps can just cause more problems than they solve.

 

The most important thing is to monitor the toe and if it pops out of alignment, just re-position. And REST. Rest rest rest rest rest rest rest rest the dog. Leash walks only for a REALLY REALLY REALLY long time (I do a minimum of 6 weeks for an average sprain). With a severe sprain that tears the ligaments you definitely want to leash walk until that toe is COMPLETELY healed. Seriously, leash walks ONLY. And for the first few weeks very limited walking. No room zoomies in the house. Basicaly, you want her to stay off her foot a lot during the first few weeks to keep that toe from losing it's position. The ligaments won't really heal and snap back to pre-injury but they will build new tissue to stabilize the toe..most likely there will be a lot less flexability in the toe depending on the severity of the sprain...it will be more likely to be injured in the future and the more scar tissue that accrues, the more arthritis in the joint (ultimately that's what led Melody to have her toe amputated).

 

Most likely she'll be just fine. We have dogs that pop toes all the time - some are more prone than others. It's the biggest issue I have with the breed - racing greyhounds just don't have the feet to run on much other than the groomed track surface...Lotsa greys have knobby toes with bumps and lumps on them - evidence of past toe injuries. The best thing you can do is keep nails short and avoid running them on really hard ground when possible - esp if a dog has poor feet.

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Guest BrianRke

What bad timing (not that there is a good time) for her and you. Sorry this happened right b4 GEM. Hoping its nothing serious.

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I'm not sure what she needs but Google: brace for a broken hock

 

It came up with a lot of different websites with various support items.

 

Hugs and kisses for Beth.

Vallerysiggy.jpg

Then God sent the Greyhound to live among man and remember. And when the Day comes,

God will call the Greyhound to give Testament, and God will pass judgment on man.

(Persian Proverb)

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Guest KennelMom

Oh...regarding a brace. Are you talking about a brace a dog can wear to prevent toe injuries? If so, I'm not aware of anything. I have seen people develop lots of interesting toe wrapping methods to support toes and toe pads in lure coursing. I dunno...I generally find my dogs do best when running conditions are good, nails are short and their feet and leg are left natural. Most injuries we see come in the summer time (yard zoomies when the hot southern sun has baked the soil in to a rock).

Edited by KennelMom
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The most important thing is to monitor the toe and if it pops out of alignment, just re-position.

 

Heather, can you explain this to me a bit more -- do you mean if the toe is looking at an odd angle just physically push it into place? Or lift her foot and put it down again with the toe straight? I assume it's not going to be well aligned for a while, yet only once or twice did it look really off before she went in to the vet, so I'm not sure I'll see anything as dramatic as a "popping out."

 

Yes, the vet meant a brace for running to prevent toe reinjuries ... didn't think there was anything but I wanted to ask.

 

Beth's nails are kept short (short as I can with her long quicks) and I'll keep the hard ground in mind -- though this injury happened as she cornered sharply and slipped on wet grass.

Edited by PrairieProf

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Not having a yard for about 4 years now, I'm sure we have avoided serious injury with our goofball Kasey running like a maniac in the yard. We only do leash walks now with both boys because we don't have a yard.

 

Kasey has three times in the past in our yard ripped his back toe nail completely out. I know a toe injury is likely much more difficult to heal, but I know how you feel about seeing them hold their feet up in pain. Seems like it takes forever to heal. I agree with KennelMom regarding rest and leash walks until it's healed. Feet, toes and nails are crazy things, and you know what they say about horses - no foot, no horse.....

Proudly owned by:
10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 2010
12.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015

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Guest zombrie

 

The most important thing is to monitor the toe and if it pops out of alignment, just re-position.

 

Heather, can you explain this to me a bit more -- do you mean if the toe is looking at an odd angle just physically push it into place? Or lift her foot and put it down again with the toe straight? I assume it's not going to be well aligned for a while, yet only once or twice did it look really off before she went in to the vet, so I'm not sure I'll see anything as dramatic as a "popping out."

 

Yes, the vet meant a brace for running to prevent toe reinjuries ... didn't think there was anything but I wanted to ask.

 

Beth's nails are kept short (short as I can with her long quicks) and I'll keep the hard ground in mind -- though this injury happened as she cornered sharply and slipped on wet grass.

 

Doolin dislocated his toe while falling when he was running, it was VERY obvious, his toe was literally on sideways. Not sure if it's always that obvious. Didn't seem to bother him one bit though - even before I popped it back into place :dunno

 

I'm glad nothing turned out broken. Hopefully she feels better soon!

Edited by zombrie
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Glad nothing broken. It's a pain when they can't be up and running like they want to. Hopefully a few weeks rest and she'll be good as new.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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Guest bethac

One more thought about a brace - call OSU and speak with someone on Dr. Couto's team. If anyone has ideas about this, it is them.

 

Sending hugs for YOU and Beth. :grouphug

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Guest KennelMom

 

The most important thing is to monitor the toe and if it pops out of alignment, just re-position.

 

Heather, can you explain this to me a bit more -- do you mean if the toe is looking at an odd angle just physically push it into place? Or lift her foot and put it down again with the toe straight? I assume it's not going to be well aligned for a while, yet only once or twice did it look really off before she went in to the vet, so I'm not sure I'll see anything as dramatic as a "popping out."

 

Yep, if the toe looks wonky/crooked/pointed in the wrong direction just gently re-align the toe. If you are uncomfortable doing it (I was nervous as heck the first time!), have your vet show you how to do it. When Melody hurt her toe there was, literally, no ligaments in tact. her toe looked totally deflated, like it had no bones in it at all! That was really hard to keep aligned, but we just stayed on top of it and within a week it would pretty much stay in place. If there is any ligament structure left in the toe, it should pretty much want to stay in place as long as it isn't put under too much stress or pressure - hence the strict leash walking and rest in the beginning. It sounds like it was popping in and out of alignment before you went to the vet.

 

If Beth is an active or hyper dog, you're in for a looooooooong 6-8 weeks.

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