puppy and his broken toe...

I tthinnnkk my puppy's pinky toe is broken . He's a 5 month old beagle and i noticed he was bleeding from his foot. i rinsed and checked closer and saw the nail was all black and pointing in a slightly different direction than the other. Then called all the vets in town because i was freaking out about what to do (first dog ever) and they said to wash it with salt water, and give him children tylenol for the pain. Then i read on the internet to wrap it in gauze which worked for about 2 minutes. Anyways, i couldnt bring him to the vet because i had absolutely no money at that time.

He wimpers when he accidentily taps his toe or something, so i know theres something wrong. But he can walk and stuff without a limp, and run around. I guess that doesnt matter much, but im just wondering what my options are here. Do i absoluelty HAVE to take him to the vet? or is there something i can do myself? If it is broken, will it like, hurt for life??? I really do want to take him to the vet but its just so expensive i dont know if i can do it; you know its christmas soon and i wont be able to buy anything for my familly. Its just the worst time ever, any help would be greeeeaatly appreciated!!!

Don't dogs have the best timing Anyway, my great dane broke his little toe when he was around 4 months old. He ran into our house full speed and caught it on a dining room chair. It was broken clean in half! I worked at the vet clinic at the time, so the cost to x-ray and put it in a cast was about $20...oh how I miss my employee discount! Anyway, he had a cast all the way up to his knee, all for a little toe! I can still hear the clicking of the cast as he would walk around on our tile floor. Okay, I guess my point is is that for that kind of fracture there are usually two options 1.) put the foot in a cast or 2.) In some more severe fractures they amputate the toe. I put my dog in a cast and he tore it to shreds every night, even with an e-collar on! I ended up just letting it heal without the cast. It was crooked and I am sure he had some arthritis in it later, but he was fine and was never lame or anything like that. I would give him some aspirin (intended for dogs) with food for a few days and limit his activity a lot if you can't take him to the vet for treatment.

He may have caught his nail on something. I also want to say though, that dogs cost money . Please put so much a month into a dog fund. It's like insurance for the future. Most of us at the end , have a lot of costs to preserve an old dog's life style and medication. Also, putting off a vet's visit because of the cost, may lead to higher costs in the long run.

Sooo if the nail did just get caught...

I understand dogs cost money. we did just get him like 2 months ago and we were going to get pet insurance but they recomended it for like middle aged dogs or something. I have so many pets and they cost a fortune but they are just so cute.
ANyways! uuuhhm, the nail getting caught somewhere, is that a good thing? I mean, compared to broken pinky. Will it like rott and fall off or heal itself? I'd never had any problems like this and i just want to get it straight.

Thanks for all the advice =))

Now I am a little lost! So, is the toe injured or is the nail broken?

I don't know ....she said the nail was pointing in a different direction. Unless she knows how the dog may have broken his toe ... I can't help. I personally don't understand you getting another dog when you can't afford them. I've never had pet insurance....I'd rather have my own " doggie fund " to save for a rainy day.

Can't agree more about the money issue. The vet I used to work for used to say "people are not entitled to a pet, they are indeed a luxury item. If you can't afford the proper care of one, don't get one." I saw so many animals euthanized because the owner could not afford treatment...

Pamzie I have a dog with a broken baby toe right now, she has been favoring it for over a week, my vet said is nothing can be done but to let it heal on it's own - if she cast it the dog would just chew it off. vet told me to keep her quiet and rest it as much as possible

I broke my own baby toe a few years back, same thing - Dr said it will heal on it's own

My rotty tore his nail a couple years ago if I remember right my vet put him on antibiotic and I soaked his foot in ebson salt twice a day for about a week Please try and get him to a vet. My brother had a rottweiler that got some kind of infection in his paw, he didnt take him to the vet and his paw rotted and he had to be put to sleep. Im not trying to scare ,you but they depend on us to take care of them..

Amen , Corso.

I was always under the assumption that Tylenol was toxic to dogs? No?

I worked at a vet clinic for a long time and never once did we recommend Tylenol! Ibuprofen is very toxic to dogs as well. You can get away with giving buffered aspirin for short periods of time as long as you know the correct dose and give it with food...