My dog's nail is cut or broken. What should I do to treat it?

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.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Ouch, poor Naria. If the nail is completely removed and exposing the nail bed, keep the toe as clean as possible to try to prevent infection. For my patients that have done this, I typically will place them on oral antibiotics and analgesics (pain medication) to prevent infection and keep them comfortable while the nail regrows. Some nails will not regrow normally if the nailbed was also injured. If Naria is limping on the affected paw, or the toe becomes swollen I would recommend having her seen by her veterinarian for appropriate medications to be dispensed.

Poor Paddt! Sometimes these nails need to be removed behind the break. It's hard to give you the best advice without being able to examined the nail. I recommend to have Paddt examined by the veterinarian. He should also be wearing an elizabethan collar at all times to prevent any licking since this could make the nail infected. The area should be kept clean and dry and the exercise should be severely restricted until the nail is healed (no walks, running or jumping). I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend taking her in to the vet to have this cut back so that the nail does not snag on anything and tear. She may need an antibiotic as well as a pain medication. Angel will be ok and it does not appear that there are any other concerning changes where the broken nail is. This should be quite simple for the veterinarian to address. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

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! This can be quite painful. I recommend you have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They can consider removing the dew claw to take the source of pain away or it can be treated with pain medications and antibiotics for instance. In the meantime, keep him from being able to reach it as he will likely want to lick or chew at it which can make it a lot worse. You may use an e-collar for that purpose. Good luck!