My friends bitch (large breed) had an emergency section last night and one of the male pups was born with a deformed foot, he has just the four front toes which are smaller than the other foot, but there is no skin on it at all.  The vet said to take the pup home and give it a few days to see how she feels about letting it grow and seeing if the foot scars.  The dog will always have a limp and no fur on that foot but could have a good life.  Alternatively she suggested putting him to sleep now rather than have heartache in the weeks to come if he is unable to walk on it.

She is torn with what to do, he is a lovely male but does anyone have any experience of this working out ok?

Well I know someone who has a  dog with a deformed foot. He lives a fine life. He can't go for a walk without a boot on because his foot gets sore and he does sort of hop skip and jump rather than walk but hes happy enough :)

Aww bless her ( and pup ) :( ....must be horrible!!! sorry i realy dont know what id do ,and dont know of any1 that its happend too x

Hi i have a friend with a dog who was born with a deformed leg.... She kept him, he did have to have the lower part of his leg removed, however he is fantastic 4 years old now and has absolutely no problems whatsoever.

The sire is approx 11 stone in weight, which is a worry because if the pup grows to the size of his dad, is it possible for such a large dog to manage on just 3 legs.

Ive suggested she give it until saturday and go back to the vet with him and see what they say, hes such a little cutie though and is feeding well. So unfair for him. Mum isnt paying any attention to him at the moment so thankfully isnt licking it, there are 11 pups and due to the section she is a bit overwhelmed by it all.  

To be honest with 10 other pups to rear and find perfect homes for I would probably have asked the vet to put this little one to sleep.

has hard as it would be to make ,i have to agree with tigger2 here ,i wouldnt like to think he may suffer when older if could to be that big :( x

what an awful thing for your friend to have to decide. poor puppy. i think i may have to agree with tigger2 as well. as hard as it is, there may also be another deformity (not sure on spelling) that you are unable to see right now. sometimes you have to let your head decide over your heart.
thinking of your friend at this difficult time

xx

Wow - what a decision to have to make.  It would be easier for me, as I don't breed large dogs.  And, I guess, as I know that dogs cope extremely well on 3 legs, I would keep pup myself, have it neutered, and decide on amputation at a later date.

But, that's easy for me - small dogs and small litters.  The potential adult weight would be a huge concern, and, as others have remarked, this is a lot of pups for mum to rear.  If she isn't interested in the pup, it does make you wonder if she knows something that we don't.  It is so often the case isn't it?   I think, in your friends position, I would go with my vets opinion and advice.

Not an easy call is it?  Good luck.

Back or front leg?  We had a Pom who was born with a deformed leg (must have been curled up tightly in it's bag and the leg grew in the position of the way it was curled up) and she coped fantastically, though we did keep her.  Sadly she did only live 3 years so sure that there was something going on and that the deformity was a warning.

> We had a Pom who was born with a deformed leg (must have been curled up tightly in it's bag

That is very interesting.  Many years ago, I had a guinea pig born with a curled up front leg.  I assumed that it was from the way the pig was cramped up in the womb.  Obviously, they are born much more fully developed than dogs.  Milk teeth shed in the womb, ready to run around etc.

I had this little piglet out on a towel in the living room twice a day, massaging the foot down into the correct position.  When I had finished, my toy poodle would get hold of the towel, and pull it round the house, taking piglet for a ride.

He was very upset when it eventually got off the towel, and walked properly!  It did take a long while, but it worked!  :-)

It is his front left paw, i am going with her to the vets in an hour, they need to check mum over so said they would have another look at him so we shall see what the vet says.  I havent looked at it in great detail and it makes me want to cry for the poor thing but i will have a proper look today.  She will keep him if he can survive, its more a case of not putting him through unnecessary suffering.  Ill update what they say in a while, fingers crossed something can be done for him.

speaking as someone who does have giant breeds and has had an amputee i can safely say pts now before attached!!! Front leg probs in giants are not equal to high quality of life.

any news?what did the vet say?

Hi all,

The foot looks a lot better than when first born, it has started scarring rather than being all flesh, he also has a few of his nails coming through.  The vet didnt want to pts as said he may be ok and wants to see him again next friday.  Because the foots smaller i cant make out whether the leg is smaller too, am i able to post a picture on here so you can give me your opinions?

Although my friend agrees with me that she cant have a large male with 3 feet, she just wants to trust the vet and not give up hope!

if it were me id do everything i could to save him first than after you've done all you can then its time to re think.i would'nt ever just pts because of a condition that could be saved.ask admin if you can post the link i dont know about picture posting.xx