How to Take Care of A Broken Nail in Dogs
Table of Content
Many dog owners have a common problem with their dog which is a broken nail. A broken nail can not only be scary but also very too much painful for your dog. When your dog goes through severe pain then he might act abnormal & you may end up being upset by seeing the poor dog. So you better to take proper actions to overcome this problem.
Dog paw injury: How this happens?
In most cases, it is seen that dogs break their nails while checking something new in the places where they are not allowed to go. However puppy proofing the house may help you in such cases. Also, many dogs are seen in jumping off a chair & breaking their paw. Whatever the reason is you should not allow the dog roam around in the unsafe areas.
Broken nail dog treatment
If your dog somehow breaks his/her nails then he may not allow you to handle it at first. Whatever the dog does, first you need to give him his favorite treat and love & then you can easily take care of this problem. To prevent this problem from happening, you have to only allow the dog to stay in the secure area or train him to remain in the area which is safe for him.
Whenever you start to take care of the broken nail by yourself, first you should take a closer look at the injured area. Also, keep in mind that you should not touch the injured area unnecessarily while doing it. Whenever you find out the broken nail you need to make sure whether it’s split nail or something else. After checking out you have to remove the piece of that nail which is hanging or swinging loosely so that no other injury occurs. You can use nail clippers to cut off those pieces but whatever you do make sure that the nail clipper is clean because if there is a germ in the nail clipper then it may cause an infection in that area.
Dog paw bleeding
Now while handling this problem you are most likely to notice bleeding from that area but do not panic, because it’s completely normal. The bleeding will stop & blood clotting will take its place. However, if the bleeding doesn’t stop then it’s advised to use styptic powder all over that area. Now, remember, your dog may bark or feel pain while you do that, so you need another person who can hold the dog so you can continue & handle everything. When you are done you should keep a pressure for five to ten minutes. Finally you can release the dog, but you need to stop the dog whenever he tries to lick that area, otherwise, it won’t have any effect.
In rare cases, many dogs have problems with blood clotting & the bleeding in that area continues. So in such circumstances, you better to take the dog to the vet.
Swollen dog paw limping
This happens normally when insects like bees or spiders bite on the area of your dog’s paw. Also if your dog is suffering from fractured claws or broken nail then the paw will become larger or rounder in size.
Dog broken paw healing time
Normally the healing period takes four to eight weeks. However, depending on the condition it may take longer & if you take proper care before it’s too late then the dog will recover much earlier.
Final Words
A lot of dogs suffer from cracked or broken nails, & sometimes you may notice some stubborn nails while you are handling the problem on your own. So in order to take care of those nails, you can use the sedative drug to produce a state of calm or sleep in the dog so that you can continue the job easily. However, if that doesn’t work then it’s advised to take him to the vet.
Matthew Frank was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. He was a reputed author of Pet Therapy Dogs and Pet Dog Cat.
Matthew is a regular author of this blog who is studying Veterinary medicine at Purdue University.