# severely broken toe nail



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

What should I do? Does this require a vet visit? You can see the whole quick, it doesn't seem to bother him unless I mess with it. Should I put something on it?

We had a run in with a cat today...Avery went after it and I caught him against the house. I think I hurt him I really really feel terrible. He broke his toenail and he has a little cut on his tummy. Poor pup.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Tobi did this 2 weeks ago, they grow pretty quickly, keep it clean and dry and he'll likely be absolutely fine. On Tobi's the only bit of nail left was about 2mm coming out of the bed, the rest was quick, and it's now grown back to normal, we put neosporin on it to prevent any infection from anything he may have gotten into in the yard as well.

I hope he's okay lol it's probably painful... dogs are so resilient!


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

It depends on how bad it is really. If it's heavily damaged I would see the vet as it may need to be removed in some cases (not all!). 

If it's not heavily damaged i'd just keep it wrapped up for a few days so dirt doesn't get into the quick or anything.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Not worth a vet visit if you can handle cleaning and dressing your own dog. These are extremely painful to most dogs, even if they don't show it. If you have spare pain meds on hand I would give him a dose or two for a few days. 

There's not much to be done other than clipping or pulling off any nail that is left on because if you don't it'll just fester. 

Clean it lightly with a good antiseptic like chlorohexadine or betadine and warm watter three times daily for about 5-7 days. Keep it wrapped well with gauze, wrap and/or sock for the first few days (IMO) or until it stops bleeding a lot. 

I actually don't recommend putting any ointment on it because that will most likely make a dog want to lick it more and the goal is to get dogs to leave it alone completely. 

Hope this helps!


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