Hi all,
Our 48kg, 5yo fosterdog of 2mths, has a new split in one of his outside front paw nails, that runs from the tip about halfway to the base. It hasn't bled. He's a very sensitive dog who suffered significant violent trauma from humans pre-rescue, so is distrustful once his fear is triggered. Any vet treatment is likely to raise his baseline anxiety, which has really lowered in our care, so we're keen to avoid vet IF safe to do so.
Please see 2 photos, attached, taken before & after we managed to trim the nail tip, yesterday. This required his 2 trusted carers; nail clipper; muzzle (he's fully trained for); nil force & lots of treats. He growled & momentarily air-snapped shortly after the single clip, but recovered well, with limited apparent impact on baseline anxiety.
We're painting or briefly soaking the cracked nail in 1:10 diluted Bettadine, to try to keep bacteria from colonising the crack & reaching the quick. He's been licking the nail/paw occasionally, but we discourage/distract him from this & it's not been too frequent, so far. I think an Elizabethan collar will significantly raise his anxiety & he'll paw at it with damaged nail (he has history of removing one after de-sexing). Likewise, I think an adhesive dog bandage on his paw would soon be torn off, potentially damaging the cracked nail further. Also, just putting bandage on will likely require force or sedation, both of which we hope to avoid.
We hadn't tried to trim or file his nails, yet, because we're still building his trust in having his paws touched & handled. He's particularly sensitive about having his paws, tail, ears & mouth touched.
I've read that human split nails can have the crack temporarily covered (until they grow out) by means of fine gauze (teabag paper) coated in nail varnish. I've researched non-toxic nail varnish for dogs, but am concerned it may still irritate quick if this is exposed through crack. I also fear dog may chew treatment off.
Another forum site offered the idea of supergluing the crack to prevent further splitting. But again, I'd be concerned about toxic chemicals, possible irritation of the quick & ingestion if he chews the glue off. I'm also unsure if keratin nails form a strong bond with superglue, or if glue will hold on a fine joint like this crack.
So am wondering if any readers have had any comparable experiences; know of any safe repair/binding method; or other useful ideas?
Thanks
