Does your Corgi scrap their nails when they walk?

Not really a big issue with normal day and routine walks, but every so often Rocky will go on a 2 mile walk (practically all concrete) and at the end of the walk his front paws would bleed. You can hear his nails scraping when he walks and his front 2 nails on each of his front paws are very short because of this. I think the main cause is that he tends to sniff the ground when he walks and I havent found a way to get rid of that habit. I was hoping that this would have gone away when he grew up and I guess that could still happen (he is almost 1 years old now). Anyone else with similar experiences?

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Permalink Reply by wendulik on April 8, 2008 at 2:05am

Hi! It's normal and good for a dog to abrade the nails a bit everytime walking on concrete. But this bleeding issue doesn't sound well to me. When this happens on dog's hind paws, it's often a symptom of dysplasia or similar joint/bones problem. Maybe this is just a growing problem or too-long-walks-on-concrete problem, but if I were you, I would go to a vet - just to be sure.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on April 8, 2008 at 12:03pm

my dogs walk on concrete too and they don't need to get their nails trim because of that. Mocha did get his paw bleed when we ran the 2 mile distance, but he's okay now as long as we walk and not run. Vienna on the other hand can run and walk for more than 2 miles. So could it be the speed in your case?

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on April 8, 2008 at 12:08pm

If you go on short walks most of the time and only occassional 2 mile walks on concrete, it could be that his nails are growing out too long in between the long walks and then breaking or shattering when you take the longer walk. I'm guessing this since you said that you can hear his nails scraping when he walks, which indicates they are too long (you shouldn't be hearing the nails tapping or scraping). Charlie and I walk 2.5 miles every day, but every weekend, I still have to trim two or three nails back a bit that don't wear down enough naturally. Their nails grow very fast!

If that doesn't sound right to you, then I would consult a vet as the bleeding is not normal.

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Permalink Reply by Sam on April 8, 2008 at 9:58pm

Much has to do with the way a dog travels. Some of my dogs never scrape a nail, others do. Sometimes it is indicative of lameness other times it is not. If it is only apparent on very long walks I would choose a different footing on long walks or perhaps look in to some protective footwear.

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Permalink Reply by Brian on April 9, 2008 at 3:15am

Thanks for the replies.

I was worried that it could have been some kind of problem like dysplasia. Well for now we'll just see if he will grow out of it and try to reduce the amount of concrete walking as possible.