Ouch!!!! Broken Toe Nail - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans

Copper'sMom · #1 July 11th, 2005, 09:59 AM

Copper broke his nail about two weeks ago(briefly posted in a worried thread). It came up off of the quick. I took him to the vet to have it checked and they trimmed it and told me it'll grow out and go back to normal. Well he's been licking it ALOT. I tell him no and he stops. He has lossed a bit of fur and the toe was red. I forgot to mentiom it to the vet when I picked Zoe up from her spay.
Over the weekend his nail turned black. This morning his nail broke at the skin!! It is upwards now and just hanging on by a small piece. His quick is fully exposed with very minimal bleeding. I called the vet and I am waiting for them to call me back.

Anyone experience this with their dog???
Here's what it looks like.............................................. ..

Copper'sMom · #2 July 11th, 2005, 11:30 AM

Well the vet called back. Copper will need antibiotics and the nail must be cut off(unless he breaks it off first). We are going in later this afternoon just to be sure.

Anyone experience this?? How long will it take for his nail to grow back?? Poor guy, even if a point my finger at it he pulls his paw away!

Luba · #3 July 11th, 2005, 12:06 PM

I never had that come up with any of mine, sorry not sure about it!

Ask more about the vet removing it, are their other alternatives...will it grow back?

Luba · #4 July 11th, 2005, 12:08 PM

http://www.healthypet.com/faq_view.aspx?ID=38&sid=1

Answer Broken nails aren't uncommon in dogs, and they generally aren't any more dangerous than a broken toenail is to you. In some cases they can bleed a lot, because the quick - the live tissue inside the base of the nail - can be exposed. If the nail's bleeding, you can put pressure on it with a clean cloth (if your pup will sit still for that). If that doesn't work, you may need to take your dog to the veterinarian to get the bleeding stopped.

Your dog's nail should grow out again in a couple of days, but it might cause her some pain until then. You can help her by keeping the nail area clean, so it won't get infected. Wipe her feet when she comes in from outside; you can even clean her foot with hydrogen peroxide if she gets into anything particularly messy. If the nail wasn't completely broken off and there's still a piece of broken nail hanging on, it will probably have to be removed so the nail can heal. If you're not comfortable cutting it off yourself, your veterinarian can do it.

The most important thing to watch will be the skin at the base of her nail. If that skin turns red or swells in the next couple of weeks, or if your dog's foot stays sore for more than a few days, take your pup to your veterinarian.

Dog Dancer · #5 July 11th, 2005, 12:10 PM

Hi CoppersMom, haven't had exactly the same issue, my GSD (no longer with us) once split her nail right down the middle exposing the quick. The nail was never the same after that and continually split causing her extreme pain and lameness. Running would cause the grass and dirt to wedge into the split - ouch! We had the nail trimmed several times at the vet's and finally they had to amputate the toe as the nail never grew out properly again. Hopefully Copper's nail will just regrow like ours do if we lose one. I do think the nail bed and quick will toughen up a bit with time as the nail grows out though and the pain will ease up a bit. Hope so anyhow. Good luck, we're thinking of you both and hope Copper feels better soon.

Prin · #6 July 11th, 2005, 12:22 PM

Jemma breaks her nails every winter. She has really soft nails and runs very hard on them... It usually takes about 2 months for it to grow back to normal. She licks it like mad too. Her feet are almost always red and chewed because of her uncontrollable allergies anyway, so I never noticed a difference in the redness...

Copper'sMom · #7 July 11th, 2005, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prin

Jemma breaks her nails every winter. She has really soft nails and runs very hard on them... It usually takes about 2 months for it to grow back to normal. She licks it like mad too. Her feet are almost always red and chewed because of her uncontrollable allergies anyway, so I never noticed a difference in the redness...

Hey Prin,
Do Jemma's nails break off right up at the paw?? Is the quick still there when the nail is gone??

Dog Dancer, Oh dear God I hope his nail grows back!!! Amputating his toe nail is what I was really afraid of!! Thanks for letting me know your experience with this! Copper's nails split at the sides occasionally, when they are too long - but no big deal.

Luba - Thanks for the info!! Unfortunately, when it comes to Copper's paws -he doesn't like me touching them - at all!!!! So, we may be making a few trips to the vet!

What happened was we have a camping trailer, and Copper went in it. We think he got his nail caught on the step(step has little round holes on it) and that's when he broke it. He went to the vet and they said no worries. I thought it was much worse than it really looked but they told me otherwise! I asked if the nail would fall off and she said she didn't think it would. I am supposed to bring him in every 3 weeks for a trim until it is healed. And now look what happened!!!!!! I thought they would have pulled it out the first time we were there!!