Vet-phobic terrier with torn claw. Advice?

[CalatalieSisters]

My PRT has a very sore forepaw and I've been able to see clearly for the first time today that a claw is damaged and in fact is nearly off the toe altogether.

He is terribly afraid of the vet, and that will express itself as aggression (not too much of a problem as I can securely muzzle him) and extreme catlike wriggly escape strategies (not insurmountable, I suppose).

When he is in pain, as now, he becomes withdrawn and ingratiating: it's clear that he is very wary of being handled and just wants to be left alone. He will let me handle him as much as I need to, but I know it will be a very different story with the vets and nurses. The most worrying thing is that if the vet removes the claw (or even handles the paw at all), this will mean a huge burst of pain for the dog which will confirm his very great mistrust of vets and people generally, and possibly make him aggressive and fearful in future.

I phoned the vet when I saw the injury and explained his temperament, and they are happy for me to treat the problem at home: I'm resting him, soaking the paw daily in salt water, and applying a spray-on disinfectant.

My questions are:

Is it really ok, as the vet says, to keep him away from the surgery for a day or so in the hope that the claw will come off by itself and the injury will begin to heal?

If I do keep him away from the vet for now, is there anything more I should do beyond rest, bathing, disinfecting?

What signs should make me take him to the vet at once?

You're all out walking your dogs before it gets dark, aren't you.

I really don't want to sound rude, but your dog probably does need to go to the vet, on the lead and wearing a muzzle. Being a bit wriggly just sounds like an excuse not to go. Your vet will be very used to dealing with distraught clients. Once the toe issue is resolved, you can then regularly visit the vets with doggy to help build up lots of positive associations ( such as treats, tickles and so on). Again, your vet surgery will be used to people doing this and will probably be very supportive since it is in their interests that clients are happy and relaxed on the premises. Toes/claws can become infected quite quickly and if a ripped off claw did become infected you could be looking at an amputated toe. I would probably also expect a course of anti biotics for which you will need a prescription.

One other thing, ours generally advise against disinfectants as they are often very harsh - salt water only.

Thanks, no it doesn't sound rude.

I do take him to the vets with the usual sort of frequency, and we manage ok. But in this case I am particularly worried and the calculation of problems v benefits of going to vets seemed more vexed.

The wriggliness is less of an issue than the worry about causing him to fear people as sources of pain -- and consequently becoming certainly less reliable at the vets and possibly less reliable with people generally.

But I am v worried about the poss of infection, and on balance I do think I will have to brave the vet tomorrow, unless he is clearly improved.

I should have said antiseptic rather than disinfectant. Are there the same issues with antiseptic sprays do you know?

The vet will be used to dealing with distressed dogs. One of mine is terrified of having his paws and back legs touched but we had to take him for a hot spot on his back paw. It took three people to hold him down (while we waited outside) and he was muzzled, but it went fine, and they were so lovely to him afterwards, giving him lots of treats and telling him what a good boy he is, that it hasn't rubbed off as a general fear of the vet. He's been there since and been fine. The only thing as a result was that he became afraid of the muzzle, and we've been working on that since so that now he knows if he sees the muzzle he is going to get treats.

Of course we're working on him not minding his paws being touched and in the long run I'm sure you'll do the same. But in the meantime, I wouldn't worry too much about a trip to the vet - I am sure they can handle him.

Perhaps I should discuss with vet the possibility of a sedative before removing the claw.

Whoops x-posts redwing. Thanks that sounds reassuring.

I took him for ages to the KC "Canine good citizen" classes, but he flunked the silver because we couldn't get him to submit to paw etc. examination without growls!

I think you probably just have to keep working on it very slowly. Ours will let me touch his paws now (thanks to 'shake paw' for the front ones), and will consent to be groomed (but has mixed feelings about whether he likes it - he's coming round). However he really hates to be looked at with intent, and this is proving the hardest thing to fix because in fact you only have to look at the floor next to him and he growls. It's something about the intensity of the look - a normal look is fine, but if it's as if you are looking at something, or studying something, he gets scared.

I think the vet will suggest a sedative if they need to, but the vet and vet techs combined will probably be okay to handle him because they get used to dealing with this kind of thing.

That's really interesting about the looking reaction, redwing. My dog doesn't do that, but it sounds quite similar to the sort of apprehensions he does show

An update re the vet: I took him the day after I started this thread and I explained my concerns to the head nurse (vets were all on emergencies). She was happy to wade in with a sedative straight away, without even examining the paw first -- with a more tolerant dog they would have had a look and a fiddle first to see if they could manage to remove the claw without a sedative.

That meant the only ordeal he had to face was getting a needle into a vein: bad enough I suppose but I think the staff managed it really well and so he didn't have much time to get too worked up.

He was so stoned as he left the place that he perhaps won't remember much anyway -- except the lovely lovely morphine, much nicer than doggie chocolate drops.

He recovered quickly and I was really relieved and grateful to the staff. A bit of background: I had a v bad experience when he was neutered at that surgery. The young vet I saw then was determined to regard his fear aggression as "dominance" and lectured me about the possibility of destroying him as an aggressive dog. She refused to give him dog treats, saying that would confirm his sense of being dominant. It has left me always dreading vet trips, even though the staff I have seen since have always been helpful.

So pleased things worked out well. Hope he's continuing to recover, and is getting lots of TLC!

Am at that vet's attitude. Don't think I would want to stay at a practice that espoused that sort of nonsense (though I realise that especially in rural areas, choice may be more limited).

Thanks scuttle. He is indeed getting lots of TLC, it is so lovely to see him all perked up again. I was amazed that even after the painkillers must have worn off he shows absolutely no sign of any remaining soreness.

My surgery tends to have a lot of very young vets who are there for just a short time -- she was one of those.

I am cross with myself because I felt so anxious and unsure that I just swallowed what she said, and regarded my dog rather than her attitude as the problem. It caused me lots and lots of worry before I finally accepted that, although of course I have to be careful to keep on training my dog towards acceptance of contact with strangers, and to manage matters so that he isn't left unsupervised in situations where he might have a contact that makes him defensive, he isn't any kind of a monster and fear aggression at the vet is not out of this world.