# Cracked nail



## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

On tuesday night my dog started limping during a bite work session. I put him up after that. By wed morning he had a very slight gimp to him so I didn't bother going to the vet and figured I'd just rest him. No real exercise since working on Tuesday. 

There was still a very slight gimp to him on and off on thurs and nothing yesterday. This morning when I went to work him, he jump out of the truck and started limping - no weight on his back gimp leg. Now I thought it was serious but a bunch of us checked him out. Nothing in the knee or hip... it's all in his foot. Upon closer inspection one of the guys noticed one of his nails is completely split open. His back nails are very short to begin with and this one is almost gone.

How do I treat this? Rest? Wrap?


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I'm absolutely no expert but since none have answered, I'll try. I "doctor" my dogs with such things.

First I'd shorten it, if possible. so that the split doesn't split more but if you say his rear nails are short anyway, I think I'd disinfect it and then bind it. It's going to grow again if not a lot of damage is done but this would be to save infection. If you bind it, it will confuse the dog anyway and it probably won't put it on the ground. Some disinfecting ointment under the binding would be good. I lost a nail once. I took a litre bottle of wine straight from the fridge and it slipped right through my hand on to my big toe=D> but it grew again.

I have a very old book given out by TCP in the UK for use with dogs. You can use it for everything. If folks from the UK visit us, no flowers, just TCP. It's a cure-all for humans and dogs.

What about a dog shoe?? Good luck


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

his nails on his back feet are so short there is nothing to cut. This is why I didn't notice it the first time. 

The nail is cracked down into his foot from what I can see.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

I'd take him to the vet quite honestly. If the nail bed is damaged (I assume you mean toe, not foot) there could be complications. It's one thing doctoring my own dogs but I wouldn't want to give you the wrong advice.

Just out of interest, are his front nails as short, too?


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

On myself, I superglue split nails. I sorta generally wonder if that could be done with dogs, anyone know? I've never had any dogs split a nail, but had one grind the nails past the quick and two of the nails got infected. They healed just by keeping really clean and protected, using antibiotic ointment, and trimming short so it could drain... But if it got worse we would have had to do several weeks of oral antibiotics, and worst case remove the whole nail (my vet told me some horror stories as usual).

So I agree with having a vet look at it.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Gillian Schuler said:


> I'd take him to the vet quite honestly. If the nail bed is damaged (I assume you mean toe, not foot) there could be complications. It's one thing doctoring my own dogs but I wouldn't want to give you the wrong advice.
> 
> Just out of interest, are his front nails as short, too?


I agree.

And yes Toe not foot.

His front nails are short but not like the back. He's active enough that I've never had to clip them since I worked to condition him as a puppy. This is mostly about the lack of grass in AZ.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Why I was wondering, for a balanced gait, I thought both front and back leg claws should be worn down equally. Just a thought!

Let us know what happens with the nail.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Gillian Schuler said:


> Why I was wondering, for a balanced gait, I thought both front and back leg claws should be worn down equally. Just a thought!
> 
> Let us know what happens with the nail.



Good point. The nails are not the same between front and back but I'm not worried as he does weight pulling, lots of bite work and jumping around so I don't expect them to be even.


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## Jeanine Daugherty (Feb 18, 2008)

Gillian Schuler said:


> Why I was wondering, for a balanced gait, I thought both front and back leg claws should be worn down equally. Just a thought!
> 
> Let us know what happens with the nail.


The front and back nails do not wear evenly because dogs do not use their front and back legs evenly. I forget what the percentage is, but they use their hindquarters far more than their front. 

I would not super glue the split, you may be sealing in something that could cause an infection. I would probably use antibiotic ointment and bandage it if he'll leave a bandage alone. Otherwise I would just apply the ointment several times a day, especially just before he is fed so he will leave it alone for a while.
Jeanine


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Jeanine Daugherty said:


> The front and back nails do not wear evenly because dogs do not use their front and back legs evenly. I forget what the percentage is, but they use their hindquarters far more than their front.


Actually dogs use about a 60%/40% split between their front limbs and hind limbs respectively. It's even slightly more so in horses, which is why front leg injuries are especially devastating for those guys.


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks to you both, Jeanine and Maren. 

After the Winter I sometimes have to clip the younger dog's claws and I saw a slight difference but it didn't register.


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

I've had a couple of dogs do this, some have cracked the nail others have torn it completely off. If it's cracked, I trim/dremel it as much as the dog will let me, to remove the "hang nail" part, just so it won't tear even further. Don't get the quick, but just any loose parts. Then I keep it clean and just keep an eye on it. I haven't had to do anything more then that and they have healed up fine, with the nail eventually growing back out. As the nail grows out you might want to dremel/clip it until you reach the end of the crack, then let it grow like normal. 

I would keep the dog out of nasty areas while the toe heels, ie don't let them run in mud, questionable water (nasty puddles, creeks, etc) and I also kept them off concrete or any surfaces that would usually wear the nails down since the quick is exposed already. So grass, carpet, shavings, etc. When in the house I did toss a sock over the foot in case the dog bumped it and it started bleeding, but that was more for my carpet then anything else LOL My dogs kept their foot very clean with constant licking, so short exposures to nasty footing wasn't a problem, ie a quick trip outside to potty when it's raining (muddy) I just didn't let them stay in it for any length of time.

If the foot starts to look a little swollen, or the limp gets worse, there is a good chance they have developed an infection at which point I'd be heading to the vet for antibiotics and whatever other treatment they might perscribe.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

If the nail is just split, I trim it as much as possible, removing anything that is able to catch on something. Then apply a little super glue. I've never had a problem with it.

DFrost


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

David Frost said:


> If the nail is just split, I trim it as much as possible, removing anything that is able to catch on something. Then apply a little super glue. I've never had a problem with it.
> 
> DFrost



There's nothing to trim because they are so short. I put super glue on his little nub. I hope he's better soon as he's bouncing off the walls and driving me nuts. So far I have found 11 shoes by the front door. Ya think he's trying to send me a message?:-k


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

What surface are you keeping him on? IMO there needs to be a "happy medium" between to long of nails, and to short of nails, with a small amount of nail coming out past the quick. If the nails are constantly being worn down to the quick there isn't much to protect the quick when the dog is on a harder then normal surface. I've also not had my dogs with average length nails tear them up as much as the dogs with nails that were super short (I've had a few that kept theirs like it sounds your dog does) or way to long. If he's in a kennel with a hard surface, concrete, DG, etc you might consider putting some shaves over it so he doesn't wear them down quite as much.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

Kadi Thingvall said:


> What surface are you keeping him on? IMO there needs to be a "happy medium" between to long of nails, and to short of nails, with a small amount of nail coming out past the quick. If the nails are constantly being worn down to the quick there isn't much to protect the quick when the dog is on a harder then normal surface. I've also not had my dogs with average length nails tear them up as much as the dogs with nails that were super short (I've had a few that kept theirs like it sounds your dog does) or way to long. If he's in a kennel with a hard surface, concrete, DG, etc you might consider putting some shaves over it so he doesn't wear them down quite as much.



He has the run of the house when I'm home which means he's usually laying at my feet on carpet or in the kitchen (if he's hot) on tile. The house is either carpet, title or hardwood floors. If I'm not home he's in his crate.

The big problem is, AZ has a lack of grass and soft surfaces in general. He's nails are shorter than the other dogs in the house but I attribute that to the fact that I work him more than the others.

We exercise every morning in an 11 acre mostly grass field. Our back yard has grass and rock. The training field is mostly really short/dead grass over hard dirt.

None of the dogs with the exception of ours pugs click their nails on the floor when they walk in the house. I don't mind because I don't have to deal with trimming the nails. It's enough fun with the pugs. The pugs are old 11 and 10 and they don't care much for exercise unless its running to the kitchen for feeding time.

My wife often runs with one of the rotties every night. Maybe 2-3 miles or less as she cools down from working out. Lately though she's been taking the male who will bite on command because a neighborhood runner was recently kidnapped and raped. This is supposed to be nice area too... geez.


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## Loring Cox (Sep 6, 2008)

Bumping this back from the dead...

Chris, my boy split one of his rear nails horizontally down to the toe. I can see the quick exposed in between the two halves (like a clamshell). Did the above ideas work out OK for you or did you take him in to see a vet?


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

it worked for me.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

This has happened to several of my dogs as well and thus far it hasn't been much to worry about aside from the obvious tenderness the exposed quick creates. There are rubber nail caps for designer/decorative purposes that I honestly think might work for permitting some moderate to light work while the nail grows back out. Sounds foolish but I figure for a dog who might need to be kept active for one reason or another while the nail grows out he/she could be somewhat susceptible to another type of injury by trying to keep weight off the foot or by placing it in a manner that is not structurally natural to the dog.


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

My little girl tore one of hers off completely 3 days ago; nothing but the quick showing, no black nail to speak of. I've just been cleaning it a couple of times a day (no easy feat right now with the rain we've had) and put a little antibiotic ointment on it at night while she's in the kennel. She limped around a little the first day but was jumping like a deer in the house tonight. It's still tender I'm sure but so far no signs of any infection. In the case of a split the super glue thing has worked well for me in the past.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2009)

Clean the nail and cut it back with some sharp ass clippers so there are no fly away pieces to snag on a bandage and apply a blob of silver nitrate the the injured area. Wrap the paw with gauze and tape it. keep it dry by wrapping it in a bag of empty lactated wringers if it rains. The dog will be fine in a two or three days or if you have a gay schutzhund dog it may be more like a week.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

My girl ripped one of her nails badly. Vet took a pliers and ripped off the nail, just leaving the quick. She never seemed to notice it (d*mn APBT) and the nail regenerated fairly quickly without further attention.


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

Adam Swilling said:


> My little girl tore one of hers off completely 3 days ago; nothing but the quick showing, no black nail to speak of. I've just been cleaning it a couple of times a day and put a little antibiotic ointment on it at night


Deja did the same thing earlier this year. I posted pics. It was gross. I did the same thing you did and it eventually healed. The nail took forEVER to completely grow back, though; it's just now to where I can cut it again with the clippers.


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## Adam Swilling (Feb 12, 2009)

Kristen Cabe said:


> Deja did the same thing earlier this year. I posted pics. It was gross. I did the same thing you did and it eventually healed. The nail took forEVER to completely grow back, though; it's just now to where I can cut it again with the clippers.


I actually did a search for this topic when I found Sasha's little problem and saw your pics.That's actually where I learned how to take care of it, so I was greatful that you had posted it. Thank you! I'm glad to know that it will heal if taken cre of w/out a trip to the vet.


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## Becky Shilling (Jul 11, 2006)

I know this is an older thread, but I want to add that even a small crack can let you in for MAJOR infection. I just went through this a few months ago with Ozeta. Woke up to a dog with a front foot about four times normal size - looked like a club. It wasn't until after several days of soaking and antibiotics that we found the source of the problem. A very small crack in the dewclaw right at the base. She is one of those that can't just jump in the water; she has to HURL herself in. Apparently she hit a stone on the bottom of the creek.

She eventually lost the whole dewclaw and as of yet, it has not started to grow back. Not a big deal, but if it had been a toe nail instead of a dewclaw nail, she'd be looking a little odd with a missing toenail.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

my last rottweiler had a cracked nail that never healed. It turned out to be cancer and I had to put her to sleep within a few months of noticing the cracked nail.


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## Loring Cox (Sep 6, 2008)

Vin Chiu said:


> Clean the nail and cut it back with some sharp ass clippers so there are no fly away pieces to snag on a bandage and apply a blob of silver nitrate the the injured area. Wrap the paw with gauze and tape it. keep it dry by wrapping it in a bag of empty lactated wringers if it rains. The dog will be fine in a two or three days or if you have a gay schutzhund dog it may be more like a week.


Crap, worse than a gay schutzhund dog... I am a know-it-all COP with a bunch of groupies who follow me around and train based on what I regurgitate from seeing John Belushi do with his dog in the movie "K9...."

Nikki did tear off a dew claw earlier this year with no issues. So that is reassuring to know this should be no big deal. I cut off the top half to keep it from tearing back even more and I will monitor it for infection, he seems to be doing a good job of keeping it clean.


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## Diana Abel (Aug 31, 2009)

Chris Michalek said:


> On tuesday night my dog started limping during a bite work session. I put him up after that. By wed morning he had a very slight gimp to him so I didn't bother going to the vet and figured I'd just rest him. No real exercise since working on Tuesday.
> 
> There was still a very slight gimp to him on and off on thurs and nothing yesterday. This morning when I went to work him, he jump out of the truck and started limping - no weight on his back gimp leg. Now I thought it was serious but a bunch of us checked him out. Nothing in the knee or hip... it's all in his foot. Upon closer inspection one of the guys noticed one of his nails is completely split open. His back nails are very short to begin with and this one is almost gone.
> 
> How do I treat this? Rest? Wrap?


 
*Hi,*
*One of my dogs broke her front nail down to the quick. It was bad, the meat was hanging out, bleeding and it was also split. The only thing that I knew to do was take her to the Vet. He put her to sleep and cut it back pretty much to the nail bed and cauterized it. He said to just keep it clean and it would eventually fall the rest of the way off and a new one would grow in. It was bad looking for awhile. Good luck.*


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## Wawashkashi Tashi (Aug 25, 2009)

Anne Vaini said:


> My girl ripped one of her nails badly. Vet took a pliers and ripped off the nail, just leaving the quick. She never seemed to notice it (d*mn APBT) and the nail regenerated fairly quickly without further attention.


This is what I was going to suggest. I worked for years as an ER/ICU Veterinary Nurse & can tell you that it's *exactly* what we would do when folks would bring their dogs in at 3am with a broken nail.. then we would charge 'em $200! :-o
Needless to say, I rip my own dog's nails off with pliers at home now, if they ever split 'em up into the quick. :wink:
I'd also agree with previous advice to keep your dog out of gross footing for a few days too. IME when the nail is carefully trimmed back (or not trimmed at all) & the foot is bandaged, it's more prone to infection (from trapped moisture) & takes longer to heal.


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## Dan Brigham (Jul 23, 2009)

Becky Shilling said:


> I know this is an older thread, but I want to add that even a small crack can let you in for MAJOR infection. I just went through this a few months ago with Ozeta. Woke up to a dog with a front foot about four times normal size - looked like a club. It wasn't until after several days of soaking and antibiotics that we found the source of the problem. A very small crack in the dewclaw right at the base. She is one of those that can't just jump in the water; she has to HURL herself in. Apparently she hit a stone on the bottom of the creek.
> 
> She eventually lost the whole dewclaw and as of yet, it has not started to grow back. Not a big deal, but if it had been a toe nail instead of a dewclaw nail, she'd be looking a little odd with a missing toenail.


I had this same problem with a front nail. She wasn't working quite right and limping one night, 3-4 of us looked her over. Checked hips, knees, legs, feet, found nothing major. The cracked nail didn't look too bad but we trained on an equestrian park field, so there was the occasional horse turd. A couple days later when I went to put her out, the cracked nail toe was bigger than the other 3 combined. Took her into the vet, he cleaned it, and cut off the cracked part, then gave her Cephalexin. He said that the horse crap probably got in the crack and infected the nail bed. She was a very clean bitch, kinda did the cat licking thing, not constantly but often enough to keep it overly clean. 

Vet had me soak it 3-4 times a day in Epsom Salts and then do a dip in Betadine afterwards. Told us to try to keep it clean and not let her do any work, especially anything at the equestrian park. She was back to work 3-4 weeks later after everything healed. 

Keep an eye on it and if it swells, get into a vet. Probably wouldn't hurt to have a vet look at it now anyway.


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## Lukasz J. Trzebinski (Jul 21, 2009)

My female when she was young she split her toe nail, I let her chew it off. Still didn't stop her from working, she was in pain you could tell but she has high pain trashold. So within a week I guess she got pissed off at it and just chew it off.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Wawashkashi Tashi said:


> This is what I was going to suggest. I worked for years as an ER/ICU Veterinary Nurse & can tell you that it's *exactly* what we would do when folks would bring their dogs in at 3am with a broken nail.. then we would charge 'em $200! :-o
> Needless to say, I rip my own dog's nails off with pliers at home now, if they ever split 'em up into the quick. :wink:
> I'd also agree with previous advice to keep your dog out of gross footing for a few days too. IME when the nail is carefully trimmed back (or not trimmed at all) & the foot is bandaged, it's more prone to infection (from trapped moisture) & takes longer to heal.


Yup - we did it at home with a pair of pliers from my basement. :lol: He had me try it first, but I didn't do it quick enough and she yelped! Then he showed me how to do it and she never noticed. I'll get it next time...


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