Seven's Toe Amputation

Seven's toe was amputated on June 14th.  I painted the nail so the vet would definitely amputate the correct one since it was not otherwise obvious.

Surgery went well, but her nails were not cut as short as I had wanted while she was asleep.

During Riley's toe surgery a couple of years ago, the vet cut the nails on the same foot very short to take the pressure off of the toes and especially off of the toe that had been injured.  It was a bit of a pain in the butt initially. The nails bled off and on for a several weeks, but eventually they grew a little and I have since been able to keep them very short which has helped keep her foot sound.

So I was hoping for the same scenario for Seven.  However, the remaining middle toe was not cut as short as I wanted. That was the toe I really wanted to try and protect since it will likely breakdown and get flat over time.  The one nail that was cut super short is on the side and nearly a month later she is still limping from it.

Thankfully it is summer time, so I have been swimming Seven 2 or 3 times a week.Such a great way to exercise a foot sore dog.  We have some lake spots very close to the house.  I had not swam Seven much before, but she is very funny. She is the most awful swimmer!

Despite all of her effort, you have to keep your hand under her belly so her rear end does not sink. All my other hounds were able to keep level. She was very happy to try her hardest for treats.... so much so that during our first session (we were in a pool) she came back down the ramp and tried to swim to me when I was working one of the other dogs. Very adorable!  So now I swim her with a life jacket and that keeps her level so she can actually swim and not just tread water.