Dar's toenails and Paw Pads

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Postby ArtGypsy » March 14th, 2010, 9:47 am

Hey Gang.....

Dar has been 'breaking' off his toenails over the winter---I wasn't too concerned until the other day, when one was broken down to the 'quick'. :sad2: all pink and sore....
On several toenails there's a red 'line' next to the flesh, on the nail itself. I didn't know if this is normal, or some sort of hemorrhagic-stress line? *like my fancy word?* :dance:

Yesterday, Kelcie called me at work and said his paw was bleeding . She had been playing tug of war with him (his FAVORITE indoor game) and there appears to be a rug burn on one of his pads.

when we play 'tug' he digs his feet in DEEP on the carpet.........could this be the cause of the broken toenails ?

What can I put on his pads to soften/heal them???

Thanks guys........

Me
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Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby Ino » March 14th, 2010, 10:47 am

Aww- poor Dar. Hope he heals fast. Ino actually has a nail break...more like a split down the middle that I noticed last night and the skin is all red around the nail (that is new for him with a nail break). He had been doing good with suppliments but I ran out and the breaks returned. I soaked it in warm water when we came in from this mornings walk to make sure it is clean, then put peroxide and neosporin on it for now. I am not sure if it is infected or if it is red because he started chewing on it compulsively last night. He had a little sliver that was running under the nail bed- so it could have let stuff under the skin. If it is not better by tomorrow- we will be back into the vet (I prefer our vet- heard bad things about our local emergency vet). He also split it down the middle most of the way up the nail. He is not limping and I would not have noticed it if he wasnt chewing on it compulsively. I had to wrap it in that self adhering bandage stuff until he fell asleep to keep him off it. As for the pad thing with Dar, Musher's Secret is a good paw treatment that is sold at pet stores. I use it for Ino's pads and my own dry skin. It is just a wax mix but it does help. The label says it helps with snowballing and salt burn in winter, paw protection on hot abrasive pavement in summer, relief for fly bites and keeps them off and is ok for open sores, cracked toes, nicks, scratches and minor burns. For now, I am just preventing him from licking it (chew toy distraction) and if it still looks irritated tomorrow, we may be going to get the nail sheath clipped better and see about antibiotics. I am also going to order more of his suppliments. Atleast the snow is finally melting here- winter is the only time he breaks nails. The vet thinks it is the change in moisture in winter. I hope Dar's paws feel better soon- it is such a frustrating issue because there isnt much you can do for it.
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Postby amazincc » March 14th, 2010, 11:01 am

Pits have notorious hard nails and Dars nails shouldn't be breaking that *easily*, just from digging hard into the carpet.
The red lines next to the flesh could signal an infection... I would get his feet checked out by the vet, and at least get some antibiotics. I'm very anal though, so maybe someone w/more experience (one of our vet techs maybe) can chime in... :oops: :P
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Postby ArtGypsy » March 14th, 2010, 11:07 am

THANKS!
Just placed an order for Musher's Secret!!!
:D
“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby ArtGypsy » March 14th, 2010, 11:08 am

amazincc wrote:Pits have notorious hard nails and Dars nails shouldn't be breaking that *easily*, just from digging hard into the carpet.
The red lines next to the flesh could signal an infection... I would get his feet checked out by the vet, and at least get some antibiotics. I'm very anal though, so maybe someone w/more experience (one of our vet techs maybe) can chime in... :oops: :P



Well, I kinda thought the same thing!!

He's due for his 3 year rabies vac, so a trip is in the future!!
“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby Ino » March 14th, 2010, 11:45 am

Hopefully the vet figures out Dar's problem and I hope he has the same success as Ino with the Mushers Secret. I know the holistic vet ran a few blood tests on Ino, including thyroid to try to figure out his nail problem, but all of the test results came back fine. I am still hopeful that at some point, a diagnosis will be made so it can be treated. The holistic vet put him on Ark Naturals green phytonutrient suppliments and a mineral suppliment called Molybdan Compositum and the combo definately seemed to minimize breaks (he used to have a break every week or two- sometimes several at a time). I need to order more of the Ark Naturals because I ran out and the breaks returned pretty fast. It may just be the weather because it has been pretty crazy here lately and just coincidentally around the same time we ran out of the suppliments...I'm not sure- but if it could be helping, I am going to keep giving them to him. It definately is not hurting him. Ino will be going back in to the regular vet hopefully tomorrow if they have an opening. I feel for them- nail breaks look so painful. We were at the vet only a week or two ago for a limp Ino had- I wanted to be sure it was just a pulled muscle and not a repeat ACL injury. The vet brought up how he has polar opposite parents when it comes to health. His dad was the Pit Bull, which is known to have great health and his mom is an English Bulldog, which the vet said are genetic mutants with just about every health issue possible. It is true and I think what makes it worse, is he has the energy level of his dad when we are out on walks and his mom inside the house. His body is a mix of both and his health seems to take after his mom. We never have a lengthy gap between vet visits! :(
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Postby HappyChick » March 14th, 2010, 4:26 pm

Grace - also make sure you keep his nails trimmed. Vinny had a nasty split nail last winter that got infected and I think it happened because I let his nails get too long.
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Postby plebayo » March 14th, 2010, 7:05 pm

This is definitely something that should be looked into. We have had several weird auto-immune cases that have come in that started with weak nails. We had a really bad Pit Bull who had nails that started breaking and eventually falling off. We've also had a weird lab with an amino acid problem whose pads and skin in general just started sloughing, I realize his nails just break easily, but it could lead to something else if you don't find out why his nails are so weak.
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Postby ArtGypsy » March 14th, 2010, 7:29 pm

HappyChick wrote:Grace - also make sure you keep his nails trimmed. Vinny had a nasty split nail last winter that got infected and I think it happened because I let his nails get too long.



I'm really bad about cutting his nails.
In fact, I never have. :oops:

They usually got worn down while he played outside. I do know that ever since he got 'older' and his pearly white puppy nails started turning colors..(along with his pink pads turning black), his nails were more brittle and even peeled sometimes.
:(
“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine
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Postby Ino » March 15th, 2010, 12:16 pm

How is Dar's foot doing today? I hope he is healing well. I hate clipping nails with clippers so I got a dremel at Walmart for around $40 to do Ino's nails. It came with a bunch of different bits for it and is rechargable. I usually use a sandpaper bit to take them down in length and the stone bit to round them off and grind down any jagged edges before they fully splinter. It does help prevent him breaking more of them. I am afraid to use clippers because his nails are black so I cant tell where the quick is. With the dremel, I grind for a few seconds and stop so it doesnt get hot so I can look at the tip to see if I am near the quick before I restart. I tried pedi paws first but it was worthless- you can not round off the nails because of the protective cover and it is not a great sand paper bit so it really did not do anything for his nails. Also, it took C batteries- I prefer recharging the cordless dremel and the fact that the dremel can go at different speeds instead of on/off. He doesn't enjoy it much, but I use a leash that has a clip that I can wrap around me so he can't run off while I do it. He is getting better at sit/stay when I do it. We don't do a lot of road walking because people drive too fast- so we are in the woods most of the time so I have to dremel them. He went to the vet today and was put on Amoxi for the mild infection he started getting. It seems there were a few small splinter like pieces that led under the nail bed that allowed junk to enter under the skin and since the ground is muddy- an infection was starting, so she clipped them. He wont keep a bandage on- he shakes his foot and gets it off :rolleyes2: , so antibiotics were the only option.
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