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in b4 "take it to a vet" MiMi
Alright /an/, hopefully someone on here has either experienced something very similar to this, or is a vet or vet tech with experience enough to help.

Picture is of a friend's (sister's) dog, looks like a Rotweiler, might be mixed. He (and she) tells me that she noticed it this morning, when dog did not want to jump down from her bed. Says most likely was caused yesterday when "on the mountain", apparently either walking or hiking. The dog is constantly licking the nail and area, and is nippy when humans try to look at it. Obviously it hurts.
The nail has
A) either split all the way to the quick, so that it is bleeding and the dog has simply cleaned that away or
B)is split to just before the quick, hurts a lot, and may split the quick and bleed a lot later on.

I already advised them to take the dog to a vet, or at the very least, to a professional groomer who may have seen this before and has a tidbit of helpful information (who would probably also say "gtfo and take it to the vet). Problem is it's Sunday, and most vets are closed. They do not want to take to a twenty-four hour vet, as the problem is not life-threatening and the visit may be a waste of money if something simple can fix it.

I asked when the last time his nails were clipped, sister replied "a month ago at the vet's". I frowned, and told her to clip at least twice weekly in the future for good measure. Who knows how that will go.

THE QUESTION: What can we do for this painful nail+paw until it can be seen by a veterinarian, hopefully tomorrow? (Other than styptic powder if/when it bleeds?)
>> Anonymous
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I blame my sister entirely.
>> Anonymous
You dont need to clip a dogs nails twice a week. Total nonsense. If the dog gets enough exercise it shouldn't need doing at all.
>> Anonymous
8/10
>> Anonymous
Neosporin with pain relief and a bandage wrap to keep it clean.

And twice a week is way too often to be clipping a dog's nails.
>> MiMi
>>218675
>>218668
Typo, I apologize. I meant to say "twice monthly". I'm not that paranoid about nails.

And yes, if he's outside running around enough, often a dog's nails don't need trimming. But from what I've heard, he stays indoors a lot. It's very snowy where he is in Massachusetts right now.

>>218669
Not a troll, real advice or gtfo.

>>218665
Is my friend, that's the aforementioned dog.

Bumped.
>> Anonymous
Ypu've basically got it taken care of about as well as you can in the circumstances. Antibiotic/styptic as necessary and try to keep the dog off it and distracted with a toy/petting/whatever as much as possible until the appointment. The main thing is to prevent infection and keep the dog happy. The vet probably won't do all that much either, just trim off anything that might snag (the whole thing maybe if it's a bad enough split) and give it a bit to heal up. Be especially careful if it's winter where you live not to get road salt around it/rinse in warm water after going outside as salt will irritate it if it gets to the quick or other still open areas.
>> Anonymous
Hmm, I've never had to clip the nails any of the dogs I've ever had. Sounds very odd to me, unless the dog doesn't get walked enough (unlikely if he is going up and down mountains) the vet is trying to pull a fast one, next time he is due in the vets for a clipping get them to take it to another vet for a second opinion, if the dogs nails are getting clipped too much that might be what is causing the dog pain. dogs have nails to protect their paws you know.
>> MiMi
>>218686
The hell?

Thanks for trying, but did you even look at the picture?

The dog's about four years old, and I've never heard about any problems with his nails before this, so obviously he's running around enough that usually they never need to think about clipping his nails.

However, if you'd look at the picture, you'd realize the very obvious reason why his toe/paw hurts. He needs to go to a vet because the split in the nail is so deep. The nail's almost split in two, right down the middle, and the dog is barely letting anyone near it. It could very easily get infected this way, and is painful to walk on.

Way to skim, buddy. Thanks though.
>> Anonymous
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>>218675
I'm trying but I can't...he's friendly, but he snaps when we try to touch his paw. He almost took my hand off when I took that picture ^^; I'm hoping someone else comes over to help me pin him.

>>218680
He doesn't touch the road salt...we've got a fenced yard, and when he goes up the mountain, he sits on the back of an ATV until we're a ways away from the street. He looks very relaxed and happy right now though. Very male too.


For exercise, he gets his regulary run around the yard, and Saturday and Sunday he takes a 1-2 hour run up the mountain next door. Everything's covered with snow, and what isn't is mostly mud. We're on ATVs, and he doesn't go on the leash.
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
Yeah, sounds like you're doing the best you can for now. Rotts tend to be terrible with their nails, so I'm not surprised that the dog is freaking like that over some pain. Muzzle him, pin him, and clip anything that might snag. Clean it, do the Neosporin, and that's about all you can do. The vet might clip the nail off up near the toe, but it's pretty painful, so I don't know if you would even want to vet to do that anyway. Tell your sister to check the dog's foot daily, check for swelling, heat, other signs of infection, etc.

Also, for most dogs once a month is just fine for nail trims, twice a month is for dogs with long quicks that you want to push back. No matter how short a dog's nail is, it can still split, so trimming twice as much won't help. OP pic looks like the dog's nails are at a healthy length.
>> Anonymous
possibly trying to use some sort of antiseptic spray on the split nail would be a better idea than getting it clipped to avoid infection. that way the owner doesn't have to hold the paw to do it.
>> Anonymous
I've seen too many cases like this, mainly due to negligence which isn't the case here, but still risky, where a dog has had an infection due to something sticking into the paw, and the result was the dog needing the leg cut off/being put down.

If you have the option at all, take him to the vet if things don't get better soon. It does look like he's made a pretty big crack up his nail so it might just be tender like all hell and hopefully will heal soon.
>> Anonymous
I'm a veterinary technician and work at an emergency animal hospital. Usually in cases like this where the nail has been split down its entire length the nail is removed via clipping it down pretty close to the pad. A bandage is usually applied and antibiotics are given.

That nail isn't going to heal nor get better on its own, you're going to have to take the dog to a vet as soon as you can.
>> Anonymous
you need to put superglue in the split and keep that tight until it dries. the wound will take care of itself after that happens. but i advise you to wash it out with warm water and maybe soap, hydrogen peroxide, or isopropyl alcohol.
this is often done with cats.
NOTE: do not get superglue in the wound.
>> Anonymous
>>219200

Vet tech here; this is horrible advice. As long as the wound isn't bleeding, there isn't much you can do until you take it to the vet.
>> Anonymous
>>219202you are a fucking moron. i have seen this done and this was what i was told to do with my cat. its not a big deal, though it does hurt. so stop faking this "vet tech" bullshit.
i noticed in your reply you did not give a single piece of advice other than what was already obvious.
>> Anonymous
vet tech here

wrap the dogs mouth closed with something, then lube up your dick

as you anally penetrate the dog, he will go placid and submissive, allowing you to snap that digit of the paw, severing the nerves
>> Anonymous
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>>219215
That didn't work, so he went to the vet and they removed the nail.
>> Anonymous
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I hate to go off topic but that dog is adorable I have a rottie just like it
>> Anonymous
>>219412

This very same thing happened with our corgi. She was running around outside, and when we brought her back in she was bleeding all over the place. We noticed a split nail, took her to the vet, and the vet did the same thing. No choice but to take the nail clean off and wait for it to grow back.

I've had two rotties, one who passed away some years ago, and our current rottie/whippet. Great dogs.