My dog is limping from long nails, anxious about trimming. Vet or home care?

I would cut the nail as it can grow into the pad causing pain and infection. Clean the pad with hydrogen peroxide afterwards. If he's still lame then bring him in Tuesday for an exam as the lameness may not be caused by the nail. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Marley.

Pumpkin's nails need to be cut, and she should see a vet if one of her nails is loose. I would take her into the vet first thing in the morning to have her nails cuts and her limping examined. While it's likely that the limping is related to her nails being too long, it could also be caused by something else such as arthritis, which can be diagnosed by the vet.

If the nail is pushing into the skin or badly curled, it could be causing some pain and even infection if it digs deep enough. It would be best to try and get Mars to the vet to have the nail trimmed back, any wound from it treated, and antibiotics started to keep it from getting infected. If it hasn't dug into the skin yet, you might see if Mars will let you trim the nail back enough. You may need to trim it in small amounts over a period of weeks to get it trimmed back far enough. If the nail is trimmed back too far, it may bleed, however styptic powder or cornstarch can be used to treat any bleeding.

I recommend booking an appointment with a veterinarian to have Lexie’s nail evaluated, as it is likely causing her pain, as indicated by the limping. Pain medications meant for humans can be very dangerous (and even deadly) for dogs, so I do not recommend giving any to your pup without consulting with your vet. Your veterinarian can prescribe safe medication to help with the pain, and can clean and treat the injury to help reduce the risk of infection. In the meantime, I recommend putting an e-collar (cone) on Lexie to help prevent her from licking her paw an reduce the risk of infection. I hope Lexie feels better soon!

Hello. The nail has indeed split & what you are seeing is the fleshy quick of the nail. My remedy is to snip off the hanging part of the nail & bandage the foot for a few days to protect the sensitive quick until it begins to heal. Your veterinarian can do this quickly & efficiently & Tiny will feeling much better soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Have the nail examined by your vet. There could simply be a toenail injury that is causing the limping in Gizmo which can easily be resolved. However if there is no injury then arthritis may be the cause.

Poor Layla! If she is still limping I would make an appointment to have her seen by your vet. She may have injured her nail(s) as you described, or she may even have some soft tissue swelling/ irritation or a fracture. If there is a stick/ splinter/ other foreign object in her paw the vet can help remove it and treat it to help prevent infection. Pain medications meant for humans can be very dangerous (and even deadly) for dogs, so I do not recommend giving any to Layla without consulting with your vet. I recommend keeping her in a crate or in a room where she can't run/ jump on anything and only taking her out for very short bathroom breaks until she is no longer limping. Make sure she's on a leash so she can't run and make things worse.