Adoption - Dog with Amputated Toe

[Dolly81]

We are considering adopting a dog who has had a front weight bearing toe amputated. According to the Trust Kennel, she does not like walking on hard surfaces and should now be exercised mainly on grass. She has a limp on the side of the amputation. The procedure was carried out some time ago and she has physically healed but seems very aware of her paw. What would your thoughts be on taking on a dog with these issues? Also, does anyone know if this would be problematic to insure? Many thanks! 

[greysmom]

Any pre-existing condition is problematic for insurance no matter what it is.

Do you know what the toe was amputated for?  If she broke it or it was a serial dislocator there (probably) won't be any on-going issues.  If it was amped due to corns or a kind of tumor, or some other issue there could be things you'd need to deal with in the future.  It can also take upwards of a year before the foot settles into it's post-amp configuration, and it can be tender while all the bones and ligaments are moving around.  She will limp and be protective of this foot until it feels like hers again.  Inspect the remaining toe pads for re-emerging corns as the altered gait following her surgery could cause them to form on other toes.

But in general, the whole "weight bearing toe" thing is a non-issue.  I've seen many greyhounds with *two* toes gone and they get around fine.

[Remolacha]

One thing that may come up later (and very well may not!) is some lameness or soreness in the opposite leg/shoulder. In her case it would be the back leg opposite the one her toe was amputated. I adopted a 9 year old with a foot injury that had healed wonky and made him sometimes limp (right rear). When he got to be 11 he started limping in his left front. It turned out to be related to his bad foot, on a four legged animal, a chronic injury can throw their gait off and eventually cause some strain on the opposite leg. He lived to be a very happy, active 14.4 year old. This is not something major, and it would certainly not stop me from adopting, I just wanted you to be aware so if it does show up later you would know what was going on.

[Dolly81]

28 minutes ago, Remolacha said:

One thing that may come up later (and very well may not!) is some lameness or soreness in the opposite leg/shoulder. In her case it would be the back leg opposite the one her toe was amputated. I adopted a 9 year old with a foot injury that had healed wonky and made him sometimes limp (right rear). When he got to be 11 he started limping in his left front. It turned out to be related to his bad foot, on a four legged animal, a chronic injury can throw their gait off and eventually cause some strain on the opposite leg. He lived to be a very happy, active 14.4 year old. This is not something major, and it would certainly not stop me from adopting, I just wanted you to be aware so if it does show up later you would know what was going on.

Thank you very much. Something to be aware of at least. 

[Dolly81]

45 minutes ago, greysmom said:

Any pre-existing condition is problematic for insurance no matter what it is.

Do you know what the toe was amputated for?  If she broke it or it was a serial dislocator there (probably) won't be any on-going issues.  If it was amped due to corns or a kind of tumor, or some other issue there could be things you'd need to deal with in the future.  It can also take upwards of a year before the foot settles into it's post-amp configuration, and it can be tender while all the bones and ligaments are moving around.  She will limp and be protective of this foot until it feels like hers again.  Inspect the remaining toe pads for re-emerging corns as the altered gait following her surgery could cause them to form on other toes.

But in general, the whole "weight bearing toe" thing is a non-issue.  I've seen many greyhounds with *two* toes gone and they get around fine.

 

[Jerilyn]

I adopted a dog with an amputated toe. Amputated twice, actually. It all happened before I got her so details are sketchy, but it wasn’t healing properly after the first amputation. I can only guess that they didn’t take enough off, the entire toe needs to be removed, even if it was just the first joint that had the problem. She was about a month out from the second surgery when I adopted her and for another few months she would occasionally not use that leg or limp a bit. As she had more healing time that went away and it doesn’t give her any trouble now. If I were you I’d probably have a vet take a look at it to make sure the amputation was done correctly and everything looks like it’s healing up OK.

[Dolly81]

Thank you. It was a racing injury that didn’t heal well and necessitated an amputation. I did think about boots but perhaps they would be a waste of time. The dog is 6 years old.

[Dolly81]

5 hours ago, greysmom said:

Any pre-existing condition is problematic for insurance no matter what it is.

Do you know what the toe was amputated for?  If she broke it or it was a serial dislocator there (probably) won't be any on-going issues.  If it was amped due to corns or a kind of tumor, or some other issue there could be things you'd need to deal with in the future.  It can also take upwards of a year before the foot settles into it's post-amp configuration, and it can be tender while all the bones and ligaments are moving around.  She will limp and be protective of this foot until it feels like hers again.  Inspect the remaining toe pads for re-emerging corns as the altered gait following her surgery could cause them to form on other toes.

But in general, the whole "weight bearing toe" thing is a non-issue.  I've seen many greyhounds with *two* toes gone and they get around fine.

Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated.

[macoduck]

How much of the toe was removed? Just the first joint or all of them? At least 2 joints should be removed. Otherwise the nub will stay in contact with the ground, and that's something you don't want.

[racindog]

Yes I have adopted hounds) with amputated toes. TBH I am glad to see they are amputated when I adopt them because that tells me there won't be any issues or problems with a bad toe.  So many thing can go 'wrong' with a greyhound toe and it seems the majority of the time it is a chronic problem-to include pain/discomfort to the dog/until it is amputated.  Then they are well and pain free.  And BTW Aggie was 11 years old when I adopted her with her weight bearing rear toe amputated.  It seems like most of the time that people try to avoid it they wind up having to get the problem toe amputated anyway. I have no problems whatever with one that is amputated if possible and would not hesitate to have one amputated to clear a chronic painful condition that wouldn't otherwise. 

[EllenEveBaz]

Another instance of no problems with dog adopted with amputated toe.  It was an old amputation when I got her.  One of the middle toes, front leg.  Never an issue.  

[MissyB]

Hello,

Can I please get recommendations, information, etc. My dog has, what I was told, a torn tendon in his back middle toe. It's completely flat and sticks out from the others quite a bit. My options are to: do nothing, to remove the first bone (along with the nail) to shorten the toe, or to remove the toe completely. I'm leaning towards removing the first bone and nail only. Reason being that way it won't stick out to far and will hopefully help normalize his gait. I don't want trouble down the line because of this and having him trying to compensate by lifting it up sooner, etc. With that said, I don't know if that's something that might not even happen. He's 7.5 years old.

 

[MissyB]

I'm sorry, I'll post this on a separate thread. Newbie here!