Guest gordysmom96 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 My girl has evenly lost two nails on front paws, one on each. Her vet removed one that was in "car hood" position then cauterized both affected toes, under general anesthesia, of course. She was prescribed Pentoxifylline 400 mg/3 x's daily and Omega Benefits liquid once daily. I took her back to the vet Friday evening to check her right foot as she's been "favoring" it. He removed a corn and trimmed a few nails including one that is beginning to separate. Yesterday, I noticed there is another front nail separating. I wrapped her foot in gauze and put on a bootie to keep her from licking. She's slowly adjusting to it. My question is if/when the nail falls off and exposes the quick, how do you all treat it? Wrap in gauze, add a bootie or sock and give Rimadyl and/or have the vet handle it? Certainly, an exposed quick must be painful even though it would be gauze wrapped. Thoughts? I feel so sorry for her. She was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will have the tumor removed 2/10. I hope all goes well. I do wonder, however, how much the cancer & SLO are connected. My vet didn't formally diagnose her as having SLO. Perhaps he sees few dogs with this condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Hopefully others with more experience will chime in to answer your specific questions. Meanwhile, if you're not already familiar, there's a Yahoo group for people treating dogs with SLO: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SLOdogs/info I'm so sorry your poor hound is struggling with SLO, and thyroid cancer. Your girl will be in our thoughts on Feb. 10th for a successful thyroid cancer surgery. Hopefully, they can address any additional nail problems during same surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gordysmom96 Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Thank you, 3greytjoys. I hope too her surgery is successful & removes the entire tumor. I've posted on the Yahoo SLO group site, but have also received detailed care protocol from another grey friend. I went to Target today and purchased various first aid items to treat her when/if it happens again. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Be careful with the pentoxiphylline. Macy was in it for a few months and suddenly developed a huge hematoma on her butt. Turns out her clotting times were incredibly elevated and we could only surmise it was a side effect of the drug. We changed her to Niacinamide and everything got back to normal. Definitely have her clotting times checked before her surgery. To your question... When Macy's nails started falling off we brought her in the first few times, then we just tried to stop the bleeding with stylistic powder, also soaked the toes in clorhexidine. We never used booties, but I think we probably gave her tramadol. Good luck. After losing quite a few nails quickly, she's had a good stretch with nothing happening, she also hasn't been on any meds in well over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowsmum Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Our grey has lost several toenails over the past few years (at least 5 times!) If it comes clean off, we clean it with wound wash or douse it in a disinfectant, stop bleeding with styptic or corn starch, then keep it slathered in bacitraycin or neosporin with a clean white cotton baby sock on top. We change the sock at least twice daily, check the nail, make sure it doesn't look infected, spray with bactine and re-slather and re-sock (clean sock) until it dries up. In a few days to a week, it usually heals nicely and there is just a dried piece of quick left that is so short it doesn't touch the ground when he walks, and it doesn't seem to bother our dog unless he bangs it into something. If he doesn't lick it, we let it air out once it dries up, if he bothers it, we keep it "socked". We buy the toddler socks from Target with the rubbery treads on the bottom, and fasten with the self-sticking wrap tape near the top of the sock. I have never had any luck with bandages-they either fall off, or they bunch on him and appear to press on the wound and cause more pain. If the quick is coated liberally in antibiotic ointment, it doesn't stick to the cotton sock, and it seems cushioned enough that it doesn't bother him unless he bangs into something. It's impressive how well they heal most of the time. Our dog seems a lot less bothered by the process than us if it comes off clean. If it's partially attached, fully attached or loose, or a piece remains, it's really painful for him and we take him to the vet immediately. Last time they tried to trim the offending nail and it came off in the vet's office. There was a small yip, and he seemed to feel much better after that. The only time we gave him medication for was one time his food got warm and a little pink, and he was really favoring it. He got an antibiotic and something for the pain/swelling that time. Knock on wood, he has not needed surgery for any of these incidents, he healed up nicely with keeping the wound area clean and un-licked! Our guy has a heart murmur and it nearly 11, so we try to avoid anything they would have to knock him out for. All that said, we don't have an official diagnosis with SLO. Our vet said she didn't think it was worth putting him under to do the toe biopsy we'd need to confirm. We keep his nails as short as we can, rinse in a bucket of water after walks, especially when there is salt on the roads, and supplement with prescription Omega-3 oil caplets. I'm sorry you are dealing with this, it's messy and frightening, but once you find a system that works for you and your dog, under your vet's supervision, it can be managed. We now have styptic or cornstarch and gauze in several locations around our house for such emergencies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 There is a greyhounds with SLO Facebook group with lots of info and suggestions. Good luck! It gets better. My Mickey lost all nails within a six month period. Later he would sometimes go for six months without losing one, and then only one or two at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammystroops Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Moody just lost his two front nails. Our vet had to take them off. she also said they look like "car hood" position. However, she knows nothing about SLO. so I am reasearching it for her and giving her information. I am going to start moody on some treatments that eveyone is suggesting on FB. right after surgery, when we brought him home, I noticed he started licking the other paw.. GEEZE, this is going to be a long road I think. Quote In loving Memory of: Chip, Wendell, Tessa, Moose, Moody, Noble Storm, Thunder, Gracie, Duke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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