My little black lab cross girl is 13ish (rescue dog, had for 10 years).
about a month ago a nail on her back paw became infected, she was hobbling around and was given a course of antibiotics and painkillers. Around this time another claw on her other back paw sort of "flipped up", showing the quick. It didnt seem to cause her much pain, though once the painkillers and anti-b's were finished she showed discomfort in both this paw and another where she had yet another infected nail. The vet removed the loose nail and she was put on yet more anti-b's. The vet decided that it must be something to do with her nail length so cut them all back. This was about 2 weeks ago.
Today my dog has 2 more nails which have raised, and are causing her pain We will take her back to the vets on monday for them to be removed.
The poor dog is unhappy and limping (though not severely) She has been on anti-b after anti-b and her feet are still causing her pain. The painkillers knock her out and make her a bit confused so the vet didnt give us any last time.
What is this? Do dogs just shed their claws or could she have a deficiency of some kind? She is otherwise well and alert and bright.
I suppose the only thing that is different about her (except sh has lost some of her exuberance) is the fact that she is drinking more than usual, though I guess this could be because she is constantly licking her poor paws.