split toenails?
This sounds funny, but alas, is not. Oskar broke a toenail. It's split way up past the quick, and of course it keeps bleeding off and on, and he's limping a bit. I'm going to call my vet and will probably have to take him in, but since this is not the first time he's split a toenail (though before it wasn't nearly so bad, and it healed ok on its own), I wondered has anyone else run into this problem? Is there some reason his nails might split/break like this? (He is fed raw, so has quite a bit of calcium in his diet, so I don't think it's a dietary issue, but who knows).
Last time I was just able to put a bit of styptic powder on it, and it was ok. But this one...it took me awhile to get a good look at it (Oskar thinks I'm on the floor to play, so he starts bouncing and making play bows which makes it hard to do a good exam, you know?), well, it looks bad. It's broke way up there and is ragged and looks very sore. And he keeps licking at it, poor boy.
Anyway, do other people have this problem? Is there something I can do to avoid it in the future? What do you do if it is a more mild case?
Last time I was just able to put a bit of styptic powder on it, and it was ok. But this one...it took me awhile to get a good look at it (Oskar thinks I'm on the floor to play, so he starts bouncing and making play bows which makes it hard to do a good exam, you know?), well, it looks bad. It's broke way up there and is ragged and looks very sore. And he keeps licking at it, poor boy.
Anyway, do other people have this problem? Is there something I can do to avoid it in the future? What do you do if it is a more mild case?
Comments
I'd go with dremeling if you can, if you cut the nails, and see if that helps if the Vet doesn't come up with anything.
It was quick and cheap, though. Once they shaved his paw, we could see it better, and it was broken WAY far up, but fairly cleanly, so all they did was clean, point some antibiotic cream on it, and bandage it. My vet said, yes, technically I could have done the same, but Oskar won't hold still like that for me, and if had been split, they might have had to do some trimming, which would have been harder. They also said it is broken so far up it may not come back. He said in dogs it usually does, but he's seen occasional cases where the nail was broken so far it didn't grow back.
It was Oskar's first vet appointment as a grown dog, and clearly he thought it was the worst thing that has ever happened to him! But he was very good, and he laid still for them to trim/clean it, even when it hurt. They didn't have to muzzle him or anything. He did pee on the vet tech though, because he was so scared when they put him on the table.
However, he perked right up when we left when he met a lovely female dog that quite got his attention (ok, picture a senior citizen poodle/terrier mix, with a bandaged tail. But female! Oskar was very excited). The vet and vet tech both thought he was very sweet, and despite his size, easier to work on than the Shibas.
Here's a pic of Oskar with his sock, which I've covered up his bandage with: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150189319868195&set=a.462498073194.247185.545233194&type=1&theater