My dog's nail split. What are the signs of a painful paw infection?

This could be due to an infection and possibly a foreign body reaction. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

It does look like there is some discharge/pus around the nail bed and I would recommend getting it rechecked by your vet, if confirmed she may require a course of antibiotics. Bathing the are in saline/salted water and drying carefully will help to freshen the area in the meantime. If she is very lame x-rays may need to be considered to rule out underlying factors behind the lost nail/swollen toe

It’s possible but some dogs do show a preference for chewing on one set of nails versus another. Check to make sure there is not redness on the skin or discharge between the paw pads. If you see anything like that then it could be infected and she should see the veterinarian. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Yes, something like this can become easily infected. It does look a bit swollen and that can be one of the first signs of infection. I do think you should probably take her to the vet sooner if you can. In the meantime you can apply this wound spray to it a few times a day. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-wound-and-skin-care-for-dogs )

Thank you for using PetCoach. I recommend a veterinary visit for Max. It appears he may have an infection between his paw pads. This may require topical treatments such as soaks or medicated shampoo or sometimes systemic medications. Here is more info https://dermvettacoma.com/pododermatitis/

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.

It may be split deeply and hurt a bit or otherwise bother your dog. This is why Walt is licking it There also may be a nailbed infection. I suggest you take Walt to your veterinarian for an exam. Your vet can check the nail for a fracture, infection or injury and help so that it does not bother your dog so much or hurt. It may need to be clipped or removed to aid healing. If you have an e-collar at home, put it on Walt so he cannot lick more bacteria into it. Please schedule an exam with your vet.