My dog has hurt his paw it seems to be the nail that if you looked at his paw as if its a hand its the thumb?

nail how long will this take to heal. How long should i leave it before seeing a vet? There is no cut and the nail is just shorter but still visable. Thanks in advanceMy dog has hurt his paw it seems to be the nail that if you looked at his paw as if its a hand its the thumb?
You may notice your pet limping, or favoring one paw over the others. Check their feet; if you find a broken or torn nail, here's what to do.





1. If a piece of the nail is stuck/dangling, trim it off with clippers. Nail clippers come in two styles: guillotine style, where there is one moving blade, and scissors style, where both blades move.





2. If the torn nail is bleeding, apply styptic powder, corn starch, flour, or tissue to stop the blood flow.





3. If the nail is torn down into the pad, or the bleeding does not stop within a few minutes, the wound may need a vet's attention.





You may need another person to help hold the pet still - lay the animal on his belly or side. Have your helper drape themselves over the pet's body (don't squish them, just enough to hold them more or less still). You may want them to hold the leg steady with both hands, leaving you two hands free to work with. A good trick for general nail trimming that may be useful here is to have your helper cover the pet's eyes. If they don't see the clippers coming, they can't jerk their leg away!





If you're afraid of making things worse, or too squeamish to deal with the torn nail, don't feel bad. Call your vet and describe the problem, and they'll tell you if you need to come in or if you should just let nature take over. Left alone, the dangling edge of the nail will eventually come loose and fall off. Bleeding will stop. And sometimes, licking is the best medicine.My dog has hurt his paw it seems to be the nail that if you looked at his paw as if its a hand its the thumb?
The dewclaw? On the side of his foot? Sadly, these are quite often prone to injury, often to the point that they require surgery to remove. In adult dogs, they are composed of bone, and like any other can be broken. It's why many breeders pay the vets to have them removed at about 3 days of age. At that point they are cartilage and easily removed, thus preventing future injury. If its just the nail that's broken, watch for signs of infection. If there is still swelling or pain after 2-3 days, a trip to the vet would be in order.
If he's limping you should take him to the vet. That particular toe is called the dew claw and it is a source of many pains in a dog. It gets caught on stuff as they walk by and is often torn. My dog has a dew claw on his back feet (not very common) and the nails will grow into his toes if I don't keep them cut.
I think it's funny that no matter what a dogs problem is on here everyone says to take it to the vet. Come on Chalice, have you ran to the ER every time you hurt yourself? Actually you probably have. Anyway, animals ARE actually self healing like us and you don't have to take them in all the time, some people couldn't afford to anyway. It is a dew claw, they are prone to this, and they should be taken off as a pup, but can be done later if it appears it will be a problem. Use commone sense and if it doesn't get better right away, have that procedure done as it will probably be a recurring injury now. NOW, lets all go to the vet!!!!!
That's the dew claw.





If he is in pain and doesn't want to walk on it, you should have the vet look at it. He may have injured the dewclaw but it's always possible that's not the only damage. He may have fractured a bone as well.
The dewclaw isn't to big a deal although it's going to be sore. You can try running cold water across it. However if you continue to worry or he shows signs of worsening, go ahead and take him in.
That is the dew claw.


Honestly since he is limping and in pain, I think you should call the vet and talk to them, he may have injured more then his dewclaw.
Why do you think it necessary to wait before seeing a vet? It drives me mad when people bring in animals that have had a condition for days, or even weeks - why wait?





If an animal is in any pain or discomfort, the time to go to a vet is now. It isn't an emergency, but ring the vet now to make an appointment. This is your dog's dew claw - it's not uncommon for them to get partially ripped off.





How long would you like to wait if this was your thumb?





Chalice