My dog's long, brittle nail broke to the quick. What can I do at home?

Hello. This is such a common injury in dogs. Veterinarians deal with this by cutting the nail at the break & then applying an antibiotic cream mixed with a little lidocaine to stop the pain. The foot stays bandaged for a couple of days until the sensitive tissue starts to heal. From here, the nail will begin to grow out & Jack will be back to his old self. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. Ouch! Morty did break the nail at the quick. Honestly, it would be best to take Morty to your vet & just clip the nail off. It will hurt for a second, but leaving the nail like this will cause constant pain, & may lead to an infection up the nail bed. Your vet can dress this properly & send Morty home with some antibiotics & pain medication that will help this to heal quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Ouch, poor Rupert! The quick itself should be left alone, but it appears in the picture that there is a long skinny piece of tissue or retained nail on the inner aspect of the quick. If that's the case, it will need to be trimmed back. If you're comfortable taking care of this yourself, you can trim that part back with a dog nail clippers (make sure you are comfortable with what you're doing and know what should and should not be trimmed - do NOT trim the quick itself as that would be very painfu for Rupert!). You can apply a gob of neosporin over the quick, and it may be helpful to cover that area with a clean sock for a few days, as the quick will be very tender, and will bleed easily. If you're not confident to do this yourself, bring Rupert in to the vet and they'll trim back any remaining nail tissue, and will likely apply medicated ointment and place a soft bandage. Monitor Rupert's nail bed over the coming week or two and make sure it is not getting red, swollen, or having discharge, which would indicate a nail bed infection requiring a vet visit and antibiotics. Hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. So sorry this happened to Frank. If it is not causing him any issues and it is not bleeding then you don't really need to take him to the vet. If he starts limping or the toe becomes swollen, etc then you will need to get him to a vet at that time. I recommend you get this spray wound gel to apply to it (link below, use as directed). I would not do any vigorous cleaning as you may disrupt any blood clots that will then cause it to bleed. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-wound-and-skin-hydrogel-for-pets ) Also, if he begins to lick it, you will need to get him a cone collar to wear. If he licks it too much it may get infected. We do not want him to lick the wound gel off either as that will defeat the purpose of using it. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/well-and-good-recovery-cone-collar-large-1225-21-3498991 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

One of our biggest concerns with a broken nail where the quick is exposed is that the dog will infect the area by licking it. In order to prevent that, I will sometimes recommend an e-collar or a having the dog wear a bootie to prevent licking. Some owners decide to bandage the area, but you have to be very careful to keep the bandage clean and dry or it will worsen an infection. If a dog has already licked a quick, I will usually recommend soaking the foot in Epsom Salts (following the instructions on the box for making it up) for 5 minutes then just drying it well. Some dogs are so painful that they will not leave a quick alone and will require pain medications. If at any time the quick is red or has a discharge or odor, then it might be infected and your veterinarian should examine it. The nail should regrow normally and should not need further treatment after that. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Sunny heals quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you can remove the nail that is remaining, I would. You can cut the quick, too, if needed. If it bleeds, thickly apply something powdered, like corn starch or flour, to clot the blood. Then place a bandage over the nail for no longer than 24 hours. You MUST take the bandage off in 24 hours and do not place it tightly. If Rex is licking the area, he could cause an infection, so monitor for any swelling, discharge, or redness until the new nail grows. You can also soak the paw in an Epsom salt bath to soothe the area (make sure it is dry before applying the bandage). I cannot stress enough that he cannot wear the bandage longer than 24 hours. Good luck and kisses to Rex!

This may be a resistant infection or the area may keep getting reinfected because it is in a highly mobile spot where contamination is very easy (the foot). I would recommend taking your dog back to the vet for a recheck and having her sedated for the examination. This way the doctor will be able to closely examine the toe and the nail. The doctor will then be able to clip the nails back far enough to hopefully remove the problem. There is also a specific disease of the toenails that may need long-term treatment from specific medications. This is an auto-immune disease, lipoid onchodystrophy, and has a very specific presentation. Your vet should be able to determine if your dog has this condition with a thorough exam. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.