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Torn Out Nail, Now Dislocated Toe - Time For Boots?


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About two weeks ago, our Pearl managed to rip one of her toenails out in it's entirety after a romp in the yard. It wouldn't stop bleeding and she wouldn't let us touch it to get it cleaned up or put any styptic powder on it, so off to the e-vet we went. She wore a large bandage/foot wrap for several days, took antibiotics, and seems to be doing just fine with it now. Then a few days ago, as we were getting ready for bed we noticed she was favoring her other back leg, and realized that she'd dislocated the outer toe while playing in the yard again. We tried wiggling it to see if it would re-set, but it was stiff and very painful. The next morning, back to the vet she went! They took some x-rays to make sure nothing was broken, reset the toe, bandaged it up, and send us home with some pain medicine in case she needed it. Needless to say, we've spent a pretty penny in the last few weeks and aside from trying to keep her from running in the back yard (like that will ever happen), I'm not sure what options we have. She had a pretty bad break in one of her back legs during her racing career, and now I'm beginning to think she's a bit of a clumsy, accident prone dog but I hate to see her in pain! Any advice? I've seen Thera-Paw boots, and I'm considering testing them out. I'd take anything at this point!

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Therapaws are really terrible for general play boots - they never stay on once the dog gets above a walk. Maybe someone will have a good recommendation for boots or wrappings that will stand up to greyhound play.

 

Foot and toe injuries just seem to be par for the course with these guys. :rolleyes: Not that you shouldn't try to limit them, but at least at my house, I've gotten really good at dealing with feet. I know it's something about the ground and the footing in our yard that makes them more prone ot injury. They've destroyed the grass leaving mostly bare ground (lots of clay with embedded small rocks) that we cover with several inches of mulch/bark dust to keep the mud down. If I had unlimited money I'd put down a base of sand before the mulch.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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Rex my corn dog HATED hs therapawas. During the time he had them Illiaria was working on changes and he was able to un velcro and take them off. She sent a different pair for free but he hated them too. :( Rex broke a weight bearing toe somehow but that was a one time only event. You can easily vet wrap the dew claws. :)

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Did your vet advise on restricting exercise until the toe heals? You will need to do that, even if it means keeping her out of the yard/on leash. Take it from me, it is MUCH better to allow it to heal completely than have it keep dislocating. Enough times and the tendon will weaken and you'll have a toe that constantly pops out. Thats what happened with Zuri so I had to wrap his foot with vet wrap preventatively any time he was going to potentially run off leash for the last several years of his life. We didn't have a yard so that was more manageable. With dog sitters I gave a Therapaw and asked them to try not to let him run.

 

He even dislocated it one time walking in deep snow.

 

If I were you I would do leash walks with a Therapaw for at least 4 weeks ajd then I would wrap with vet wrap for at least several more if she's going to run.

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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Wanted to add - re the nail being ripped off, keeping the nails, especially dew claws trimmed short is the best way to prevent that. You can also do a quick wrap of vet wrap just around the dew claw area before she runs, but I would chalk that incident up to accidents happen and/or nails need to be kept shorter.

gallery_12662_3351_862.jpg

Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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Did your vet advise on restricting exercise until the toe heals? You will need to do that, even if it means keeping her out of the yard/on leash. Take it from me, it is MUCH better to allow it to heal completely than have it keep dislocating. Enough times and the tendon will weaken and you'll have a toe that constantly pops out. Thats what happened with Zuri so I had to wrap his foot with vet wrap preventatively any time he was going to potentially run off leash for the last several years of his life. We didn't have a yard so that was more manageable. With dog sitters I gave a Therapaw and asked them to try not to let him run.

 

He even dislocated it one time walking in deep snow.

 

If I were you I would do leash walks with a Therapaw for at least 4 weeks ajd then I would wrap with vet wrap for at least several more if she's going to run.

 

 

Wanted to add - re the nail being ripped off, keeping the nails, especially dew claws trimmed short is the best way to prevent that. You can also do a quick wrap of vet wrap just around the dew claw area before she runs, but I would chalk that incident up to accidents happen and/or nails need to be kept shorter.

 

Yeah, our vet recommended keeping her from getting to rambunctious for the next several weeks and she's also got the dislocated toe in a "splint" type bandage that the vet wrapped up so it stays secure over the next few weeks while the tendon heals. She's great in the house but the moment she goes into the yard she thinks it's time to do zoomies, but doesn't like to do her business on a leash- it's only been a few days and it's definitely a fight. We've kept her nails trimmed since we got her over the summer and the one she ripped out wasn't a dew claw, but rather the outer toe on the back right leg (the dislocated toe was the outer one on the back left leg- jeesh!). I can try to make sure the nails are shorter, but the vet wrap may be the way to go for her back feet if we know she's going to be out playing.

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You need to get that splint bandage checked like every other day, especially at first. You would not believe how fast greyhounds can develop ulcerations on their toes from splints and wrapping worn 24/7, and they are a PIA to heal. Speaking from experience with my first greyhound who had a toe amputation (which isn't at all the end of the world if for some reason you keep having trouble with that toe dislocating or whatever).

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

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She may not "like" to go on a leash, but you need to be the adult here and tell her she has to! I know it's rough, and seems tedious when you're lucky enough to have a yard, but she will go on a leash when she has to go, and it might actually end up being a good bonding experience for you both!


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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