Broken nail.....

[TwoFacedCows]

my pup he is not actually a puppy but will always be one to me! has broken his nail. i noticed him licking it this morning and had a look and it looks like This Ouch He is a real baby, and as soon as I touch his leg to have a look he goes all shaky.

He has done this before and had a horrible experience in the vets when they tried to pin him down and give him some gas and pull the nail off. He really panicked and was not happy. He is a very delicate soul, and frightens easily.

SO.... show I leave it and let the nail drop off naturally? will it drop of naturally? will he pull it off when the tender nail bed stops hurting? i hate seeing him all delicate and shaky when i touch his leg!

any one!

Ouch! You could try trimming it a bit, so it doesn't catch. I am a vet, and I often try just trimming the nail back so it doesn't catch, but warn the owner it might need to come off later, in which case I will fully sedate and give local anaesthetic to do it! (I am a bit of a wimp )

it is sort of spilt along the length of the nail. so as you look at it from the side it is split from the nail bed down to the tip. there is nothing to catch, but he keeps licking it. I will keep an eye on it, hopefully it will fall off

he is just so precious! he gets nervous walking through doors in case they shut on him, so you can imagine what he would be like with manky nails!

Thanks!!

Aww! if its split down and he is licking you might be best to see your vet anyway in case it gets infected- it's a bit of a myth that they "clean" it by licking; all they do is introduce all the bacteria from their mouths (nice!) And some painkillers/ anti-inflamms might help too. Good luck!

Maybe a 'lampshade' to stop him licking would be an idea?

Our last dog managed to pull out a nail -when I was off on a rare business trip - vet bandaged it up to start with IIRC, can't remember if he was lampshaded for that. (the nail regrew)

Poor pup ...it sounds from his reaction when you try to take a look as though its hurting. Would it be feasible to get some sort of oral seditive from the vet for you to give him before you take him in maybe if he's liable to be traumatised?

I think I will give it this weekend and if it is still bothering him I will take him to vets. He is fine running about and enjoyed his walk, his nail didnt seem to enter his head.

grimma, whilst I don't doubt it is sore. he is the worlds most precious pansy pup. when he is all well and you say to him ' aww baby! show me!' he will limp over to you with his paw in the air. He is just a very stubborn dog, who doesn't like being messed with. - wont even give you paw properly, just lifts up paw but doesn't like you touching him. * my point to all of that is I don't think he is being shaky and soft just because it hurts!

I will ask about oral sedative though because he is such a grumps, its not even being traumatised, he is just stubborn and wont be messed with!

would you suggest I sudo creme it and re bandage it?

I agree with Platypus. It could be infected. In which case it will need treatment (not to mention pain relief!) so maybe try to see your vet in the morning.