Please Help!

[Guest cwholsin]

I just heard from my DH that Hermes tore his entire nail off at the park, leaving the quick completely exposed... This is our first time dealing with this kind of injury (and it's Sunday so I can't call our normal vet) What should we do? Do we need to take him to the e-vet? What do we do about the exposed quick?

 

DH said Hermes is acting like he doesn't even notice it, or we would be taking him into the e-vet right away. And of course we'll call our vet tomorrow morning to get advice on antibiotics, etc.

 

What do we do????

 

Thank you SO much in advance for your help!!

[seeh2o]

I have no experience with this, but depending on what it looked like, I consider going to the e-vet. After seeing it I would call the e-vet, explain the situation, describe the injury and his response to it and see what they say. Ethical places won't gratuitously tell you to bring him in. Sending healing thoughts.

[Guest sheila]

If it was me I would rinse it well and perhaps put a bit on neosporin + pain relief on it and try to cover it loosely with a baby sock or wrap it for a few days until it starts to heal. I don't think there is much of anything more that a vet could do for it at this point. I probably wouldn't go the vet at all.

[FiveRoooooers]

Seamus pulled two toenails like what you are describing. He, too, was unphased. I padded the toe with gauze and vetwrapped it overnight. It was a non-event for him. If you do wrap Hermes' toe, wrap the bottom of his foot well and then extend the vetrap up over his hock to help hold it in place. It will look like a huge bandage but if you don't wrap to above the hock, the wrap will just slip down and eventually off. It looks like a lot of wrap for a toe, but it stayed on beautifully. Good luck with Hermes!

 

 

edited to add pic.

Edited September 18, 2011 by FiveRoooooers

[TheFullHouse]

Gee lost an entire nail. I just watched it to make sure it didn't get infected and watched for signs of pain. I Didn't even take Gee to the vet. A new nail grew back and she was fine.

[Guest OurIndy]

Unfortunately, I too would consult the E-Vet. Even if you don't have to go in, I'm sure they'll have advice for your on how to wrap/isolate the injury so your boy doesn't risk lasting nerve damage. Hope Hermes does well, he seems like a trooper! Keep us updated.

[Hollis]

Norm is the KING of lost toenails. I'm fairly certain we're up to double digits by now. I'm now at the point that we keep it clean and wrapped for a day or two, then leave it open. My vet is good in that they will give an anti b for this without seeing him now.

 

The biggest issue we have is how to clean all the blood that comes with the lost toe nail(s).

[Guest cwholsin]

Thanks for the advice, guys! With a neighboring dog owner's help, we were able to clean it, wrap it, and bandage it without too much fuss. He doesn't seem concerned about it, and barely complained when it was being doctored so I think we'll wait and talk to the vet tomorrow and see if they have any different instructions. Thank you all for the help!!

 

How long does it take for a new toenail to grow? A month? 6 months?

[GeorgeofNE]

There's not much a vet can do--particulary nothing that can't wait for your regular vet.

 

Oh, I see you already got great advice from people who have been through this!

[FiveRoooooers]

The biggest issue we have is how to clean all the blood that comes with the lost toe nail(s).

Yep, crime scene btdt.

 

How long does it take for a new toenail to grow? A month? 6 months?

 

I'm not sure ... we're still waiting

[Guest IHeartDogs]

My foster did this once. No need for an evet.

Wrap it in bandages/vet wrap but don't do it tight, it is better to be loose but can't slip/come off.

 

If you are concerned about infection, go to the regular vet and get some antibiotics. Some people keep it covered for a couple days, but the sooner it dries out, the faster it will heal. After a couple days it can stay unwrapped but make sure to put a bootie/plastic bag on so it when you go outside so it doesn't get sand dirt in it.

 

Keep it clean for a couple weeks and you are in the clear.

It usually takes 1-2 months to grow back completely (and yes, everything will be fine don't worry about the quick being damaged).

 

Good luck! It is better to have a whole nail come off than to have it broken off deep because this requires a vet visit to have it cut down/smoothed....

 

Wanted to add: use some quick stop if it continues to bleed/weep

Edited September 19, 2011 by IHeartDogs

[mychip1]

Glad to hear that he seems OK!!!

 

 

[Walliered]

This is why I pulled up all of the carpet when I got the hounds!!

[Guest cwholsin]

This is why I pulled up all of the carpet when I got the hounds!!

 

 

Fortunately for our carpet, this happened outdoors and we had ample blankets/towels to keep the car from getting stained!

[Hollis]

First time it happened it was inside, pink carpet (came with the house. NOT our choice.) and I was alone. I swear I could see the blood squirt with every heartbeat. It was of course after regular hours on a Friday night. Called best friend to drive while I rode in the back with what I SWORE was a bleeding to death dog. Called mother to come over to attempt to clean the mess before the little ones tracked through it worse. Evet wrapped it quickly so their floor wouldn't get bloody and then we had to wait for a couple of hours until the other emergencies were taken care of. By this time of course the bleeding had stopped and Norm was passed out cold on the floor. But the best part is DP came home from school without having turned her cell on to get her messages. The first clue she got was the bloody foot prints in the garage. She already had the carpet cleaner out by the time we got home.

 

Second toe nail did a 180. So it was sticking straight UP. No way were we attempting to deal with that so back to the evet. (I swear Norm can tell time and waits until after normal vet hours.). Vet took him in back, can back before we had even sat down and said, well the nail is off but we can't stop the bleeding. Norm spent the night there. (I would like to believe this was a case of them being over cautious and not the sucker tattoo on my forehead.).

 

Thankfully the rest have either come completely off, or happened during normal hours. Although the one during normal hours freaked normal vet out totally and she was not sure how to take it off. Thankfully Norm jerked his foot just as she went to grab it and poof, it was off. DP has take one off here at home and the rest just needed to be wrapped.

 

<sigh> I keep trying for discounts on his mani/pedis as I can't remember the last time he had a full set but it never happens.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Nixon also survived the bloody toenail injury and lived to tell the tale.

His did get infected and required 2 courses of antibiotics.

 

Toddler socks work well on hound feet!

 

That nail did grow back in ...and it is a different texture than the other nails.

[Guest cwholsin]

So, 24 hours in and he's limping like his whole foot was chopped off. It bled through the first bandage a few hours after wrapping so we had to re-bandage him, and that one seemed to stop the bleeding. Poor stoic Hermes was in so much pain today that he wasn't interested in a rawhide bone. After a dose of pain killer, his interest in the bone has been renewed. If it's still really painful tomorrow, we'll be going into the vet...

 

Keep your fingers/paws crossed that the pain gets better soon! Poor guy

[Sharpshot]

Hi,

 

I think a lot of vets give antibiotics prophylactically for an exposed nail quick (usually cephalexin). I remember emailing Dr. Stack about this, and, if memory serves,

cephalexin was her recommendation.

[Guest KennelMom]

The most important thing is not to wrap it too tight...as long as you didn't do that, you should be fine. The biggest thing with a torn toenail is the blood.

 

We did take Caesar in once b/c he didn't tear the nail off entirely and it was dangling by the quick....that was pretty painful for him. I thought it would be better for the vet to give some local pain meds and finish removing the nail.

 

Too many antibiotics are given "prophylactically", IMO. Give them if they're needed, but not "just in case." Thankfully, our vet prescribes to the same philosophy. The last handful of spays they've done for us didn't even come home with antibiotics...and that's major surgery, not a just a flesh wound injury.

 

Fingers crossed for a quick heal

[Guest LindsaySF]

We did take Caesar in once b/c he didn't tear the nail off entirely and it was dangling by the quick....that was pretty painful for him. I thought it would be better for the vet to give some local pain meds and finish removing the nail.

It's hard to tell without a photo, but if the nail is dangling, only partially torn, or a large part of the quick is exposed, the vet might be needed to finish removing the nail so it can heal and not be so painful. Otherwise it's just a matter of time and healing on its own.

 

Sophie ripped her whole dewclaw out last year. It did grow back, but it took like 4-5 months.