Problems with feet

[DaveS]

We have two hounds and the only health problems we've encountered  are with their feet.  The five yo male dislocated a front toe, I think coming up the steps.  The toe was turned under his foot but by the time we got him to the vet, it had gone back in place, mostly.  It still is a bit cockeyed.  Then later I accidentally (and lightly) stepped on a front foot.  He jerked it back without complaining but now he's missing a toe nail on that foot.  Never found it and he was fine.

The three yo female came to us minus a rear toe.  It had been amputated because of a racing injury.  Later she has picked up several splinters of yard mulch that stuck in a foot between the toes but no problems after I removed them.  Then yesterday evening she came into the house from outside with a bleeding rear foot.  My wife cleaned it up and put some antibiotic salve on it but she won't put any weight on that foot.  She doesn't seem to be in pain and is getting around on three legs nicely.  I'm taking her to the vet later this afternoon.

Are foot problems common with greyhounds?  Or we just unlucky?

[Remolacha]

Greyhounds have long, boney feet And long boney toes, so yes, minor foot problems aren’t that unusual. I would watch the one who lost a toenail, the nail shouldn’t come off that easily and he may have SLO, an auto immune condition. I’ve had several who dislocated a toe and as you found, it usually pops back into place. If the same toe keeps re-dislocating (is that a word ) you may have to treat it, but this only happened once for me, and I never had to remove the toe, although that happens too. 
As for your girl, I think a vet check is a good idea, she may still have some slivers imbedded in her foot. If not, it may just be sore.

So, bottom line, toe woes aren’t that uncommon, but usually minor.

[palmettobug]

Oh, yes, dealing with G's right rear foot and toes. The chiro said they were stiff, he does tend to favor that foot, and heavens forbid if I even LOOK at it. No breaks, no obvious injury, but you can tell it's not normal.

[DaveS]

Back from the vet.  She said the dog had "done a number on her foot" with several cuts.  I can't think of anything in our backyard that could have caused that.  Anyhow, we have some antibiotics and pain med to give her for a few days.  No amputation in the forecast.  Fingers crossed that she gets better soon.

[HeyRunDog]

In the first week of having Grace I stepped back off a chair I was standing on and planted my size 11 on her foot. I hadn't realised she was there as she had been asleep on her bed when I last looked. A short scream ensued with a very apologetic hug later and she forgave me.

Week two, a large abscess appeared on her other front foot between her toes. Three operations and X-rays later and with a lightened bank account she got over that. It seems that during her racing days she had got small pieces of grit embedded between her toes that decided to make their presence known.

We also have an ongoing battle with corns. Just got rid of three on one foot and two on the other with one more on the way out with a combination of Burt's Bees hand salve, bee propolis added to her food  and wearing baby socks with rockets on and boots when walking on hard surfaces.

[DaveS]

My wife took the dog back to the vet yesterday, two days after her foot injury.  The vet was pleased; the pup is using four legs most of the time and the swelling of the toe has gone down.  I guess she will be fine.

[Remolacha]

Glad to hear she is healing well! With their boney feet and thin skin some of them can seen accident prone 

[DaveS]

On 7/8/2020 at 2:10 PM, Remolacha said:

Greyhounds have long, boney feet And long boney toes, so yes, minor foot problems aren’t that unusual. I would watch the one who lost a toenail, the nail shouldn’t come off that easily and he may have SLO, an auto immune condition. I’ve had several who dislocated a toe and as you found, it usually pops back into place. If the same toe keeps re-dislocating (is that a word ) you may have to treat it, but this only happened once for me, and I never had to remove the toe, although that happens too. 
As for your girl, I think a vet check is a good idea, she may still have some slivers imbedded in her foot. If not, it may just be sore.

So, bottom line, toe woes aren’t that uncommon, but usually minor.

I'm happy to report that all the foot problems have disappeared.  The girl's injured rear foot has healed and the boy's toenail is growing back.  His little toe on a front foot is still a bit crocked, but it doesn't bother him in the least.

[Remolacha]

Glad to hear it!

[MarcR]

One of my girls dislocated a toe.  While I was on the phone making a vet appointment, she fixed herself.  She had no further problems,with it.  That said, a dislocation may make the toe more susceptible to future dislocation.

As mentioned above, losing a nail easily may signal SLO, so watch for any further loss.