# Puppy toe caught between door



## SeaEO (Jul 1, 2016)

my zoomie 9 week old ran towards the door (behind me) and placed his paw on the sill as I was closing it. The result was a yelp and and a trip to the vet immediately. He separated His 3rd (distal) toe from the growth plate. 

Like for human stuff, I'm googling stuff and I keep coming across amputation. I can't bare the thought of this. Poor puppy. I'm heartbroken. 

He has a splint currently. Any experience similar to mine and what was outcome/heal time ?


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

An orthopedic vet will be best suited to answer this question. Seek one out if you are uncomfortable with the treatment your vet has suggested


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I agree with organicthoughts. 
Not the same as yours, but have had a couple of scares with mine. I've always felt better after having a orthopedic vet ease my mind. 
The Internet can scare the **** out of you. I've spent a lot of time, and money learning this. Most of the time it's not bad, unless a specialist tells you it's bad. 

I can't remember which members pup broke a toe. Maybe they will see this, and add their experience.


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## nymeria (Jan 18, 2016)

It was my puppy, Mia, that broke a toe at 5 months. I still don't really know how she did it, as she was just walking around the backyard. I think she got it caught in a hole (that she probably dug - it was nighttime). 

I highly recommend taking your pup to an orthopedic vet. Although her regular vet did an x-ray and splinted it, it wasn't set properly. The orthopedic vet set it and splinted it, and also addressed my concerns about my puppy's bone density. I was so worried that something was wrong with her development and bone growth because she was barely moving around when she broke her toe. 

I felt a hundred times better after I visited the orthopedic vet. They see these kinds of injuries all the time, whereas a regular vet doesn't, and the reassurance of someone who's got a lot of experience with the particular injury my pup had really put my mind at ease.


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## cuddlebuglove (Apr 27, 2014)

I agree with everyone else. Please keep us informed. Praying for NO amputation! I would get 3rd opinions if necessary. Are you near a Vet University? They keep up with cutting edge technology and care.

Cuddles to you both.


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## Ksana (Mar 30, 2013)

SeaEO said:


> my zoomie 9 week old ran towards the door (behind me) and placed his paw on the sill as I was closing it. The result was a yelp and and a trip to the vet immediately. He separated His 3rd (distal) toe from the growth plate.
> 
> Like for human stuff, I'm googling stuff and I keep coming across amputation. I can't bare the thought of this. Poor puppy. I'm heartbroken.
> 
> He has a splint currently. Any experience similar to mine and what was outcome/heal time ?


So sorry to hear about your pup. Sending my prayers.


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## SeaEO (Jul 1, 2016)

Appreciate all the support and responses. Going to get another x-ray this week. Hopefully he'll get the ok to move on! He sure wants that cast off !


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## cuddlebuglove (Apr 27, 2014)

Thank you for keeping us informed. Hope all goes well.


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## SeaEO (Jul 1, 2016)

So just a quick update...

I went to two orthopedic vets. First one said it was ligament damage and no splint needed. She used the x-ray's vet took. I found it to be strange she didn't say it was a break.

I went to the second orthopedic vet, and she took additional x-ray's and it confirmed there was a fracture on the 3rd phal (distal). She suggested another week of splint and down time and then take another x-ray to see healing process. I asked about amputation (being worse case scenario since it's a weight baring toe) but she said we weren't there yet and we have to see how it heals first.

Unfortunately she did say surgery wouldn't be an option now or in the future. So it's basically going to heal and he'll be OK or amputation in a few months. 

Keeping him calm is a mission. but he's in his crate most of the day. Poor guy.

Again if anyone has any experience with above, I'd love to hear from you.


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## nymeria (Jan 18, 2016)

The toe my puppy broke was also a weight-bearing toe. The orthopedic vet initially indicated that she'd be splinted for at least 3 weeks, after which they'd do another x-ray to re-evaluate. At that point, it was healing very nicely but you could clearly see that it wasn't entirely healed, so she was splinted for another 2 weeks or so. Then the splint came off, and it was about another 3-4 days before she was walking normally. She favored the leg with the broken toe and limped around in that time. 

It was a tough 6 weeks. The orthopedic vet told us it was important that we not exercise her. He'd set the bone properly but until it was healed it was still very vulnerable. Unfortunately, we had to sedate her during that time. I hated to do it, and I did try not to use the medication they gave me, but she was absolutely miserable and it would have been impossible to keep her inactive enough without it. I felt like I had to do it to preserve her long-term health. I walked her for no more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, at a very slow pace, and mostly just to potty. We did a lot of car ride and visits to the park and other places where she could sniff the outdoors but not move around too much. I also invested in a lot of puzzle toys to try and keep her mentally challenged. 

You would never know that she had a broken toe now. There's not the slightest lingering effect from it. Maybe we'd have had the same outcome even if we hadn't been so careful with her during her healing process, but I think that was important.


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## cuddlebuglove (Apr 27, 2014)

Thank you for the uupdate; still in prayer for you and the pups. Hopefully, no amputation!


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## SeaEO (Jul 1, 2016)

Final update:

Our Vizsla Pup is back to normal. I'm posting this just in case someone in the future has a similar experience like mine and this can serve as a calming. 

It took a lot of crate time and and strong will to avoid any playing or jumping but it paid off. In three weeks he had his splint removed and started to recover. He had a yeast infection from the splint, even though it was changed every 2-3 days! I highly recommend just keeping it clean and an eye on it. By the way, the puppy wasn't allowed to go outside at all with his splint to avoid any water/dirt. He went potty in his faux grass pad inside.

The yeast infection went away in about 4 days with medicated cream 2x a day.

His paw was very flat after the 3 weeks of splinting, so we took him for long walks on pavement and swimming! The swimming definitely helped tighten those muscles. 

His paw is not night and firm and he's a normal pup!

Thanks everyone for the support and watch out for those toes !


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