Dog needs to have toe amputated.. Any vets in the house?

[totalnoob]

.......

 

[classy]

Huh? What did the vet say? You come on a forum board to ask a question that you should have posed to the vet while you were talking to him. Your a dumb owner and insensitive as well. You don't ask a bunch of strangers their opinion on putting down your family pet.

 

[amdhunter]

My dog needed his nuts cut off because of an enlarged prostate when he was 9 and in really bad shape (he was super fat.) He did ok with it.
It wasn't until much later (2-3 years) when he got fatter that his health finally got the best of him.

A toe shouldn't really bother your dog much, especially if he is in OK enough health.

EDIT: I saw your dog is much older. I'd still go with the surgery. I remember when we thought our old German Shepard was going to die from old age and it took 3 years more for him to go. You never know...

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

What does your vet say?

 

[Capt Caveman]

I would recommend finding a pet forum to ask the question, there is probably a lab forum where folks can give you better info and have gone thru the same experience.

Personally, I think he'll recover fine and make him much happier during his remaining time. If it was major internal surgery, then I would be concerned about his standard of life.

Also, you could seek a second opinion from another vet.

Good luck!

 

[Azraele]

It shouldn't be a problem provided he's healthy otherwise. Will there be pain after the surgery? Of course, but it won't be long lasting and the vet can medicate for it.

 

[totalnoob]

You don't ask a bunch of strangers their opinion on putting down your family pet.

Did you read the title? I was asking any veterinarians who happen to browse this forum for their opinions/experience. I'm talking to my vet next week as well but wanted as much input as possible.

To everyone else, thanks for the answers.

 

[DrPizza]

Toe amputation for a dog? Pretty trivial procedure. He'll be up in no time. My lab is 16 years old & except for some cloudiness in his eyes, is still going quite strong with no signs of "feeling old."

 

[ElFenix]

my cat had a whole leg lopped off due to a tumor on her heel and was a normal cat the next day. a toe? i'll bet your dog hardly notices.

 

[Miramonti]

Huh? What did the vet say? You come on a forum board to ask a question that you should have posed to the vet while you were talking to him. Your a dumb owner and insensitive as well. You don't ask a bunch of strangers their opinion on putting down your family pet.

Is your head up your @ss or just your @ss fitting well over your head...did you happen to notice this is the "Social" section of the board? Anti-social is ----------->>>> that way.

Holy crap let's bring baggage with all our problems of the world wherever we go.


I don't think your dog will notice much...he's probably in a lot of pain as it is and this will relieve him. It's not unheard of for dogs to lose toes.

 

[Eli]

Wait, you would put your dog down rather than have his toe amputated!? The hell is wrong with you?

The whole compassion for animals is nice and all, but I've always felt weird about putting animals down. I don't know about you, but I don't like to play God with things I love. To me, a vet saying that an animal needs to be put down is the same as a doctor saying someone with cancer has 2 months to live. Really? As with all things, it isn't black and white. I understand there are circumstances in which it would be "humane" to kill the animal. IMO, these are few and far between.. and having a toe amputated is definitely not one of them.

I'm pretty sure no vet would recommend euthanasia as opposed to a toe amputation. And if they did, I would grab my dog and walk straight out the door.

In short, if all your dog needs is a toe amputation, he will be fine. Think of it this way - he's probably in more pain now than he will be after the wacked out toe is removed. If your dog is a dumbass, he may not even notice. lol

 

[0roo0roo]

japanese mafia take off fingers for disappointing their boss.
so its not that bad

 

[sygyzy]

Wait, you would put your dog down rather than have his toe amputated!? The hell is wrong with you?

The whole compassion for animals is nice and all, but I've always felt weird about putting animals down.

It's funny that when you say "compassion" for animals, you mean putting them down whereas other (most) people would mean keeping them alive. The OP's dog is a large breed and old. He is asking if the dog will suffer as a result of the surgery. I think putting the dog down is a valid option.

At what point would you put your dog down? Would you pay $10k to save a dog that has 1-2 years to live? Many people do. I think that's crazy.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Personally I think he'll get through it fine. If you're that worried and the toe isn't bothering him at all then leave it. "Might have a tumor" is easy to confirm with an X-ray.

I dunno... Confirm if there's really a tumor first. If not and the toe doesn't bother him don't do it. If it is a tumor or the toe is really slowing him down then take it off.

 

[Gooberlx2]

He'll probably be fine. Dogs recover really well from amputated legs, much less toes.

 

[DrPizza]

Why bother though (confirming that it's definitely cancer; 2 posts up) - there's something wrong with the toe. Diagnostic tests to verify that it's cancer may even cost more than the surgery itself to have the toe removed. Why risk doubling the cost when it's something so trivial? Something's wrong with the toe; having it removed is a very low risk procedure, vs. spending a ton of money figuring out precisely what's wrong with the toe.

 

[ElFenix]

Why bother though (confirming that it's definitely cancer; 2 posts up) - there's something wrong with the toe. Diagnostic tests to verify that it's cancer may even cost more than the surgery itself to have the toe removed. Why risk doubling the cost when it's something so trivial? Something's wrong with the toe; having it removed is a very low risk procedure, vs. spending a ton of money figuring out precisely what's wrong with the toe.

you would want to test it to make sure the vet got all of any tumor

 

[DrPizza]

you would want to test it to make sure the vet got all of any tumor

Why? Do you mean that in case the tumor had metastasized? If that's the case, then all the testing is going to do is let you spend a lot more money to know that your dog's illness is terminal.