Dog limping after cutting nails

morganafay

Ok this is kinda weird but . . .

One of my dogs never had a problem with her nails overgrowing, until she was about 3. Her feet are really hairy, so I didn't notice that two of the nails only, were overgrown and curled into her paw pad. Because I never used to check my dogs' nails often because they just didn't overgrow, with them walking on concrete all the time, until she was 3 for some reason.

I cut them back and it was fine. Now she's 5 and I keep checking those two nails and keeping them short. The nails are really thickened now and strange looking, and she has scars on her paw pads where the nails grew into them before. But it has never caused her any problems for 2 years.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed the nails looking a bit long, so I cut them back loads, it was all dead nail and I didn't cut into the quick. I also cut all the fur around her foot.

And now she's limping, and she never has before.

So I don't know if I hurt her nail, even though it didn't bleed. I cut it back a lot but they are really strange thickened nails. Also the nails on those two toes (the outside back ones) don't even seem to touch off the ground.

Or maybe it's the paw pads that are hurting where they are scarred? But they've been like that for 2 years and she never limped before? Maybe if I leave the hair grow long again then it'll help cushion them. But those toes don't even seem touch the ground properly, so maybe it hurts because she walks funny.

I don't know what to do really, I can't take her for walks or anything now because I'm afraid she's in pain. She's never been very active, and always prefers to sit around that run around.

I feel like a bad dog owner for letting them get overgrown in the first place, but like I said they had never gotten long before and I couldn't see them under all the fur so didn't notice.

morganafay

Well I had a closer look at her feet, and the two thickened nails or the bits that are scarred don't even touch off the ground to hurt her.

So I cut back all the nails on the back feet a little. They weren't very long, but just cut off a little. And she's walking much better. So maybe it was just because I cut back one nail on each foot, that she was walking strangely or something, but now she seems to be walking better.