i never thought this would happen?
 

toby my lab in oct of 2009 while we were hunting grouse acted like he hurt his front paw.
over years this happens to all of us while hunting.
so i got home and gave him baby aspirin.day or so later he was walking fine but licking his paw.
i looked at the paw and saw that one on his toe nails on toe was bro off.this has happen on dogs i owned for 46 yrs .its normal in woods hunting.
so he licked it on and off and i thought it was just nail exposing the quick.
i then smelled his paw last week, it had funny smell to it and looked like it was swollen.
black labs toes are hard to see difference from each other but it looked bigger than others.so i made appt with vet and went with toby.
vet first asked HOW OLD IS TOBY.i said 7 yrs old.he said BLACK LABS GET TUMORS IN THEIR TOES over 7 yrs old.
i was shocked to hear that.he took no test just squeezed the toe.he said,SPROUL I CAN FEEL SOMETHING HARD INSIDE TOBYS TOE.
next comment almost made me throw up.he said SPROUL I HAVE TO TAKE TOBYS WHOLE TOE OFF BACK TO FOOT.:jaw:
I WAS JUST SICK, I ALMOST PASSED OUT.without testing he is almost sure toby has SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA OF DIGIT..
the digit is the TOE.
he said BLACK LABS get this and it can be on any toe..it can spread and go into other parts of organs etc.
i now feel bad i did not take him to vet in oct but i thought it was sore foot from nail breaking.
vet said, SPROUL WHEN A DOGS NAILS START TO BREAK OFF THATS A SIGN HE HAS SOMETHING INSIDE HIS TOE.they get brittle.
it was always that toe that nail bro off on .
i was ready to cry.dad is sick and now this,what next?

reason i put this on i may have risked tobys life by not getting to vet sooner.if this cancer is threw him he will need chemotherapy.8 months ago he started getting tumors ,2 on his side. vet said that they were just FATTY TUMORS,no worry.i believe that then cancer was showing itself.
those same TUMORS are getting bigger...
operation/testing will cost 1,000 dollars.then ,i hope not that it is threw him ..if so, he will need to go to cancer center.

what shock i had,i feel so bad for not getting him to vet sooner

take care sproul

Sproulman, Dont beat yourself up over it. Theres been a few times I wish I would have gotten my dog to the vet sooner but, Most times things like that are what they appear.
I did loose a dog to cancer last spring. Like your pup she had some lumps that the vet said were- Just fatty tumers. Sure wish I could find a working crystal ball.

I did start a thread on Helping cure cancer in dogs. Please pass that info on to your vet. There's some really smart people there trying to do some good for are K9 friends.

toby the lab
 

toby had his toe or DIGIT removed. they sent it to oncologist for testing.there is 3 stages of this.1 is it was benign and toby should live 5 yrs.2 is if he has cancer with radiation/chemo he could live up to 5 yrs ,26 months is area of to watch.
3 if its in lungs on lympohs its around 1 year .

3 stages.
i am hoping that its stage 1.toby is doing real good walking. first day he fell a lot but now he is doing much better.
here is another one. BLACK LABS get this more than yellow labs.
vet said he had a black lab that had 3 digets removed, 1 on each foot.
also outside toes are better to remove than the 2 inside ones. the inside toes are weight bearing ones.tobys was front inside toe or no. 3 .dewclaw is also toe ,no.1.
my next hunting american lab i believe i will get insurance.vet bills today are very expensive.

5 weeks of radiation is 4,000 dollars.3 times a week.vet felt sorry for toby and knocked 160 dollars off bill .he has 3 labs ......

so, thats where toby is now.
thanks for PM ,its nice to know you have friends on here.

take care sproul...........

I am sorry to hear about Toby Sproul.. I had missed this thread some how. My wife and I had a black lab that had the fatty tumors on her side. She was at the vets a few times ti have them removed. They were never tested and she lived to be a ripe old age of 17yrs. So the fatty tumors never really bother her none. I hope this turns out to be the case with Toby for you. The vet also told us the average age for a lab is around 9 yrs.. So I think you are taking good care of Toby and I am guessing he will continue to live quite a few more years as well.
I also hope that your dad is doing better as I know that gets hard to do as well.
Take care of yourself...

Sproul, I have a 9 year old weimaraner. Last fall we had to remove one of his "inner" toes. We, along with the vet5 thought it may be a form of cancer, so it was monitored very closely. Everything has been clearl and no further problems in that area ( touch wood ). I had also been a bit concerned about lumps on his side near the chest area. The vet did a biopsy of these and they were found to be fatty tissue. Because they didn't azppear to be causing him trouble the vet advised to just leave them alone. Today he is like a pup. Running and cavorting with the neighboours dog ( an 11 year old black lab ).

I hope it all turns out well for you, as I am susre it will. Good luck to Toby.

toby
 

Sorry to hear about Toby. My setter who turns 5 at the end of march also developed a .25" fatty tumor on her right side. Vet tested it and confirmed it, non-benign. A friend has a lab mix, and he's spent 7K on his dog, operated on both shoulders. That's when I decided to get insurance.

After looking around, Pets Best is the one I chose. $20/month for 80% of all cost and they are backed by one of the largest insurance companies.

Good luck with Toby, I'm sure he won't notice it when out hunting.

most of tumors from what vet said are fatty ones. boy, some dogs they are big as tennis ball.boxers are very bad on tumors,my sisters boxers had them all over.

does insurance cover regular visits and like dental cleanings.toby had his teeth cleaned 2 times in 7 years.
i guess you have to get it when they are puppy.
i was planning to get another dog around time toby would be unable to hunt grouse.

those setters are great grouse dogs.my sisters boxer cost her 660 dollars just for tests last week.they then said it was old age, at 12 yrs old i guess boxer is old.

take care all........

My pet insurance is mainly catastrophic insurance. If sick or accidents then it kicks in and will pay 80% of cost. I have to pay first and they reimburst me. This is how most pet insurance work. They also don't cover pre-existing conditions or hereditary illnesses like Crucial Ligament injuries in labs. Some do cover them.

Any routine care is not covered by the plan I chose. There are additional riders you can buy that will cover those like teeth cleaning, physical, etc. That stuff I can usually do myself as I have a few friends that are vet techs. +1 reason to go to neighborhood dog parks.

PetsBest is just one insurance company. There's several more; VPI, Embrace, AKC insurance, etc. spend an hour and research the best for you and then decide if you really need it. Some vets will recommend not getting insurance (A vet recommended not to get insurance to my a friend, later his dachshund broke his back. He spend 4K in vet bills).

update
 

toby pulled his bandage off today, i guess it itched.i was shocked to see the vet took off 2 digets not 3 digets.take your finger and count first joint as diget,next is diget and last is diget which is into foot.

boy, it looks awful missing.this is his weight bearing toes and he is limping on it.i may have to get a hunting boot for toby to wear from now on for support, dont know yet but i think i will do it.
so far he is getting around but limps after about 10 minutes on foot.
other than that his test on toe will be tuesday,hoping it will be benign or stage 1 at most.
take care sproul...........

I'm pulling for ya Toby. Hopeing for a benign outcome. As far as losing some of his toes, you will probably be surprised at how well he gets around with out them after it heels.

boy, last night he wiggled his missing toe at me .oh my......
do you think he needs to wear a hunting boot on that foot ?

(quote) do you think he needs to wear a hunting boot on that foot ?

With out seeing it I would say yes. Missing a middle diget, seams like a lot of things could get in there and cause some discomfort.

How did the test come out? Benign I hope.

boot will be bought for toby for grouse in fall.do you think he needs both on front or just put 1 on missing toe foot?

yes, great day it was BENIGN TUMOR in nailbed.vet said he still had to take toe off because it would keep getting infected or sore.
it was called a MELANOCYTOMA.........boy after reading what a dog goes thru on RADIATION ,i am real pleased toby does not need that.
he is doing fine ,2 days ago he was jumping all over and swam the river,i could not control him......2 weeks of doing nothing was hard on him.

thanks for concern, nice to know you have friends.
sproul.................

:party: Benign, Thats AWSOME news Sproulman. Congrats Toby.


As far as boots go. Not a big fan of them, But they are neccesary now and then.
I have been using Ultra Paws Rugged Dog boots. Check them out on there web site. I have a pair I got pack from gundogsupply that need any more. If Toby needs the large size I'll make you a good deal on them.

that sounds good.i am dealing with co. in IRELAND.you believe that.they make special order boots for dogs without a toe.i have not heard back from them yet.you have to measure everything on tobys foot,then they make the boot for that foot.i dont know if they do it for both feet, i think only for one with toe missing.
i think toby needs boot to HELP with support.with that load bearing toe missing it really spreads his toes apart.having a boot i think will add support in that area,maybe not.

i am waiting for phone call.............

toby
 

toby is getting around good but without the WEIGHT BEARING TOE he slips a lot running and cant turn on dime like he used too.

NO DOUBT I HAVE TO GET BOOT FOR THAT FOOT.

Don't forget the socks. Hey, most won't understand; its a fashion thing! :)

:jaw:......................

Hey sproul, I am glad to here that Toby is doing alright with his missing toe..

YES, THANKS.he slips a lot more than before so i need to get boot for that foot.

missing toe on front paw
 

just update,. toby is running fine with missing toe.i will know better in oct hunting grouse but it looks real good .no limping now.

I am glad to hear Toby is adapting well. It is amazing what they can go through. He could have had his whole leg amputated and he'd still hunt as hard as before. I had a sharpei mix that came down with tongue cancer. Had the tumor removed and he was receiving experimental treatments from the univ. of Wisc and then the tumore grew back like an ice berg under the surface. Had the tumor removed again and then 2 weeks later he wouldn't drink and was in severe pain. It was time and we had him put to sleep. It sucks, not because it cost over $5,000 but because he had suffered needlessly for the last 2 months of his life because the vets gave false hope for what I believe was nothing more than medical research.

how are ya.my sister just paid 700 dollars for vet to tell her that her daughters dog is not going to be around long.
she just cant understand when its time and WONT listen to me.

she has to pay vet to tell her becauise he is good looking to her, unreal.but its her and i cant change it.her last dog was falling and not drinking, i said kay your dog is dying.she goT mad at ole sproul.

she said, VET WILL HELP HIM in a mean tone to me.well she paid 900 dollars on that one to only have good looking vet tell her,KAY YOUR DOG IS DYING.

I'm good Sproul, not been around much.

Yeah, I think the dog's sometimes hold on so long because they know we want them to because it's what is best for us. There is nothing in the world like a dog's love and loyalty.