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My dog's paw nail keeps splitting. What can I do at home for her?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pug | Female | spayed | 3 years and 7 months old | 20 lbs

the top part of my dogs paw close to her nail is splitting. We've taken her to the vet but she will not allow them to examine her feet and gets quite cranky. They gave us some antibiotics so they would not become infected but 2 weeks after finishing them it's starting to happen again. Is there anything I can do at home for her?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 1st, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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