Nail Injury in a Dog: Keep Your Dog’s Nails Trimmed—Bubba’s Lameness

Overgrown toenails can cause lameness when they grow into the paw pad or break.

Toenail injuries are painful. The quick, which you might be familiar with, is a collection of blood vessels and nerves. That’s why it bleeds and hurts so much.

Dogs can break their nail when they sang it on the carpet or upholstery, outdoor terrain, or when they land on it in an unfortunate way. The longer the nails, the more susceptible they are to injuries.

Further information: First Aid for Broken Nails in Dogs

Nail Injury in a Dog: Keep Your Dog's Nails Trimmed—Bubba's Lameness

Bubba’s story

Bubba is a 4-year-old Golden Retriever, loved and spoiled by his family. He’s an healthy, active, bouncy boy.

One morning, as he got up and came to join his family, he was limping, not putting any weight on his front left paw. His mom went to check him out and noticed, and one of Bubba’s nails was hanging at a strange angle, something sticking out from it. Bubba’s mom trimmed it off, but the problem seemed more serious.

At the veterinarian

Under sedation, the veterinarian examined Bubba’s nail thoroughly. Bubba not only broke his nail but half tore it off. It was barely hanging there. Without an intervention, Bubba would be in pain for days.

The veterinarian applied local anesthetic and pulled the hanging nail out, and bandaged the raw toe. While Bubba was still sedated, the veterinarian trimmed the rest of his nails.

Summary

Do take care of your dog’s nails and keep them properly trimmed. Longer nails are more likely to break, splinter, and get snagged on things. If your dog doesn’t like having their nails cut, teach them to be cool about it. It is easier than it seems if you know how to approach it. Check out Donna Hill’s video below for awesome tips on how to desentize your dog to nail care.

That is not it, folks

Overgrown nails in dogs don’t only present risk to being damaged themselves. They also alter your dog’s proprioception and can lead to other injuries.

Further reading: The Importance of Nail Trimming: What’s The Most Common Problem I See In My Canine Patients?

Source story:
Bubba, a 4-year-old Golden Retriever

Related articles:
Why Is My Dog Limping? Causes of Lameness in Dogs—Symptoms To Watch For In Your Dog
The Importance of Nail Trimming: What’s The Most Common Problem I See In My Canine Patients?

Further reading:
First Aid for Broken Nails in Dogs

Categories: Dog care • Dog health advocacy • Lameness • Limping • Nail injuries • Nail injuries • Nail trimming • Symptoms

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Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

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