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-   -   Broken Nail Recovery Time? Does it get worse before it gets better? (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=79159)

Cleatis October 25th, 2011 07:54 PM

Broken Nail Recovery Time? Does it get worse before it gets better?
 
Hello Everyone!

Friday night we noticed our Frenchie, Cleatis, split his nail down to the quik. Cleatis has an amazing pain tolerance (as he's been through a lot in his short life) and didn't seemed bothered by it at all. After reading online it's recommended that a vet cut the entire nail off so it grows back normal. We took him to vet Saturday morning. Vet did an extremely quick job, cut his nail off with no pain meds at all, barely put quik stop on and bandaged him up right away. Vet told us to keep bandage on for 5 days, gave him antibiotics and out the door. Cleatis quickly bleed right through the bandage but didn't seem affected by it all. The bleeding final stopped and he was walking on it normal. By Saturday night he barely favored it. Sunday he started to limp on it. We took off the bloody bandage Sunday and it smelt. Cleaned Cleatis up, put new bandage on and he seemed to do better as he walked on it. But shortly after starting limping again. Monday he limped even worse. We took of the bandage and it didn't smell this time, cleaned it up and put new bandage on. Tuesday (today) he is limping really bad. You can tell he is in such pain (again, he NEVER shows pain). I went to vet today and got pain pills, but couldn't bring cleatis into vet because of work. They said not to worry that he is probably just irritated by the healing, which makes sense, and to bring him in if he keep limping in a couple of days. But why is he getting worse?

Should I be worried? I know it takes a while for a broken nail to heal, but why would he be more depressed and in pain 3 days later? Shouldn't it get better as times goes on? I know my dog well and it doesn't seem right... Makes me wish I took care of the issue at home where I could have taken my time and washed him properly.

Have any of you had this experience? Does it just take time and did your dogs/cats get worse before it got better?

If he keeps limping on it by Thursday, the 5th day, I will take him back to the vet. Thanks for your time and input!

kigndano October 27th, 2011 06:44 AM

my dog has a broken nail now also, but not as bad as your dog's

his is cracked down the side down the length of the entire nail. vet told me to use antibiotics for what looked like mild infection, and pain meds. so along the same lines

my dog never favored his, but i can imagine that as the nail starts to grow back in it could be painful - youre probably right to wait a few days and head back to the vet.

you could even call them and ask if you should be worried or if its something normal for that type of injury.

hazelrunpack October 27th, 2011 09:51 AM

How is Cleatis doing today? We had a dog lose the entire horn of a nail a while back--we live far from the vet and they told me I could just clip the horn off but I was a wuss :o So I drove the hour into town and the vet was kind enough to take our money to remove the nail horn and it really was an anticlimax and only took (literally) two seconds. So that part of it sounds normal to me.

The odor on Sunday would have me worried, though, since it's usually a sign of infection. Has that part at least resolved totally? At some point did the vet want the bandage removed? As I recall from Belle's nail injury we only had the bandage on for a day or two. I also don't recall her feeling much pain from it after the bandage came off. I wonder if the bandage is irritating the toe?


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