Id appreciate any opinions or advice...thanks!

pandas

Hi,

My dog (Jazz) came back from rambling with his nail totally gone, clean off and bleeding on his right hind leg, the outside nail. I brought him to the vet and vet barely looked at the injury, didn't dress it in a bandage, didn't even touch his leg and gave him an injection for pain and said if it hadn't stopped bleeding by the next day to bring him back in but if it had stopped bleeding it would be fine just to make sure he stays on soft ground for 3 weeks.

It stopped bleeding that evening and Jazz was running around on it and everything like normal. Even when it was really bleeding a lot he was never limping or whimpering or anything so now I am finding it hard to know if he is in pain or not. Like if I didn't know the nail was gone I wouldn't have known from his behavior that there would be any reason that he might be in pain he was acting the normal way he does, messing and playing around.

Two days later i rang the vet to see if i should be making sure it doesn't get infected by washing it or something and the receptionist asked and came back and said to "maybe just" bath it in salt water i did that and now he seems to be limping on it..well rather just holding the paw off the ground when he is running. Its fine when he's walking on it.

Am I just being over protective or should I be worried? the vet said if i am worried I should bring him in but I don't really want to bring Jazz in again without being certain he needs it, because it cost 50euro for the last visit and that's all the vet did, I wasn't even in there 5 minutes.

If he gets really sick over this I'd be awful upset but at the same time I don't want to be spending that kind of money needlessly!

andreac

Ring the vet and tell them you arent happy with the dog and that you need to come back for a follow up visit.
You shouldnt have to pay anything or the full fee this time as its for the same condition.

I would imagine thought that the dog is just sensitive in that area as the nail is gone so is probably just minding himself when running around.

Or maybe leave it another few days, keep the wound clean and see does it improve. Its probably just very sensitive at the moment.

Ticktactoe

If it looks swollen and that the area is not healing up, or that there is a 'puss' coming from it I would definitely bring him back in as it is most likely infected. He could have been fine the first couple of days but it could have got infected after that.

He could be very very clever also, and lift the back paw when your around so that you give him sympathy and cuddles!

pandas

Thanks for the replies guys..

Its not swollen at all and there is no pus..it looks clean like I can see into the red bit and it is clean...he doesn't like me at it though he'l keep pulling his paw away so id say it is sore!

Or he could be just wrapping me even more around his finger or paw ha!

But no seriously ill leave it a few days and see how i feel then..over protective ha god help any kids i may have!

Thanks again.

Ticktactoe

I do feel like my pets are my children!

By the description you give, it seems to be doing just fine and like any normal cut or wound is sore to touch. Making sure it is clean is very important. Bathing it in salty water will make it sting so he may react to it but it is a good idea to do it.

Its good to be cautious and worried tho, better than been the opposite!

Noopti

One of ours had a similar injury before. Most of the nail had broken off, so you could see the pulp etc. There were still bits of the nail hanging off, so I cut them away and he stopped limping, so I presume when he was walking the bits of nail were digging into the pulp.

I then dressed the wound myself with some cotton wool and antiseptic cream for one day. I then took off the bandage and he has had no problem since.

The main worry is infection, so just check it every day for pus. Also smell it, as if it gets infected it will smell quite bad. Once there is no infection he will be fine.

peasant

If it looks clean it probably is clean.

The reason why the dog was limping after the salt water bath could be that the salt actually hurts on the open wound, especially if there was a lot of salt in the solution

Noopti

peasant wrote: »

If it looks clean it probably is clean.

The reason why the dog was limping after the salt water bath could be that the salt actually hurts on the open wound, especially if there was a lot of salt in the solution

Yeah, agree completely. I personally wouldn't even bath the foot in a salt bath. Of course there is no real harm in it though, up to yourself. Keep and eye on it - dogs are robust creatures and it shouldn't get infected. If it does then bring him to the vet.

VERYinterested

My dog cut her paw on glass recently. The vet gave her anti-biotics to counter any possible infection. He gave me some bandages to put on when I was bringing her for walks to keep it clean. I know it's not the same injury, but very similar and I'm happy to report that a fortnight after it happened, it had healed lovely, despite the odd morning when it opened up slightly when the neighbour's cat was given a chase!

Tomorrow morning it will have happened four weeks ago and to look at the paw, you have to look very hard to see any scar. So hopefully in your case, time will sort this out. He will continue to lift the paw until he's comfortable to put weight on it, a natural instinct. It sounds to me like it's all under control and you've no need to return to the vet just yet!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I usually find bathing a paw wound in tepid water with a little TCP works very well. If there's no improvement by tomorrow evening go back to the Vet.

BTW: Did you say (well, in fact you did say) that the Dog was rambling? Do us all a favour and make sure it doesn't do that again! :mad:

Ticktactoe

Gary Flat Wristwatch wrote: »

I usually find bathing a paw wound in tepid water with a little TCP works very well. If there's no improvement by tomorrow evening go back to the Vet.

BTW: Did you say (well, in fact you did say) that the Dog was rambling? Do us all a favour and make sure it doesn't do that again! :mad:

Eh, BTW if you read the OPs post you would know that IT was a HE.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Ticktactoe wrote: »

Eh, BTW if you read the OPs post you would know that IT was a HE.

Oh Sweet Jessie! That's it, I'm out of this thread. He, she, it! It's a Dog. I offended nobody. It's an expression. Live with it!.

Bye!!!

jujuB

pandas wrote: »

Hi,

I brought him to the vet and vet barely looked at the injury, didn't dress it in a bandage, didn't even touch his leg and gave him an injection for pain and said if it hadn't stopped bleeding by the next day to bring him back inQUOTE]

Seriously?? That sounds like someone who doesn't really care about the well being of your dog. I have 2 dogs and 2 guinea pigs so we are often in and out of our vet, he is amazing and truely loves animals, he always makes sure that WE'RE happy with the outcome. There are so many fantastic professionals out there who would be happy to help your Jazz, because to me that does not sound like professional advice especially the response you got when you phoned to see if you should bathe it? Surely he should have mentioned something about that when you went in?! My advice would be to seriously consider changing your vet!

kylith

My childhood dog did the same once; the vet just trimmed off any excess nail and left it at that. She was walking normally that evening and running around like a mad thing the next day. I'd say keep an eye on it. If it seems swollen, hot, or if there's pus go back to the vet; if not then it should be fine if you keep it as clean as possible. I'd actually worry about bathing it as that would soften the scab and could let infection in.

pandas

Hey,

Yes my dog was rambling it doesn't happen very often, I don't know why there was an angry face on that post though to be honest. The dog didnt do anything terribly wrong only follow his nose and I dont think I did, did I? I didnt purposely send him off!

Anyway he seems to be all better he still licks it a bit but iv examined it and examined it again and there is no infection or smell that i can tell.

The place I go is a practice and I usually get the same Vet who is very good and considerate it was just this time because it was an emergency appointment (I would say) that I got a different Vet. I am quiet happy with my normal guy.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Appreciate them.

kylith

pandas wrote: »

Hey,

Yes my dog was rambling it doesn't happen very often, I don't know why there was an angry face on that post though to be honest. The dog didnt do anything terribly wrong only follow his nose and I dont think I did, did I? I didnt purposely send him off!

The main reason people would be against dogs going rambling is that it can be a sign of a dog owner who doesn't much care about their pet (there are several in my area whose idea of exercising their dog is to open the front door and put it out on the road). You might want to look at dog-proofing your garden; you're lucky that he only came back with a torn nail this time; next time he might come back with wounds from a fight, or from being hit by a car, or might not come back at all.

ecaf

pandas wrote: »

Hey,

Yes my dog was rambling it doesn't happen very often, I don't know why there was an angry face on that post though to be honest. The dog didnt do anything terribly wrong only follow his nose and I dont think I did, did I? I didnt purposely send him off!

Anyway he seems to be all better he still licks it a bit but iv examined it and examined it again and there is no infection or smell that i can tell.

The place I go is a practice and I usually get the same Vet who is very good and considerate it was just this time because it was an emergency appointment (I would say) that I got a different Vet. I am quiet happy with my normal guy.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Appreciate them.

Glad your dog is recovering well now. Just wanted to let you know that our hunting dog damaged her nail last year and we had to get the vet to pull it off. Seemed awful, but she hardly flinched. He dressed it and said I could take it off the next day. She kept it on over night and I hoped to keep the dressing on until the following day but she waved her paws in the air and the dressing came off itself.
Once it had stopped bleeding I knew it was fine. The new nail started to appear after a few weeks, and it eventually grew back without a problem. I'm sure the salt just stung him a bit, but there shouldn't be a problem with infection or anything.

mollymascara

pandas wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys..

Its not swollen at all and there is no pus..it looks clean like I can see into the red bit and it is clean...he doesn't like me at it though he'l keep pulling his paw away so id say it is sore!

Or he could be just wrapping me even more around his finger or paw ha!

But no seriously ill leave it a few days and see how i feel then..over protective ha god help any kids i may have!

Thanks again.

Aww poor dog. That sort of injury is actually very common in dogs, the usual treatment would to be to remove the nail and keep the wound clean as much as possible - bathe warm salty water twice daily or some chemists would stock an antibacterial wash that may be safe to use on animals. It is bound to be sore for a few days (I mean can you imagine pulling the nail off your toe and running around on it, would be a bit on the throbby side for a bit, haha), but as long as the dog is in good form, not off food etc, it should be fine.
Alternatively, if you are really not happy, just give the vet a call / visit