Dog has swollen toe?

Question

My dog has a swollen toe. The vet found it to be a very hard growth which he suspects could be cancerous. The vet injected an anti-inflammatory with prednisalone. Hopefully the swelling should subside. If not we have to do a biopsy to ascertain if the growth is cancerous. Could it be as serious as the vet suspects? Or could it be something different like artheristis or some bone defect? An X-ray was taken but we did not find any fractures either

Answer 1

If it was arthritis or bone defect it would show up on an x-ray. If you are doubting your Vets answer go to another vet for a second opinion. Good Luck KG

Answer 2

We just had this same situation with our little hound dog. At first, we thought something, like a splinter, had gotten in her toe, but it didn't seem sore, just swollen.

We had a biopsy done (and an x-ray to absolutely rule out a foreign object in the toe), and it was a fungal infection inside the toe. She had to have surgery to remove it, which also removed about half of her toe, a few months ago. Now she's running around like nothing every happened!

Here's a couple of tips we figured out...

1) Keeping the after-surgery wound clean. I don't know how big your dog is (ours is abotu 30 pounds). We found cotton baby socks worked great over her dressing to keep her foot clean. You can buy a bitter apple spray in the pet store (look for the ones used to keep dogs from chewing on hot spots) - spray the sock and let it dry (we'd do a few at a time so there was always one hand) before putting it over the bandages.

2) Pain pills. Some vets will tell you dogs don't need pain meds after surgery, but many dogs don't like to show pain. Get a few for after the surgery. If you see your dog panting a lot (one sign of doggy distress), give your dog half the recommended dosage and see if s/he relaxes. Keeping the pain down is part of the key to keeping your dog from licking the wound and infecting it.

You want the biopsy to look for multiple possible causes, not just cancer - that's how ours determined it was a fungal infection (she'd been digging after a mouse and cut her toe, but it wasn't visible). With good after-surgery care, your dog can recover just fine. Good luck!

Answer 3

How long ago was the anti-inflamitory given?
Your vet should have done the biopsy right then and there.
If he suspects it's cancerous..He should have the brains to run any test he can.

If I were you, hun..I'd take my dog to another vet. For the sake of your dog.

Answer 4

I had exactly the same thing happen to my dog..it turned out to be a grass seed...but trust you Vet he will do all that's needed and will quickly work out what it is...in the mean time try no to worry you can`t do more than you are.

Answer 5

In my opinion, just like a doctor I would get a second opinion. That way you can be more confident in your decision about the little guy.

Answer 6

I say have them amputate his lil toe... Sorry