Broken Dog Nails can happen anytime to anyone but knowing how to stop dog Nail Bleeding and treat the hurt pooch will make all the difference in comforting them.
Accidents happen, all the time. Dogs are energetic animals and accidents always find a way to happen with them.
A Broken dog nail can be a terrifying scene for a new dog owner.
Blood is something that we want to normally keep inside our bodies, so when we see it coming out of our pets, we are terrified.
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What causes a broken nail in dogs?
The most common cause of a broken or cracked dog nail is nails clipping. While you’re trimming your dog’s nails, it’s easy for this to happen.
All it takes is for the dog to make a small and sudden movement of their paw in the wrong time to cause a nail to break, crack, or chip.
If you neglect to trim your dog’s nails for too long, the nails will get too long and with the friction and shocks on hard surfaces, you will end up with the dog toenails broken as well.
It’s always a good idea to take a minute and learn the easiest way of trimming your dog’s nails to avoid any trimming-related injuries in the future.
In some rare occasions, the dog is born with weaker nails that are more easily broken.
Weaker nails are more fragile and are more likely to get broken from simple and light injuries.
Another cause is that your dog has long nails. Long nails are much easier to break, snag, and become torn while your dog is walking.
The Symptoms of Broken Dog Nails
There are some symptoms that tell you that your dog’s nails are cracked or broken, and they are pretty easy to notice.
- Limping and not putting any weight on the paw while walking
- If the dog favors a paw and holds it in the air while walking
- Blood on the dog’s favorite resting spots
- The dog constantly licks their paw
- A Swollen toe or paw
- The nail is at a strange angle
- The dog will resist your examination of their paw
If you notice any of these signs, it’s recommended that you try to examine the paw.
Be careful and don’t put any pressure on their foot or paw, and don’t force it if the dog refuses to let you see it.
If your dog does allow you to examine their paw, it’s a good idea to consider having someone with you to help you out by distracting the dog and diverting their attention away from the pain.
If your dog has some behavioral and anger problems, you might even consider a muzzle.
Remember: Broken nail in dogs is painful, try to understand that, don’t punish the dog for acting out when they are in pain.
Types of nail breaks
1.) The nail is completely broken off and bleeding. The quick is injured.
2.) The nail is either cracked or broken and still loosely attached.
3.) A nail is cracked or broken but still firmly attached.
The easiest case to treat is when the nail is completely broken off and there is bleeding.
You are left with trying to stop the bleeding using styptic powder and applying pressure on the affected area for five minutes.
However, if the nail continues to heavily bleed, make sure that you go the ER immediately.
If the nail is very loose and dangling, have someone to restrain your dog while you try to remove the loose nail.
Only do so when the nail is loosely attached. If bleeding happens, then use a gauze with styptic powder and apply pressure too.
There are also nails that are broken but still firmly attached. These type of dog nail breakage need to be treated by a vet.
Your vet will most likely give your dog sedation and pain medication to and then cut the damaged nail above the crack.
Sedation is needed because the cut will be in the part of the nail that has blood vessels and nerve. This will be very painful.
The procedure is followed by apply styptic powder and a bandage that is left for 24 hours.
Broken Dog Nails: How to Treat your dog’s broken if it’s not broken to the quick
1.) Remove the remaining piece of the broken dog nail carefully and gently
There will be a remaining, dangling piece of nail that’s left.
You should start by removing it carefully to prevent further injury, stop the pain coming from it, and allow for proper healing.
In order for the new nail to grow and replace the old one, the old one must be removed completely first.
If the crack is at the tip of a long nail or it’s a small crack and doesn’t reach the quick, you can do that using pet nail clippers.
This will make a clean cut in the nail and will help the new nail grow normally.
2.) Stop the bleeding
Removing the nail is likely to cause some bleeding, which is why you should have an emergency kit ready.
Apply styptic powder to the wound to stop the bleeding immediately by plugging the wound and preventing blood from coming out.
If you don’t have styptic powder or pencil at hand, cornstarch will do the trick or even regular flour.
The key is to apply some to the wound and use a towel to compress gently for a couple of minutes to stop the bleeding.
3.) Clean the Wound
After your dog calms down a bit, it’s time for a warm bath for their paw. Put their paw in warm water to remove any dirt or debris left on the wound.
This helps to disinfect the paw from any infections that may happen. It keeps the paws clean.
4.) Disinfect the area
After removing any traces of dirt and debris, spray a pet antiseptic on the toe to disinfect the damaged area.
This will also help relieve any discomfort your dog is feeling from the open wound.
If it happens that the wound bleeds again, apply pressure or use a styptic pencil or powder.
5.) Bandage their paw
Wrap your dog’s paw in a loose-fitting bandage and use first-aid tape to hold the bandage in place.
Note that dogs, naturally, don’t like to have their paws bandaged, so this can take a bit of effort.
You can also try placing a clean sock on their paw and tape it into place, this method will probably make the dog more comfortable.
A sock doesn’t restrict movement which will not bother your dog making him less likely to pull it off.
If the dog really doesn’t like it and keeps pulling the bandage or socks off, you will want to place a plastic cone around their neck to prevent them from pulling the bandage or sock.
The wound needs a couple of days to heal, so your dog will just have to live with their E-collar until they recover.
6.) Change the bandage every day to keep the area clean
Be sure to change the bandage once or more daily to keep things clean in there as well as check the healing process.
This will enable you to notice any signs of infection like swelling, oozing pus discharge, and/or bleeding.
If you do see signs of infection, your dog will need antibiotics, but this is better left to your vet.
7.) Consult your vet for complications
The injury can leave a bloody stump that normally was inside the toenail.
Being sensitive and tender, this injury needs to be checked by a vet.
The vet will usually bandage the area and write off certain types of antibiotics. These antibiotics offer protection against infections.
In severe complications, your vet may recommend the removal of the toe.
It is also important to check with the vet to rule out other causes such as an infection or tumor which will definitely weaken the toenail in the affected area.
Nail broken all the way to the quick
If your dog has broken their nail all the way to the quick, you should probably take them to the vet promptly for proper treatment.
However, if the breakage reaches the quick or comes very close to it, you are advised to do that while the dog is sedated.
Otherwise it will be extremely painful and the dog will bleed out.
But what do you do when dog nail bleeding won’t stop? In these cases work on applying pressure on the bleeding area.
Next, use styptic powder to relieve the area and stop the bleeding.
You must do so until you reach your vet.
Treating a broken declaw
The treatment for declaws varies as your vet may recommend the complete removal of both declaws when there is an injury to one of the declaws.
How to help your dog recover from a broken dog nail
In the large majority of cases, dogs start to feel better in 2 days, but total recovery can take more time. For the nail to grow back completely, this can take back up to 2 weeks.
During these two weeks, do your best to keep your dog’s paws on paw-friendly surfaces; avoid rocks, mud, snow, and sand.
If you do remove the E Collar, make sure the dog doesn’t lick their paws, which is more challenging in practice than it sounds, as dogs tend to lick their wounds.
Now that you know what to do in case of a broken dog nail of if you found your dog’s nail bleeding.
How to prevent a dog from breaking their nails
- Keep your dog nails trimmed routinely and frequently so they don’t grow long and break.
- If you are not confident about trimming your dog’s nails, you can go to the dog groomer.
- Avoid walking and taking your dog for a run on hard surfaces such as cracked asphalt or gravel where they are more likely to break their nails.
- Get your pooch doggie booties so they can walk freely with no harm on hard surfaces.
Top 4 homemade remedies to stop your dog nail bleeding
If you don’t have styptic powder. you can use common households that as a substitute.
- Cornstarch
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Bar of soap
Remember to always put pressure on the dog nail that is bleeding.
These homemade solutions are great at stopping the bleeding.
However, they don’t stop bleeding immediately. It takes time as you will need to apply pressure for several minutes. You have to always remain calm.
How to use homemade solutions:
Baking soda, baking flour, or cornstarch
Grab an amount and gently apply pressure with your finger. You can also add some water to make a paste.
Your dog’s nails should be covered. Then, you got to apply pressure with a cloth or towel.
Bar of soap
1.) Damp the bar of soap until it’s mushy
2.)Push the bar of soap into your dog’s nails
3.) Keep the soap into the nail as you apply pressure for 3-5 minutes.
It is also important to let your dog relax their paws after you applied the homemade solutions.
By keeping your dog’s feet away from any activity that involves using their feet, you help them to recover.
It’s also a good idea if you wrap your dog’s nails with a bandage to prevent injuries from happening.
What to do if your dog’s nails won’t stop bleeding after 20 minutes
Most injuries are minor and will stop bleeding within 20 minutes. This only happens when the injuries are minor.
So if the bleeding doesn’t stop after 20 minutes, take your dog to the vet immediately.
Conclusion
There are certain steps to follow in nail trimming and to stop nail bleeding.
