What should I do if my dog has a broken nail?
If your dog yelps in pain and suddenly begins to limp or hold his paw up, check his foot for a broken nail and follow this treatment protocol:
1. Safely restrain your dog. Have someone hold your pet while you tend to the nail. Remember that even the nicest pet may bite when in pain. A muzzle may help avoid injury. Provide restraint in the form of a hug which immobilizes the dog and makes him feel secure.
2. Control bleeding by wrapping the foot in gauze or a towel and applying pressure to the injured toe. If the bleeding does not stop in 5-10 minutes, apply a styptic pencil, silver nitrate stick, or cauterizing powder to the nail. These items can be purchased at the pet store or in the first aid section of your human pharmacy. If you do not have these products at home, try covering the nail with baking powder or flour. You can also stick the tip of the nail into a bar of soap to help stop the bleeding.
3. Remove the damaged part of the nail. Sometimes, there is a loosely attached sliver of nail that can be trimmed away easily with clippers at home, but most of the time this job is best left to your veterinarian. Keep the foot wrapped in a towel as you proceed to your veterinary hospital.
The damaged or broken part of the nail needs to be carefully removed. This procedure is often painful but can be accomplished quickly and often requires no sedation; however, depending on the degree of pain and where the break is, sedation and/or numbing the area with a nerve block may be required. The nail should be trimmed above the break to completely remove the damaged portion and to provide a good foundation for the nail to re-grow.
4. Protect the nail bed from infection. Your veterinarian may apply antibiotic ointment or powder to the exposed nail bed and bandage the foot to prevent contamination and to minimize further bleeding. An oral or injectable antibiotic may be advised as well. Since the nail bed or quick is attached to bone, prevention of infection is crucial. Bone infections are serious problems and only certain antibiotics are effective in treating them. Your dog’s foot needs to be closely monitored so your veterinarian will schedule a follow-up visit to examine the affected nail and remove or change the bandage.
5. Control the pain. Without the keratin part of the nail to protect the quick, the tender live tissue including blood vessels and nerves is exposed and painful. Your veterinarian may prescribe pain medication for a few days to keep your dog more comfortable.
Why are broken nails such a problem?
The nails of dogs consist of a central collection of blood vessels and nerves that are called the quick. The quick is covered by a layer of hard material called keratin, which surrounds these sensitive structures to protect them. The quick is living tissue while the keratin is not. That is why trimming the tip of the nail is not painful for your pet but exposing the quick is uncomfortable. The quick is also attached to the bone, so any damage to the quick can lead to an infection in the bone, which is very serious.
There are normally 5 toes on each front foot and four on each rear foot, but sometimes an extra nail called a dew claw is located higher up on the foot. All nails except the dew claws are worn down when the dog walks on hard surfaces such as the sidewalk, but normal wear may not keep nails short enough, making it necessary to trim your dog’s nails. Dew claws do not bear weight so they need to be trimmed more frequently and are more susceptible to breaking.
Inspect the Area
After muzzling your dog, inspect the area carefully. It will obviously be red, bleeding, and even swollen. Try to look at the paw without handling the quick area directly and unnecessarily. Your assessment should determine if you need to remove any portions of the nail or if you can skip this step and stop the bleeding. If the nail is split in two and one end is hanging, you will obviously need to remove that hanging portion.
Important Note: Dogs are often reactive to pain. Even the most serene and loving dogs can react and potentially bite an owner when stressed. Before applying a muzzle, make sure your dog is not in any kind of respiratory distress. In the event of labored breathing, hyperventilation, hypoventilation, changes in gum color, indications of vomiting, gagging, or hacking, a muzzle should not be applied as this could lead to aspiration or asphyxiation.
Broken Toenail on a Dog. Why you may not need the ER to resolve these.
Discovering your dog ripped a nail off and is now limping and covered in blood can be distressing. Luckily, integrative veterinarian Dr. Julie Buzby is here to help. She explains what to do if your dog rips a nail, why dogs tend to rip nails off, and how to prevent it from happening in the future.
Last week, my family and I joined our dear friends, the Pelcher family, for dinner. They have a very sweet yellow Labrador named Thumper. We were eating a wonderful meal when Thumper limped into the dining room. He had been running and playing with our dog a few minutes prior. Mrs. Pelcher left the table to look at Thumper. I heard her exclaim that his front foot was covered in blood.
I stood up to help her examine Thumper. Sure enough, his front paw was bloody. I quickly discovered that the source was his dewclaw. It was torn and barely hanging on. I assured my dear friend that Thumper was going to be okay and asked her son to grab some cornstarch for me.
I quickly packed the bleeding nail with cornstarch and wrapped Thumper’s paw with a napkin. Mrs. Pelcher was very worried and asked if Thumper’s torn nail was serious. I explained that toenails can bleed a lot and look scary, especially on a light-colored dog. I went on to reassure her that while Thumper’s nail was painful, I could help her manage this injury for the night. Then tomorrow she could bring Thumper into the clinic so his ripped nail could be treated properly.
Unfortunately, it can be very common for dogs to rip nails off just like Thumper did. Thankfully, this is usually a problem that is fairly easy to treat and dogs typically heal well. Let’s explore this further!