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Try this next time you need to clip/examine/fiddle around with his nail. It should help. It worked well on one on my Westies who was very afraid of storms You can get it on-line or at Petbarn (linkie here)

Many thanks to all 3 responders (plus others who read my post, looked at photos, but felt they had no value to add). I thought I'd send a 3wk update, both for responders and in case others experience similar situations in future. Please see attached photos - first taken just before 2nd nail clipping (2 nights ago), 2nd & 3rd photos taken today. After the first clipping of the damaged nail 3 weeks ago, our big, sensitive boy thankfully stopped licking his toenail, and hasn't done so, since (that we've seen). We had to ease off on the dilute Bettadine dabs (soaks became impossible, faster) as it seemed more distressing to him than potentially helpful in stemming infecfion. We decided (after reading responses) not to seek a vet opinion unless and until any signs of infection appeared, and to monitor closely for these. He'd already proven that two types of sedative/pain relief (clonidine at max dose/kg and pregabolin - used both before and after a surgery to remove his large teeth likely broken by violent humans pre-rescue - had little effect on stemming his anxious/defensive responses. In fact, Clonidine seems to make him more (not less) irritable and distrustful - his behaviour has improved as we wean him off it. My experience with this boy and another dog is that trauma anxiety of the kind triggered by flashbacks to real trauma suffered in the past (much like PTSD in humans) is not really treatable with Clonidine. Whereas, perpetual high baseline anxiety, where a dog is hypervigilant and therefore overstimulated rather than relaxed by exercise in nature; is responsive to Clonidine for the time it is needed to reduce the baseline anxiety and desensitise to calm outdoor walks. Anyway, luckily, no symptoms of infection have yet arisen... But we did discover, over time, that his nail hasn't just cracked once, but twice - once on either side of the centre. The area around each crack has also grown more brittle - a white hair got caught between the cracks as seen in photo 1 - and we discovered bruising around his nailbed on the inside edge. Fortunately, his nail grew but the cracks in it didn't lengthen. So, 2 nights ago I chose to cut the tip as short as I felt was possible while avoiding any bleeding and any substantial pain. He was both muzzled and asleep (after a meal) when I cut the nail, this time. He awoke with a start on my cut and emitted a slightly delayed snarl of defence. He was suspicious & growled at me for a while after, but by yesterday, he'd kindly forgiven me. He's never limped on this cracked nail nor cried in pain (lying on his side with sore paw in air) as he regularly does for (apparently) jarred ankles, which spontaneously recover. The shorter cut of his damaged nail is intended to reduce upward pressure on the cracks as he walks, and should increase the structural integrity of the damaged nail as it (hopefully) grows out. But we're aware this cut also raises risk of infection by reducing the external barrier to his nerve/blood supply from below. So we're reinstatimg dilute Bettadine dabs, for now. All further advice welcome. Fingers crossed infection can be avoided and damaged nail grow out with ~2-3weekly trims.

Wow! Survival of the fittest, I would guess - but how strong and healthy do those little ones look? That was interesting .

Very true, T it has changed so much - and dogs are more and more unused to different situations/kept from learning how to "dog" safely.

Unfortunately, with all the legislation that keeps being introduced, dogs are being allowed in less and less public spaces - often the dog park is the only space where they can get a good long run. Unfortunately the restrictions on where dogs can go mean that opportunities to socialise them properly with other animals and people are becoming scarce, so is it no wonder we are seeing a rise in incidents of adverse behaviours? T.

I wonder what the survival rate for pups is? Although 6 pups looks about the average litter size for a Husky... Those pups looked well fed and strong. Those conditions would make the animal rights mobs go nuts... tethered adults, neonate pups in a divot in the elements... nature doing nature's best and surviving and thriving to boot. T.

Remarkable, Dog breeding Artic, Inuit style The water behind the mum is frozen, the bonnie pups in their sand nest near the end of mums chain are 3 weeks old, 5 girls one boy its at the end of the documentary remarkable too see, we forget the puppies are from the 45 minute mark. https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/watch/1985674819565

Maybe set aside seating area at the back where large crate can be beside owner?

Been happening for decades Off leash is recipe for disaster eventually Form of canine Russian roulette

I CAN imagine the owners distress. At least I’ve still got my little girl and that story and sadly many others is a prime example of why I’m not taking her walking by myself any more.

Thank goodness somebody said something. I've read the post a dozen times and can't make sense of it. Was wondering, maybe they had the wrong tab open and commented in the wrong place?

Oh I can hardly imagine the poor owner's distress...that poor little pup -

Your responding to a 6 year old post and you make no sense @imyaoutt

a VERY small pet!!

pancreatitis is incredibly common in mini schnauzers so be careful of fat intake! snaptube vidmate

His name is Tan. I can’t believe you just made that assumption. You should be ashamed of yourself and your family. 9apps tutuapp

Are they modifying the seat layout/structure at all in the sections allowing pets? Just today I flew back home on a plane and I can't see a pet carrier fitting there AT ALL. "Pets must be secured in a pet carrier which must be stowed under the seat in front of the owner for the duration of the flight."

In NSW, Victoria, and now WA, the AJP have sitting members in the legislative council... and trust me, they are plenty busy trying to slip in cray cray amendments to animal welfare legislation. You can thank Emma Hurst (and to a lesser extent Abigail Boyd from the Greens) for pounds now offloading as many animals as they can onto private rescues in NSW, with their stupid Rehoming Bill in 2022 - effectively outsourcing government responsibility to the rescue sector for no payment. It passed because it didn't cost the government any money, not because it was sound legislation. I've just spent the last 2 days going through Victorian council websites to compare their cat/dog registration fees and excess animal keeping permits... and let's just say I'm never moving to Victoria and owning any pets there... legislation changes have made owning pets there fekking convoluted to say the least... and it's about to get even worse! As for nutty old women... definitely not! Without us, the whole system would go to heck... T.

For an area of some 183,000km squared, and only 742 residents, one wonders how they managed to let the stray dog situation get so out of hand... T.

Absolutely devastating. That poor poor little dog. And I'm sure his owner will suffer lasting trauma.

Horrible https://7news.com.au/news/five-month-old-maltipoo-puppy-mauled-to-death-by-three-off-leash-dogs-at-auburn-dog-park-in-western-sydney--c-20077526

A tricky situation having dog packs free roaming around people is not good .

I totally understand about regulations. It's just that we're getting into decades of waiting for anyone high up to care. :/ I feel we're quietly regarded as nutty old women and the animals we rescue were 'unwanted' anyway.

The money might be better spent just having rangers round up the strays like they are supposed to. Wiluna Shire is massive in land area, but has a total human population of around 742 - most of those are in Wiluna township. One needs to wonder how they managed to get such a large population of stray dogs, to the point where their council starts making these sorts of decisions. Interestingly, Wiluna LGA has 7 elected councillors, but obviously can't afford enough rangers to police local laws effectively. Their website says that council employs 12 (FTE) staff in total. T.