what would you do ?

[BOSS HOG]

so i was roading my mutts the other day and accidently ran one over , i took her straight to the vet even though it was after hours. they took some xrays and said all four toes on her right rear foot were broke. they gave her some pain killers / antibotics and put a splint on it with a $800 bill. then they told me she might need pins and plates put in to "properly correct the problem" and that cost $2900, which is not really an option for me. has anyone else done this ? what would happen if i dont do it and they heal crooked will affect her hunting ?

[dubl_t]

Man I'm sorry, that's one of the worse feelings in the world. I ran over my JRT and wasn't so fortunate, she passed.

My wife had a min-pin that kept breaking it's leg in the same spot. Long story short we couldn't afford the "recommended" procedure and gave Toby to a rescue agency that could. In hindsight I should've made him a tri-pod from the start.

I can't answer your performance question, just suggest you get more vet opinions and weigh each carefully.

[come-hunt]

Greyhounds and birddogs break their toes all the time by running to hard over uneven ground and I would imagine hounds do the same.I would just put it on the D.L. for about 6 weeks and then go back to hunting like it never happened . A dog can get by where a people wouldn't or couldn't. Maybe give the dog an aspirin a day for awhile but don't over do it. They are tougher than the dickens.

[TomJr]

I would let it heal as is, try to keep her off it as much as you can for the first two or three weeks and don't let her run hard for at least 2 months. Dogs are tuff and even if it don't heal to 100% she has 3 other legs to compensate with.

I have had a few dogs get broken toes.. not all at once but they healed up without much down time and no visit to the vet. Its hard to keep toes in a splint as most don't like thier feet messed with. So I just tried to give them alot of down time by keeping them penned up so they don't get too excited.

[Redwood Coonhounds]

I have one that just came off puppies, and she'd been down 2 months pregnant, and 4 weeks with the pups, and wouldn't ya know it, first time out she broke one of her front toes. I have just been letting her rest and giving her a pain med/anti-inflamatory during the week. I took her hunting 3 times this past weekend, friday night, saturday morning, and sunday morning. (she broke it the sunday before) and she made every race/tree. In the mornings she seemed a little sensitive about it, but after hunting, even at home, she was running around like its fine. She acts to me like she's gotten used to it.

I would just leave yours in the kennel for 6 weeks and see what happens. Working at a Vets ofice, I can tell you, splinting is unnessassary and a pain in the ass.

[kickemall]

I agree with all the above about laying her up until it heals then start her back slow. For me, if it doesn't heal correctly and affects her performance, providing I don't want pups out of her, then I would cull her. Tough thing to have happen.

[shawn cole]

i think she will be fine with rest like most said i had a bluetick get hit by a van two winters ago it broke her front shoulder and back leg (didnt even no about the back leg till i noticed her holding it up one day months later) anyway three days later she was outside of my house going to the bathroom when i heard her bawling away went out and there sat my womans cat up the lilac tree i gave her to a buddy and she is bred right now about two weeks off and she has been running the chain so bad she is hard to keep weight on i dont think it should bother her too much but let her tell you when she is ready

[desertdog]

I agree with the rest, kennel the dog and keep her quiet. I had a limping dog I took to the vet. He xrayed him and said his toe was misaligned, said he could do surgery, but, "lets try a splint first". He put the splint on(360.00 bucks), and I took him home and put him in the yard. One hour later I looked out and the dog had pulled the splint off and eaten half of it. He limped for about three more days and was fine after that. Sometimes i wonder about Vets..

[kordog]

has anyone ever checked to see if vehicle insurance would cover it.sorry for your situation, and the dogs.2900 on top of the 800 sure is a hard pill to swallow .i assume the foot was crushed not like just breaking a toe . in my opinion exspecting a full recovery to 100 percent isnt likely without the surgery or even with it to be realistic.dogs are tough and can surprisingly do things operating at less than 100 percent .so what you have to ask yourself is can you live with a dog that isnt what it was to be rational.you have a hard decision to make ,and i would have to be in your shoes to make the decision. good luck!

[farmmmman]

call me mean, but i dont think hounds are worth thousands of dollars to fix and even then they mite not b theirselves again. i wld say see if she heals on her own if not...theres always a gun around. i just feel that you could replace a hound for the $4000 you spend to keep one thats hurt around.

[coastrangecathunting]

got a female from a guy that ran over her foot. she was fine, after a hard race she would hold it up but once she smelled a cat it was fine.

jc

[BOSS HOG]

kordog, surpisingly no it was not crushed it broke all four bones just above the toes straight across the foot , all clean breaks just in a bad spot the reason they recommended surgery was the two middle toes were not aligned

[kordog]

i think there is some hope for the dog then best of luck. kordog

[houndnem]

my best dog broke those same bones as a pup trying to jump off the flat bet and got caught. vets and everybody told me the same thing. I did get it cast, but that's it and she never missed a beat in 7 years. I wish you the same luck with yours, jared.

[live_two_hunt]

I agree with the rest. Tough luck, best of wishes though.

You may have already tried this but, as far as dealing with vets goes, sometimes it helps to be up front with them. Remember, they're animal lovers, hounds included.... so, when they hear that you might cull your hound instead paying a bill that you can't afford they will sometimes backtrack a little and give you a much more reasonable price.....