Back toe on my Basenji

[Branch]

Has anyone on this Basenji forum ever had to have a toe on there Basenji removed? My little guy, now age 12, has a somewhat black toenail on his back paw. I had the vet look at it and he tells me this is sort of like melanoma that humans get, although rare in dogs. He is advising me to have the toe removed rather quickly! Any information is helpful!

[BLMbasenjis]

Get in contact with Ashiki Basenji's in Norway - their male Basenji had to have a toe removed. You'll find them on both Facebook and Instagram.

[Ember the Basenji]

I have a tri colour basenji who had two of her front nails turn partially black a couple of years ago. I googled it and found that it is common with tri colour dogs to have their nail colour change to black. She has had no issues with it aside from the colour change.

[Branch]

Hi and thank you for response, but Rickie is the tan and white version.

[Branch]

@blmbasenjis
Hi, not on facebook or instagram.Can u tell me why toes had to be removed?

[DonC]

I am not knowledgeable about cancer of the toe in dogs. However, if it's similar to melanoma then it's quite serious and you don't want to wait. However, personally, even if I trusted the vet I'd try and see a speciality vet ASAP, assuming that is possible.

A couple of reasons for this. One is you want a second opinion and better to get one from an oncologist who specialized in the field. There are obvious questions. Is surgery the preferred course? Should it be followed by radiation or chemo therapy? (I wouldn't expect my primary to treat cancer and it's not all that different in dogs). Second is that if surgery is the preferred option, then, as is the case with surgery in humans -- you want to go somewhere where they do several a week rather than two a year. For surgery nothing beats practice.

[BLMbasenjis]

@branch he had a freak accident off leash, I belive. And, broke part of the toe/nail, and it would never heal. He's perfectly okay now, and doesn't seem fazed by the lack of one toe on one paw.

[DebraDownSouth]

Cancer in the bone can spread fast. Get 2nd specialist attention asap and go with recommendations. Dog might be fine, but waiting might mean death. Get expert infi and adt

[B5004EVER]

Had a similar thing happen with a rabbit I had. Osteosarcoma of the toe. It's rare but I agree with all other posters, you should have it taken care of ASAP.

[Patty]

Check with a specialist about the tumour. Is it definitely contained in the toe? If it's spread I wouldn't have it cut into as I feel that this can set off increased growth. As to having a toe removed, one of my bitches had a toe on her front foot removed because it was badly damaged. The vet said that she would always limp but she was back in the show ring after the operation and not one judge she went under noticed the missing toe! She moved as perfectly as ever.