Puppy With Split Toe

Dog Question: My sister's labrador just had puppies Saturday night. The puppies's father is a german shepard. One of the puppies has a toe that's separated/split from the others; defiantely not as attached to the rest of the foot as it should be. It's the outer toe on one of the front paws (I can;t remember which right now). Our friend called it a "pig footed" dog because of the foot's more cloven like appearence and was saying he didn't think the puppy would ever walk-at least not normally. He was hinting that the puppy should be put to sleep. I find that competely out of the question. I was searching online and couldn't find anything about a condition like this. I also don't see why the puppy would have problems getting around. Even dogs with three legs move around just fine.

Is this a condition that would require corrective surgery or amputation of the toe, foot or leg (I'm sure it could vary depending on the sevarity of the case)? Could you tell me the name of this type of condition so I could find more information about it on the web?

Friends of mine are considering taking the puppy and I would love to be able to give them as much information as possile.

Thank you!

Stacy

Hi Stacy,

From what you describe I don't think the dog should be put to sleep.

It sounds like the puppy still has the normal number of toes, except one appears different.

I agree with you that the puppy should be able to walk.

If it is a case where the toe gets in the way when walking, then you can always have the vet remove it when the dog is neutered or spayed.

If you are giving the puppy away for free then I seen no problem with this.