My dog twisted a paw nail again. When should I take him to the vet?

By your description, your dog may have a partially [broken nail](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/broken-nails/) which can be a bit painful. You can take him to your veterinary office and ask them to cut the nail back to promote normal growth, or you can monitor the toe and see if the nail grows out naturally. Just watch for any signs of infection (redness, swelling, discharge) in the toe. Do not allow your dog to lick or chew at it. An e-collar (cone) can be placed on him until he has healed.

It is likely to fall for itself but monitor closely for increasing pain or swelling which would require a vet visit to remove the nail and assess for infection. Bathing twice daily in salted water can help prevent infection

This could be a small puncture wound or abrasion your dog got outside. If he is not licking it or limping on it, just keep it clean and dry and it should heal on its own within a few days. If however it seems to be bothering your dog or persists for more than about 3 days you should probably have it checked out. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It sounds like he broke his dewclaw - most of the time the nail will need to be removed so it won't cause chronic irritation or infection. If you're unable to pull it off at home because he is too painful or because it is still attached you will need to see your veterinarian. Sometimes sedation is required if the nail is not completely broken and the nail is clipped very close to the base. If Otis seems comfortable and the nail is not bleeding this is not necessarily an emergency - you could wait until your vet is open and make an appointment. You should keep him from licking the area until then and he may need to wear an e-collar.

I would suggest a vet visit for Rev. These broken nails can be extremely painful. The vet office may sedate him and/or give pain meds then cut the nail flush to the paw pad. Many of these need a few days of pain medication as well. Be sure not give otc pain medications to dogs.

I would recommend doing a light bandage wrap of the area using cast padding and an elastic bandage for now. Then in the morning have a professional take a look at it. They will have to cut the nail pretty much all the way down to where it is bent, this will cause some bleeding and mild-moderate temporary discomfort, which they can then apply the appropriate anti-coagulant, typically Quik-stop, to the area and wrap it for a couple of days until the area is no longer painful.. If there is significant swelling of the nail base then they may prescribe anti-inflammatories.

I would not try to clip it more and just leave it until Monday when you see the vet. Should it become very swollen and ooze pus or your dog whine a lot (pain) you should take Charlee to an emergency room where they will treat this according to the type of injury, give him some pain medicine and possibly antibiotics if there is infection.