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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on January 1, 2011 at 11:59am

Invest in a pair of muttluks, you can also try pawz as a cheap alternative.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on January 1, 2011 at 1:30pm

When Sparty tears his nails (regularly, a hereditary issue) I bandage in athletic bandages until it heals and cut back on walks. You can also use a baby sock and attach it with athletic tape. If it seems really sore you may want him on an antibiotic because infections to foot injuries can really be dangerous.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on January 1, 2011 at 1:47pm

This has happend 3 times to Franklin.....yes three!!! My vet said restrict exercise to a short walk on pavement for a week. No water, no mud, no fun. When he did it the first time it was 1:00 in the morning and he must have snagged it on the couch or something. I had no idea he had hurt himself except he was acting kind of weird and in the dark I could faintly see some dark spots on the carpet, I turn on the light to find huge pools of blood all over my carpet. Like you said it was just GUSHING out. We went through two towels wrapping them tightly around his foot until I could get him to the emergency clinic and they had a very hard time stopping the bleeding. That wound was very hard to heal and I ended up buying him a protective boot. About 2 weeks after the initial injury he was playing at the dog park and aggrivated it again and it started the whole bleeding process again. So after that until a small amount of nail had grown back to protect the newly growing quick I just kept a boot on him. The new nail seems much weaker, as he has damaged it twice since. Don't go back to the bandage, let it dry out, but cover it with a booty if you plan on doing any type of play other then walks. And he should have a full week of restricted activity.

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Permalink Reply by Alison Prasavath on January 1, 2011 at 3:50pm

Noodles ripped a piece of his toenail off a while back and like you, his little white paw was no longer white, but red. We were on a walk and almost home when I looked back at him (it was a 3 mile walk and he was tired and lagging behind me) and that is when I noticed his paw was covered in blood. I scooped him up and ran the rest of the way home with him in my arms (I'm sure it was a sight to behold). We went through so many paper towels to try and stop the bleeding, but he was a trooper through it all. I took it easy with him for over a week because it seemed like he would reopen the wound every time he attempted to walk (even on smooth/soft surfaces). I tried wrapping his paw up, but then he thought it was a game to see how quickly he could pull off the bandage, sock or ace bandage. As long as he was inside, I let it air dry, but when he went outside, I kept it covered because I didn't want him to get an infection.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on January 1, 2011 at 4:55pm

I'm unclear on the nature of the injury.  The nail somehow cracked and broke off?  Perhaps it got caught in something, like a crack in the pavement, and got torn off?  Any idea how it happened?

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Permalink Reply by Scout & Kelly on January 2, 2011 at 12:28am

You could put some triple antibiotic ointment (make sure it is just the triple antibiotic and no pain relieving formulas as most topical local anesthetics are vasodilators and will make the bleeding worse) on it and bandage it if you're worried about infection.  Also, if he's licking his injury a lot, that can be a source of infection, too, so you may have to resort to the cone of shame when you can't watch him attentively.  A sad sight, I know, but I have to do the same to my corgi in the fall when she gets seasonal allergic dermatitis on her paws and she attacks them. :-/  Watch for if the area feels warmer to the touch than normal (compare to his other leg/paw and/or surrounding areas that look unaffected by the injury for comparison) and/or swells/becomes inflamed.  Those are cardinal signs of infection, and you'll want to call/see your vet if you notice that.  If it looks like it's starting to heal up nicely, you could probably let off the bandage inside and just keep an eye on it and make sure he's not licking at it.

To add to the big sad corgi eyes, the limited/short leash walks are a good plan.  Those long walks/runs really wear down their nails.  I liked the ideas above of socks or bandages for outside to lessen the wear a bit.  Hopefully he'll be healed up soon so he can return to the corgi games.

 

Of course, if your vet says anything different, that probably overrides what I just wrote as I'm still a veterinary student and therefore still in the process of learning all of this fun stuff.  I do hope I can be of some help, though.  It's a nice way to keep the brain thinking over the break between semesters!

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Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on January 2, 2011 at 12:49am

If you're concerned about dirt, our petsmart sells a liquid bandage in their medication for dogs second. It's like a medical epoxy, but you put it over the injury.

They also sell this cheaper, for humans, in the pharmacy section of most grocery stores, or in the first aid section of a pharmacy store.

The epoxy comes off with the hair/skin as your dog sheds it off naturally. I use this on hand wounds (i'm prone to them) all the time on myself because they're so bleedy and bandages are impossible on the hands/feets/paws.

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Permalink Reply by Vee Luther on January 2, 2011 at 12:08pm

Thanks for all the good ideas.  As to how it happened, I really have no idea.  This is one tough little guy (in contrast to the older corgi who stops and holds up a paw if it has a grass burr in it).  I looked everywhere outside on the terrace and inside on door jams, etc. and the tile floor for anything that could have caused it.  I can't imagine it happened during our fetch game since there was no blood then.  We just came in and I turned around and there it was....his nails are quite short and nev e have to be clipped because he gets so much exercise.

 

It seems to be doing OK and he's doing some licking but not excessively.  i did use the cone of shame once when we had to be away for a few hours--oh my, talk about sad eyes. 

 

The boots seems like a good idea and I'll pursue it.  Our acreage is very rocky and hilly (central Texas) and the poor boy is getting pretty upset at not being allowed to chase deer and all the other corgi games with the other 2 dogs.  It will be a week tomorrow so all signs are that's it's healing well but I want to avoid a new injury.

 

Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Renee Kovacs on January 15, 2011 at 8:08am

A note on the epoxy - it definitely seals things up, but will also seal in any bacteria and then you can have a real problem.  This was once used on my foot (my mom, a nurse ...) to seal a puncture - which then absessed 3 days later.  We had to scrub the wound with nail polish remover to get the epoxy off - NOT FUN.  =(

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