sobesmom Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I think she might have gotten it caught in the area rug in the livingroom. She didn't make a peep, came in to bed shortly after I did last night, and I heard her licking. She licks a lot when she goes to sleep so I didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later my DH came in the bedroom to say that he found a blood-spot trail from the livingroom to the bedroom. Sure enough, missing nail. A bit of blood on the bedspread and a trail of blood spots. It wasn't actively bleeding at that time, so I just left her alone to sleep. I've seen her lick it a couple times since, nothing excessive. I really don't want to bandage it because when I've done that before she obsesses over the bandage and usually things take longer to heal. So - I'm thinking I'll just leave it alone and keep a close eye on her. If she bugs it too much I'll soft-wrap and sock her. If it looks like it's swelling or inflamed we'll go to the vet. She's walking on it fine, except for when I pick up her leg to look at it, then she gimps for a minute. What do you think? BTW - not the first time this has happened here. I'm still kinda baffled how it happened. The area-rug isn't even the loopy kind. I guess it could've happened another way but danged if I can figure it out. If it happened outside - she'd just been in the fenced yard - there should've been blood from the door. Dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillF Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 My male ripped out one of his nails a few months ago doing something in the back yard. He came back through the doggie door leaving blood spots on the floor. We went to the vet because I couldn't get it to stop bleeding. The vet got the bleeding stopped and said not to worry about it. The nail has grown back and it hasn't been a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Macy started losing nails a few years ago for no apparent reason. It turned out she likely has SLO, though a milder case than some I've read about on here. I think we had the first one wrapped. But we didn't after that, though one ripped off in the car on the way to the vet for another reason, and the vet put some silvadene cream on it. Other than that, we haven't treated the torn nails except watching for infection and keeping disinfectant wash on hand to soak if it's particularly bloody. They eventually heal, though they're generally pretty jacked up when they do. Do her nails look weird, like there could be something like SLO contributing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasMermaid Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 We had something similar happen with Chase back in the summer. Out of the blue, he did something that ripped a nail but we never determined what exactly he did. The nail didn't rip off completely but our vet removed the nail and quick when I took him in because it was clear that it was too far gone to save. We don't have any rugs with loopy fibers, but we do have some thresholds that he could have banged into with the toe nail. I was skeptical that the incident was a one time incident because I had read about SLO here on GT and I thought it looked like his nail and quick were separating. I mentioned it to my vet, but he really thought it was an isolated incident. When I called back the next week with a different toe nail separating and an active infection in that toe plus other nails looking like they were starting to separate, he started to agree that SLO might be what Chase has. He still wanted to rule out a fungal infection, but agreed that I could start the regimen I found on Dr. Stack's website of supplements (omega-3, vitamin e, & niacinamide). Fungal culture came back negative. Initially most of his nails had some separation but he didn't lose all of them thankfully. It appeared to me that he was in some discomfort due to pressure caused by blood/fluid building up between the nail & quick. There was a lot of "Mommy & Chase time" for a while with multiple daily foot soaks and inspections. Plus I was rinsing his feet after every potty trip outside to try to head off any bacteria that might have been thinking about setting up shop in his toes! He was not thrilled but he did get used to it. The supplement routine seems to be improving the condition of his nails. They are growing back slowly and look a little funky but not too bad. I hope Diana's issue is just a random incident but I thought maybe you could keep SLO in the back of your mind. She probably just did something odd, like tripping over a threshold or getting stuck in a rug as you suspect. Give her some hugs & ear scritches from us! Quote Jennifer, mom to Galen (GableTeletubbie) and Trixie fka Mooch (MostAggressive)Always missing Connie (Connies Fullofit) and Chase (No Worries aka "Ace") & IG Angels Velvet and Bitsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyTzu Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Deuce does this about once a year to the same nail. I rinse flush it with saline, put salve on it, stuff some gauze and her foot into a boot and she wears it for a few days. Her nail grows out wonky. It is painful. Quote Wendy and The Whole Wherd. American by birth, Southern by choice. "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!" ****OxyFresh Vendor ID is 180672239.**** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesiRayMom Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Good plan, but I might add a boot when she goes out. I would think this dogawful cold would be painful on a wound on a foot. But then, I've always been told to cold pack a boo-boo to reduce pain/swelling/inflammation, so.......maybe not. Here's hoping Diana has no further problems with that toe. Quote Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPDoggie Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I agree you can just "do nothing" and keep an eye on her. Good thought from DesiRayMom to maybe wrap in some ways to protect it while she's out... from cold and dirt. Quote Amy and Tim in Beverly, MA, with Chase and Always missing Kingsley (Drama King) and Ruby (KB's Bee Bopper). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattB Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I posted on fb recently after my new girl did this and I panicked. I watched her trot into the garden and back into the house and no idea how it happened. Washed it for the first few days in salty water and she mostly left it alone. It was a bit pink for a week or two but didn't look infected. About 4 weeks later it's starting to grow back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 As stated loosing a nail is typical of SLO, i would speak to a vet about SLO and see about monitoring. From what I hear, the test to determine SLO is very painful, but I am not sure, i havent had a hound with SLO, just second-hand info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 As stated loosing a nail is typical of SLO, i would speak to a vet about SLO and see about monitoring. From what I hear, the test to determine SLO is very painful, but I am not sure, i havent had a hound with SLO, just second-hand info. We didn't do the biopsy, since the only way to 100% accurately diagnose is with a biopsy of the toe, if I remember correctly. But based on the loss of 3 nails relatively quickly for no apparent reason, and the condition of the nails, we are fairly certain of the diagnosis. We were very lucky that the nail loss has stopped with supplementation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobesmom Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Thanks all. Wait and see and do nothing seems to be working well. It looks good - no swelling, bleeding or infection. She's not messing with it at all. She's only doing short "outs" right now with no walks and minimal in-house rough-housing and she's starting to get antsy again! I've got to pick up a puzzle-ball or something. I tried socking and vet-wrapping when she went out a couple times, but gave up. She made such a drama of it - it wasn't worth it. She doesn't seem to mind the cold on it. Whatever! I'll do some research on SLO but she gets her nails trimmed by the vet so I hope he'd notice if there was an issue. She needs them trimmed now but I don't want to mess with her until her boo-boo heals a bit. It's gotta hurt like heck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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