Broken Crushed Toenail

[elleathree]

My female boxer Winnie has just come inside and she has, not cleanly, ripped/broken/crushed one of her middle front toenails off. It is broken to the top quick and has about 5mm of nail left sticking out at the bottom half. She didnt cry out or anything and it is not bleeding (although it has been). I have rung the vet and am waiting for a call back.

Any suggestions on what I should do in the mean time. She is in a little bit of pain, but is resting at the moment. I was thinking I should soak it to clean it?

Thanks.

[puggy_puggy]

I wouldn't bother with the vet.

Rip the rest of the toenail out. Bath it in warm salty water. Use something like betadine on it after you have dried it. Bath it daily for a few days.

[lucknow]

If it is tender a light bandage for the first few days can help and will also prevent excess licking. A sock over the foot and and a bit of co flex or similiar to hold it on works well. Just make sure the foot is completely dry first and don't let it get wet to avoid a fungal infection. Salt water and Betadine work great as does Cetridine, the old 'purple spray'.

[elleathree]

Thank you for your responses. I have kept it dry and the sock idea has worked well. I also had some 'purple spray' so have used that as well. It's looking ok.

[Muschee]

My boy has done a similar thing, except it was his dew (spelling?) claw.

He's completely ripped it out somehow.

There was alot of blood when I got home. I've washed, betadined and bandaged it. After 24hrs it looks pretty good, clean and I have rebandaged it.

I have a few questions tho.

Should I wash it each time before I rebandage?

and how long till I should start leaving it open to start drying out?

Also I know it is annoying him pain wise and wonder if I can only get pain killers from the vets for him?

Can I add anything extra to his food as an added benefit to help in healing of wounds?

[lucknow]

I would continue with the Betadine, clean daily. The bandage is to keep the dog from worrying the stub, keep it clean and in the case of toe nails particularly, to protect against discomfort when walking. I would bandage for a few days until pain decreases but several hours supervised 'air' time would help. Make sure all dressings are clean and dry and that the leg/foot is completely dry before redressing.

Pain wise, vet only I'm afraid but in the meantime the bandage will hopefully help.

With dietary aid to healing I am not sure, my personal feeling is if you are already feeding a good quality diet supplements are unlikley to help with a minor injury.

If at any time the nail does not seem to be healing, appears swollen, reddended or starts to go spongy see a vet immediately.

[Muschee]

I would continue with the Betadine, clean daily. The bandage is to keep the dog from worrying the stub, keep it clean and in the case of toe nails particularly, to protect against discomfort when walking. I would bandage for a few days until pain decreases but several hours supervised 'air' time would help. Make sure all dressings are clean and dry and that the leg/foot is completely dry before redressing.

Pain wise, vet only I'm afraid but in the meantime the bandage will hopefully help.

With dietary aid to healing I am not sure, my personal feeling is if you are already feeding a good quality diet supplements are unlikley to help with a minor injury.

If at any time the nail does not seem to be healing, appears swollen, reddended or starts to go spongy see a vet immediately.

Thank you for that info much appreciated.

[Katdogs]

We just noticed Stevie has ripped out a claw on her back foot, it's still soggy and bleeding, so I'm very grateful for this thread!

Will go get the salt water and betadine and a little sock (though the other dogs might disagree with it).

She's miserable and doesn't want to put her foot on the ground, so if any sign of a problem in the morning I guess we go off to the vet.

[brigie bear]

one of mine actually chews his off. i dont get why he does it and neither does the vet... well actually 2 vets! i just soak his foot in salty wate and put a mini sock on it until he gets over chewing on it...

[persephone]

It's common with our dogs..I just clean it daily, and put betadine or purple spray on.

I don't bandage, as I feel the bandage rubs on the sensitive nerves and causes pain anyway... We have never had a problem...a few nails will hang for a short time..but a rowdy run on the lawn chasing balls etc soon dislodges the broken bit, with no discomfort to the madly playing dog!

[persephone]

Stevie and jodie..

if the nail is bleeding a lot..sprinkle some CORNFLOUR onto it (a lot) and then keep dog still while it clots.

I buy styptic pencils..one for humans, one for animals.like this... http://www.cincottachemist.com.au/product_....php?crk=144683

They sting a bit..but quickly seal off small blood vessels and stop bleeding in dogs, chooks, etc. Use it when removing dewclaws in baby pups, deformed toes in baby chicks...and heaps more.

Edited May 2, 2008 by persephone

[tdierikx]

I've been over to Stevie&Jodie's place, and the nail looks to be cleanly ripped off past the quick. We've trimmed the hair from around it, put on some betadine, packed it with some cotton fluff, bandaged it up nicely, and put a sock on it for good measure.

Stevie doesn't like it, but now her mummy and daddy just need to make sure that she knows that it really should stay on... lol!

Stevie reacted a little bit when we bandaged it, as though she may have actually hurt the toe itself when she ripped the nail out - but the cotton fluff packing should pad that some for her until they can get her to a vet for some professional advice/assistance. My guess is that they will maybe x-ray the foot, and if the toe is broken, they can take it from there - currently the bandage should protect the toe and stop grotty stuff from the yard getting into the wound.

Can anyone tell that I've had dogs that have hurt their toes before? hahaha!

T.

[Katdogs]

Vet said it looked good (thanks T, beautiful bandaging) but was amazed we didn't see more blood around. I think Stevie had spent the day licking it, until we got home. The nail bed was still oozing some muck. Rebandaged now, on antibiotics just in case, and we're doing our best to keep it dry with a variety of socks and plastic bags. For some reason it's just the pink socks she likes to pull back off, the white and black socks stay on pretty well. Back to vet on Wednesday night for another look.

It was explained to me that having a claw out is similar to having a tooth out - it gives a direct path into the blood and nerve system for any nasties in the soil. Yuck.