Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 So I have had a bit of a problem with Jarrah's toe nail the last few weeks. Long story short, it split up the middle, we went to the vets and got her painkillers and antibiotics, but still it got infected. It's been something of an ordeal for us, yesterday's vet visit was visit number 4 over this problem. Well finally this morning the nail has fallen off, exposing the nail bed. The nailbed is a healthy looking white (she has white splashes on the underside of her paws). I assume the nailbed is quite tender, so I'm uncertain as to whether it's a good idea to walk her in case it gets damaged, the vet did say any damage to the bed might compromise the possibility of a new healthy nail growing. We'd really like a walk though if it can be done with no risk. Even our play time has been cut to nothing since all our games are pretty hard on her feet. We have a dog beach nearby where she could swim (also a dam, but I am concerned about the possibility for infection with that). The only issue with the dog beach is that she has to walk across some gravel and then the sand to get into the water. Does anyone have any suggestions, advice or knowledge to share. I have marrow bones and toys for her, so she's OK without a walk, but she'd love one and so would I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 O yes and the one really important point - if she gets excited she will ignore pain. In fact she tends to ignore pain anyway, so it doesn't serve her as a warning to take it easy, like it does for other dogs. She is happy snuffling in the grassy yard atm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuddleDuck Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Doof used to rip his nails off a fair bit, we would pop some betadine on and bandage (wrap the nail bed gently in gauze first) for about a week. As soon as the bandage was on and he stopped licking it, it healed up pretty quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 :) Our workers lose nails regularly ..and half the time we don't notice for ages ..cos they don't show any pain! I usually just betadine them for a few days ..and very soon they are back racing around again . I've not ever seen any infection ..or incomplete nail growth .... I would suggest a beach walk/swim would be nice for her ... and , a point... are you sure that what you are seeing is actually nailbed and not soft new nail? If the injury occurred weeks ago ..perhaps new nail has been growing underneath , protected by the old nail?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I had the same thing with Jackson a few days ago, he isn't happy :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raineth Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 when my dear Mr Darcy ripped his nail off, the vets put some anti-septic on it and banadaged it. I found I had to keep the bandage on for a while otherwise he would knock it and make it bleed again, which I was worried would really slow down the healing. I put a sock over it to help keep the bandage in place. But I guess you do need to be careful it isn't getting too humid in there. Certainly sounds like you've been through a bit of an ordeal! I hope it all goes smoothly from here on in :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Doof used to rip his nails off a fair bit, we would pop some betadine on and bandage (wrap the nail bed gently in gauze first) for about a week. As soon as the bandage was on and he stopped licking it, it healed up pretty quick. OK I have betadine and gauze bandages so I will try that. At the very least she'll have a ball chewing the bandage off. XD :) Our workers lose nails regularly ..and half the time we don't notice for ages ..cos they don't show any pain! I usually just betadine them for a few days ..and very soon they are back racing around again . I've not ever seen any infection ..or incomplete nail growth .... I would suggest a beach walk/swim would be nice for her ... and , a point... are you sure that what you are seeing is actually nailbed and not soft new nail? If the injury occurred weeks ago ..perhaps new nail has been growing underneath , protected by the old nail?? O I'm glad you are experienced with this and think a beach walk would be good, I will get my husband to carry her over the gravel. :D I will go check that nail now, when I betadine it, to see if i can tell if it's a new white nail growing in or just the nail bed. I'm not sure. That's an important point. The vet yesterday said it was nailbed we could see. I had the same thing with Jackson a few days ago, he isn't happy :laugh: Lol, poor Jackson, he doesn't look pleased with his new apparel at all. when my dear Mr Darcy ripped his nail off, the vets put some anti-septic on it and banadaged it. I found I had to keep the bandage on for a while otherwise he would knock it and make it bleed again, which I was worried would really slow down the healing. I put a sock over it to help keep the bandage in place. But I guess you do need to be careful it isn't getting too humid in there. Certainly sounds like you've been through a bit of an ordeal! I hope it all goes smoothly from here on in :) Ah yes, it is quite warm today, that's a good point to take into account if she will leave the bandage on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 ..if the quick looks red/moist/'spongy'/bloody ..maybe wrap to keep clean..(I don't bandage, as often the bandage rubs on the nerves and hurts more ) but if it looks clean/dry ..I'd leave it alone, honest. IMO, The more an injury is wrapped , fiddled with.. the more the dog may try & 'clean' it ..keeping it moist, and allowing bacteria/fungi to get a hold. When I betadine .. it is a quick dunk spray before a feed/bone/run..so it has those couple of minutes to soak in & kill everything ...while dog is otherwise occupied :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Yep, it looks clean and dry. We betadined it (with cheese distraction XD), but didn't wrap it since she's inside the house right now. I'm not sure of whether I will bandage it for her swim, probably not, we can just carry her over the gravelly bits to get to the sand and water. Fingers crossed it heals ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 :) Ok... have her feet dry ..let her run a minute or two on the sand ..and quickly check that toe. IF there is an amount of sand coating the quick..then there is still blood enriched spongy tissue exposed.... If there are only a couple of grains ..and no blood .. then I would venture a guess that it is well on the way to healing! disclaimer..obviously not a vet opinion ...just experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 She's not licking it or worrying at it either, which I'm taking to be a really good sign of imminent healing. You should have seen the size of her toe when the infection set in, it was really enormous, poor girl. It's a good healthy proper size now - happily the infection is all gone and we're definitely on the road to recovery, I just want to make sure I set the stage for the new nail to grow in healthily. Poor girl, she's been in the wars a bit lately, not too many months ago she had a soft tissue injury to her shoulder, now this. Very irksome stuff for a dog who lives for high energy activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 ..In retrospect , perhaps the vet should have just pulled the split nail off ..leaving a nice clean smooth open quick to heal properly , instead of setting up a 'bacteria sandwich' ? Hope now she stays well :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks for all the advice Persephone! I really appreciate it. "D The vet did discuss pulling it out yesterday, but he was worried it might really hurt her, and it looked healthy (you could see the bed under the nail) so he elected not to. I just got a huge pack of various tug toys in the mail the other day, but I haven't been able to use them yet, they're just sitting there waiting for her to get all healed up. I'm waiting on my husband to finish his work for the day, to come to the beach with us because I might need him to carry her a bit. It doesn't look like there's blood engorged spongy tissue there atm, but it's good I know what to look for now, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clover Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 One of mine lost a nail a couple of weeks back. I was still able to walk her like normal and the only time she showed pain was when she first hurt the nail about a month back. Just keep it clean and dry and keep an eye out for infection and she should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) Yeah, you'd think it'd be trivial, but it's just been going on for so long now. Every time I think her toe is better, it flares up with some new issue. :/ She first hurt it weeks ago - might even be over a month ago I think. She was limping, and you could see the nail was a bit split, so I took her to the vet for pain relief, antibiotics and a check up. A few days later she'd stopped limping, we'd finished the antibiotics, so I thought she was all good and healed. But no, some days later it swelled up to a scary size. Must've hurt her so much. Back to the vet for painkillers/anti-imflammatories and antibiotics and an x-ray. After a week on those it seemed all healed again, took her to the vets for follow up and vet was pretty happy with it. A few days ago we noticed she was licking at it and worrying it a lot, by yesterday she hadn't stopped so took her to the vet again. He said keep it dry and clean and keep her quiet till the nail falls off, then take it easy with her once the nail is off. At least they didn't charge us for the last consult, it's been one expensive toenail! So now that nail has finally fallen off, hopefully that's an end to it now and she is really better. Overall I've been really lucky with her health over the four and a half years I've had her, but the last few months with the shoulder and the nail have made up for lost time. :/ I'm starting to wonder if, now that she's older - I think she's about 5 and a half years old, maybe her body is feeling the age and is a bit less resilient than when she was younger? If you go by that 7x thing for human years to dog years conversion, I am about 5 and a half in dog years too, and I know my body is certainly less resilient than it once was. That linear 7x conversion is far from accurate, but still I'm thinking perhaps I should take it a bit easier with her in general now she's getting a little older. Still the same amount of running and swimming, but no more of the super fast sharp turns, climbing, leaping and all the other stuff that is hard on the body. Edited October 31, 2012 by Wobbly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 She first hurt it weeks ago - might even be over a month ago I think. She was limping, and you could see the nail was a bit split, so I took her to the vet for pain relief, antibiotics and a check up. A few days later she'd stopped limping, we'd finished the antibiotics, so I thought she was all good and healed. But no, some days later it swelled up to a scary size. Must've hurt her so much. Back to the vet for painkillers/anti-imflammatories and antibiotics and an x-ray. After a week on those it seemed all healed again, took her to the vets for follow up and vet was pretty happy with it. A few days ago we noticed she was licking at it and worrying it a lot, by yesterday she hadn't stopped so took her to the vet again. He said keep it dry and clean and keep her quiet till the nail falls off, then take it easy with her once the nail is off. At least they didn't charge us for the last consult, it's been one expensive toenail! <br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 17.600000381469727px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247); ">..It sure has been an expensive time Nail doesn't 'heal ' ..it has no blood supply . A split /broken nail will stay that way ..and should be removed asap, to stop bacteria getting inside . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 How long does it take for the new nail to grow through? We just took off Jackson's bandage and he kept trying to lick it through his cone, we ended up putting another bandage on just to protect it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 We just took off Jackson's bandage and he kept trying to lick it through his cone, ..and of course he will :) It feels odd..and , no doubt it smells ..and , so , it needs cleaning . They take some months to grow back completely ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 We just took off Jackson's bandage and he kept trying to lick it through his cone, ..and of course he will :) It feels odd..and , no doubt it smells ..and , so , it needs cleaning . They take some months to grow back completely ... So should I let him go for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 So should I let him go for it? Up to you .... I know here, our dogs have so much else happening , they tend to not lick at things ... but a single pup may be different . perhaps , when walking/chewing bones/training leave him be ..and see how he goes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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