Cracked Nail

P

Pete Bauer

New member
My lab splintered her toenail the other day when we were out hunting, only reason I noticed is a little blood on the carpet - didn't seem to bother her.

I cut it back as far as I could and glued it back together (the best I could). Hunted her today for a quick 1hr hunt - seemed totally fine in the field but now continues to lick her foot, doesn't like when I touch it, and seems to favor the opposite leg some.

Anyone have any experience or advice on what to do in this situation? In the field it didn't seem to bother her, but with her drive I think you could amputate her leg and she'd still give it 100%. My concern is that this could get worse and mess up our trip.

I'll probably bring her to the vet tomorrow but I'm wondering what they'd do? I'm supposed to go to South Dakota in 10 days - If they cut it clean off, will I be SOL for my SD trip? Maybe just leave it? Tho i'm a little nervous that it could rear its ugly head when she hunts hard for 4 days.

Side note, she's on an antibiotic (Cephanliexin) for a totally unrelated skin rash - not sure if that makes any difference.

Just curious what others have experienced with their upland dogs and split nails.

Thanks,
Pete
 
If she had an impact that was hard enough to split her nail, it maybe more than just the nail that was damaged. Stone bruising or sprained toe usually acompanys a split nail! See what your vet has to say!!!
 
My dog will crack or chip a nail every so often, but has never favored the foot/leg after doing so, except for the first time when it bled - I'd suspect that the damage may be more severe as suggested. When mine cracks one now, I paint it with Betadine if it bleeds, otherwise I trim the shards away & cover the crack with Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails. I check his nails now very frequently & I'm careful to keep Hank's nails trimmed, which helps. Sometimes the vet may have to deaden the affected toe & remove the nail up under the skin. When the quick was exposed, my vet told me that keeping the dog off the foot as much as possible & frequent Betadine applications would ward-off infection & help the quick to harden. That worked; I rested Hank for a week that time. Good luck.
 
If it split all the way back the half that's hanging will have to come off., or the whole nail. Either is fine and heals faster. Had it done at the vet, they just grab it with a plier, and rip it off fast. Sounds gory right? LOL. Well its what they do. So, that said, if my dogs get one now, and they do. I rip it off my self in a 10th of a second. Done. They are running a day later. Even no nail grows back if the whole cap comes off.
 
FCSpringer said:
If it split all the way back the half that's hanging will have to come off., or the whole nail. Either is fine and heals faster. Had it done at the vet, they just grab it with a plier, and rip it off fast. Sounds gory right? LOL. Well its what they do. So, that said, if my dogs get one now, and they do. I rip it off my self in a 10th of a second. Done. They are running a day later. Even no nail grows back if the whole cap comes off.
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Do they yank the just the cap or the whole nail? I've had dogs split the cap loose and I've pulled the loose part off. Crusted snow is usually the culprit in my experiance.
 
Depends on how bad it split. Had the whole thing ripped off once, and most times just the upper half. Someone holds the dogs head and you do it quick. 99% of the time it is the top half that is loose. When the whole thing comes off it looks like a little pink finger.
 
FCSpringer said:
If it split all the way back the half that's hanging will have to come off., or the whole nail. Either is fine and heals faster. Had it done at the vet, they just grab it with a plier, and rip it off fast. Sounds gory right? LOL. Well its what they do. So, that said, if my dogs get one now, and they do. I rip it off my self in a 10th of a second. Done. They are running a day later. Even no nail grows back if the whole cap comes off.
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This is best and only way! Do not cut it at all! Had an inexperienced vet cut one into the bone while working for me, and I had to remove that toe after it got infected. Yanking it out, all of it is best and fastest way to healing! Seems barbaric I agree, but best is still best based on forty years of practicing vet med. it will grow back!
 
Coincidentally, my pup shattered a nail yesterday. Wrapped his foot & off to the vet. He deadened the toe, and then clipped-off the whole nail, clotted the blood, wrapped it up & home we went. Took a few hours to completely quit seeping; I changed the dressing & we both dozed fitfully last night but he's much better today. Since it was raining yesterday, I made a knee-high impromptu waterproof boot from a Food Saver bag - worked good attached via a long Velcro wrap & the plastic is quite durable. Depending on how fast it heals, I'll likely put that foot in a dog boot for the next couple weeks.
 
Dog boots can save a hunt when your dog breaks a nail.

 
Be careful to keep it clean. Boots, betadine and antibiotics are a good idea. One of my springers had a split nail and quickly ended up with a blood infection. She spent a week in the hospital and almost didn't make it.

Best of luck-
 
Good advice. Hank has been on antibiotics to head-off any infection & once the dressing comes-off, I'll use Betadine. I check the temp of he foot around the dressing frequently & to date, there has been no indication of an infection. I also keep one of my ankle socks over the dressing in the house to keep the bandage clean & swap this out a couple times per day. He either lays on the love seat or one of his beds; I placed another thick bed in front of the love seat so he has a cushioned landing when he gets down. He's been pretty good about protecting the foot during mounts & dismounts.
 
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Changed the dressing this morning - nail looks good, no infection, but not hard-scabbed yet. Cleaned his foot, applied some Betadine, & put-on a lighter dressing to protect the area. Now the foot fits in his dog boot when he goes out & he quit favoring it when he walks. He'd actually run if he weren't on his Delmar Smith training lead. 4 or 5 more days & he should be as good as new, just shy 1 toenail.
 
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