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Broken Toenail! Advice?


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Greetings all ~

Since there are trials coming up in a couple weeks, naturally my dog has torn a toenail. Broke it right off during shedding practice. And ... I'm not sure what I should do.

As you can see by the attached photo, he snapped it right off at the quick. It bled a little, but really not bad, and he has not fussed with it at all. No limp, no apparent soreness, only a few perfunctory licks. But it LOOKS like hell and I can see it would be real easy to turn it into something miserable.

So, should I just bandage his foot and watch for infection? For split toenails I've done the cowboy thing and slapped on a little superglue and clear nail polish, and they've healed up fine. But this is a little bigger deal with potential to turn really painful. (At least I don't have to trim anything off!)

Is wrapping and observation going to be enough? Should I get him in to the vet? And how long should I expect a nail injury like this to take to heal? Kind of panicking, here, because March 21-23 is the Sonoma sheepdog trial and I'm not only running dogs, I'm part of the setout crew. :huh:

Advice? Suggestions? Warnings?

Thanks in advance.

~ Gloria

P.S. Click thumbnail for the full, gruesome view.

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Yep. Bandage for a couple days and keep an eye on it. The quick should recede, hopefully far enough that it won't be a problem in 3 weeks.

 

ETA: This is what I did for Bodhi when he broke a nail like this. We weren't trialling, of course, but he had no problems after a couple days and it healed up just fine.

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I have never had to deal with a split or broken nail on my dog, but I was wondering if there is a product for dogs like a fake toenail which you could superglue over the existing part of nail to help protect the quick. [i know you probably know about the nail product which can be glued over cat nails to prevent them from destroying furniture, etc.]

 

Based on what you have described in that, right now, it doesn't seem to be bothering your dog, I would just keep it clean, put antibiotic salve on it a couple of times a day and monitor for any changes.

 

Good Luck.

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I was going to suggest Soft Paws like gvc-border said. Trooper has really soft nails that bleed frequently when he plays and we've had many people suggest that we use them. We haven't yet though, so I can't give any reviews.

 

I'd just consider the possibility of infection if the nail cap trapped in any bacteria.

 

I think the quick just needs to dry up first before doing anything, though.

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Thanks, guys.

Yes, I went on Amazon and saw the Soft Claws. They look pretty handy, especially if I cut one shorter to just act as tip on the nail. I agree with Kingfisher, though, that I would not try anything like that until the quick was dried and everything looked well on the way towards healing. Perhaps I'll get those just to use in a couple weeks when it's trial time, in the event the toenail still looks a little short.

I'll think about it, and watch how he heals.

Meanwhile, I have his foot wrapped and he continues to be untroubled by it. Perhaps he got lucky and didn't actually tear the quick, (gruesome though it looks!) as it bled only a small bit and he has not favored the foot at all. I'll keep it wrapped, keep him quiet at home for a few days, and watch for infection at each bandage change. Then I'll just see how it goes.

I swear. This dog. He first injured himself when he was 6 months old and now that he's 6 years old, he continues to bash around and wreck himself several times a year! :rolleyes:

~ Gloria

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Keep clean, wrap with gauze and vet wrap until it dries up, and just monitor it. It should be good within 3 or 4th days. I would not seal it under something, though. I'd rather let it breathe and dry.

 

Celt had a nail split right to the bed and it had to be removed. Healed up very nicely and new nail grew in just fine. Only a few days before he was running around like normal.

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Sue, that's good to hear! You can see in the photo that Nick just snapped this rascal off clean, leaving the quick poking out looking gruesome. It kind of freaked me out, because this is one nail injury I haven't seen before - bothers me way more than it seems to bother him! ;)

~ Gloria

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Celt's nail split was not only the nail but the quick, which is why the entire thing needed removal. He also has a nail that is "shelly" and never right (I wonder if it was stepped on as a tiny pup or something) and it had been a source of owies when it would break and the quick would be exposed. It was never a big deal, a few days of pain that was relieved as soon as it dried up (it will tend to shrink a bit as it does).

 

Good luck!

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Just had my guard dog go through the exact type spilt or broken nail. It was split down to the quick and the quick was hanging out just like your pic.

Only thing I can add was as it healed I had to keep it trimmed real short. It was tender and when that nail would grow out a bit it would put pressure on the nail bed. She'd limp till I'd trim it short enough that it wasn't hitting the ground when she walked. Took a couple of 3 weeks till I'd say she was all good. But I didn't do anything other than trim it all the time. No boots or bandages. I knew she's chew them off.

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Thanks for that heads-up, Kristen. :) I'll watch for that as the nail grows out. Thankfully Nick is so accident prone that by now he's perfectly patient with wraps on his feet, so at least I can keep the toe protected. The way he slams around through life, it's a wonder I don't keep him in a box of bubble wrap. :rolleyes:

~ Gloria

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just thought I'd check in and say that Nick is now right as rain. :) I worried about the whole thing a whole lot more than he did! It healed way faster than I expected and the only time he even limped was when I had the bandage wrong. Once I figured how to wrap without putting pressure on the nail, he never even paid it any attention.Now it's grown out just fine, simply looks a touch shorter than the other toenail and he'll be running in a trial this weekend.

Thanks for the help and advice. I'm such a nervous mama - and Nick is so accident prone! :P

~ Gloria

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