Damaged toe./Updated Thursday /Second opinion sought

Hi, i wonder if any of you have had similiar experiences or you can offer me any ideas of what i can do? As most of you probably know i work for a Vet, and as much as i trust them, sometimes i do worry that procedures are done purely because it makes money! One of my dogs, a 3y old PRT knocked up a toe when she was a puppy, it wasnt x-rayed at the time, and it settled pretty quickly. The problem is that for the past few months she seems to continually knock the toe and it is now very swollen over the joint. She is one of these dogs that does everything at 100 mph, and resting her is a completel nightmare, she leaps and jumps about even on a lead. The Vet has tried Rimadly, Metacam etc, but after she has been sleeping she limps about. When she is seen by the Vet she shows no pain, possibly she is a bit uncomfortable when they move the toe, but nothing else. Now, they are telling me they want to amputate her toe as there is no way it will heal..Any thoughts?

What is actually wrong with her toe? Is it broken now?
If not, perhaps she has something like arthritis in the joint - because it was broken.
Have you tried bandaging her foot up, so the toe stays immobile?
Have you given anything 'natural' to see if that will help? Glucosamine etc? (Syn-flex?)

If you've tried everything, then I think I would go for amputation.
My dog had a tumour on her toe, luckily they got it all out - but if they hadn't, she would have had her toe amputated.
It won't make a difference to them - won't affect balance/walking etc, and would stop any further problems.

I have her on Glucosamine/Chondroitin/Green Lipped Muscle, she is also getting Rimadly right now. They say the toe is either arthritic now, or there is severe tendon damage, because of the type of dog that she is keeping either her on the toe immobile is virtually impossible, short of keeping her in a cage and sedating her. When she was spayed, literally hours after she came round from the op, there she was leaping down the hallway..she just NEVER stops. Amputation just seems so..final. I have tried Reiki before with other dogs, and i wondered about this or, Acupuncture. I am just worried about rushing into having the toe off incase there was something i hadnt tried. She is the happiest, sweetest little dog and as much as i dont think she is in pain, i hate seeing her limping around.

You can keep a toe immobile my bandaging it, with padding - it's better than cage rest etc. May not be completely immobile, but it will take the pressure off the toe.
(I had to rest Teagan for nearly 2 months after her operations - very hard, I know!)

Deffinately try accupuncture etc if you want to - like you say, it's better than amputation.

Do you think something like Arnica Gel would help whilst the toe was bandaged?

Have never tried it myself, but I have heard Arnica is very good for healing

Hi Abbey Arnica is good for bruising but I doubt it would help in this instance if the problem is internal.

You say ''it wasn't x-rayed at the time '' has it been x-rayd since? It may be that the joint is severly damaged and painful (like a bunion in a human) and the only option to preventing pain is to remove the joint.

Remember you can always get a second opinion from another vet (which I would do) or ask for a referral to your nearest RVC small animal hospital

Hi, no the toe hasnt been xrayed, apparently the xray would only really confirm what we alrweady know..that the toe is very swollen and calloused. I notice that the limping used to be evident after she has been asleep but would wear off the more she moved around, now there is a slight to bad limp just about all the time. I suppose i know deep down that amputation of the toe in her case is probably the best thing, but i am just worried about having it done. We go away to America in 7w time, i'm not sure whether to opt to have it done before we go, or if there wouldnt be enough time for healing if something went wrong. I'd far rather have something wrong with myself that the dogs..

Abbey maybe you could wait and have it done on your return from the USA ?
Talk to your vet about the urgency of an operation

That's what i was wondering too...she is staying with my friend whilst we are away at her stables, and i dont want to risk any chance of infection in a wound that is maybe not healing so well..If it was one of the other dogs, they would be more sensible and would stay clam, but Holly has springs instead of feet!