Dogs claw has come off??

Mince Pie

Sorry, haven't read the charter for this area of the forum so apologies if I've posted in the wrong place but I'm panicking here.

My lurcher is lying on the sofa beside me and I've just noticed that her small claw has completely come off. Its not bleeding.
I really don't have any money to take her to the vets so I wondered is there anything I can do? Is this normal?
We got back from our walk around 4.30pm and only just noticed it so haven't noticed much discomfort although she is quite a hardy dog.

Any advice please?:(

westies4ever

Mince Pie wrote: »

Sorry, haven't read the charter for this area of the forum so apologies if I've posted in the wrong place but I'm panicking here.

My lurcher is lying on the sofa beside me and I've just noticed that her small claw has completely come off. Its not bleeding.
I really don't have any money to take her to the vets so I wondered is there anything I can do? Is this normal?
We got back from our walk around 4.30pm and only just noticed it so haven't noticed much discomfort although she is quite a hardy dog.

Any advice please?:(

Are you sure this didn't happen a while back? One of my westies pulled out a nail on a door threshold once and she was in agony - she screamed the place down and there was a fair bit of blood.

My vet re- embedded the nail and dressed the wound. Thankfully the nail took and she was fine.

Not sure what you can do yourself other than clean the wound to stop infection.

tk123

Will she let you examine it? Is it broke down to the quick/bleeding? My dog cracked his dew claw a couple of months ago and had to get it cut back to the quick - it was very painful for him. The vet bandaged it up for a few days then when the bandage was taken off I had to bathe it with hibiscrub a few times a day for 3 or 4 days..the first few days it was bleeding and sore If its not hurting her it's probably not down to the quick and you're ok. If it IS down to the quick just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get infected and take it easy on walks - my guy wasn't allowed swim while it was healing. Obviously if you think it's getting worse or very painful head to the vets.

Mince Pie

Thanks, I've bathed it and there is no blood. It kinda looks like there is a hole where the claw used to imbed in her paw but it looks clean. gonna keep an eye and bathe in salty water. she's dying to go out for a walk now. So gonna keep her on the lead and see how she is when we get back.
Its hard to calculate if shes in much discomfort as she doesn't whine when shes in pain and will always let me examine her wounds with no problem.
Will just have to see how it goes.

Dunny

Take her to the vet like.

x Purple Pawprints x

If there's no blood or no signs of any inflammation (redness, heat, pain, swelling) then it's probably fine but please keep an eye on it and if you're worried she will have to see a vet.

beveragelady

I hope your dog just injured himself, a once-off sort of accident, but keep a close eye on his other claws. My collie cross was diagnosed during the summer with symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (an autoimmune thingummy). His claws turned dark, frayed and dropped off one after the other. I think he lost a total of seven claws before we sorted it out. The vet put him on a course of steroids, which worked well. Now I'm just hoping they all grow back nice and straight, and we're in the clear.
I'm pretty sure a vet won't make a diagnosis of SLO unless a number of claws have been lost, so my advice is to check them every so often, and keep a record of any missing claws. They seemed to lift from the nail bed a day or two before they fell off altogether. (It's not as gory as it sounds, I promise.) If it is symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy, it's still not so bad, and it won't cost you a fortune.