BubbaBelushi

Hi Possum, SLO was something my Google results turned up and i did specifically ask one of the vets if it was SLO, she didn't think it was at that stage (iirc because only one nail is affected, and it wasn't soft or disfigured at all). But the symptoms do seem to fit (infection, lots of pain, nail falling out for no apparent reason, quick came out as well). His claws are the size of my pinky fingers in width and he's an indoor dog that likes to just lie around on his queen mattress all day, it's hard to see how he could have possibly just broken it off at the very base without damaging the skin at all, or other surrounding toes. My boy does have lots of other immune system sort of issues (cushings, edemas, also before he had cushings he used to get skin rashes and itches as well) so it would surprise me if it does turn out to be SLO. I am of course hoping that's not the case but I've upped his fish oil, B3 and vit E as a precaution. Of course the worry is that because of his hemophilia i have to be careful with things like vitamin E and fish oil that can thin the blood at high doses. Is there a specialist for dogs in the are of SLO in Sydney that anyone is aware of? I figure my first priority is fixing the hole in his toe where the nail used to be, then i need to try and sort out if his immune system was involved.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice everyone. I certainly don't mind driving if we need to (he's a good traveler, except for the slobber lol). I just want to make sure we get him the best care possible, having the open hole/wound concerns me a little. I know his hair has stopped growing now because of the cushings (he still has the bald square from a surgery (skin tumor - local anesthetic) he had 6 months ago where they shaved him). So i assume the nail growth would be the same as the hair growth because if i recall my biology classes correctly they are the same material/mechanism. With a normal dog the nail would regrow and plug the whole, but with my boy i don't think this is happening the way it should be so hence the concern.

Hi Papillon Kisses, thanks, do they have specialists in this area for dogs? I'm in Dural in the Hills district (North West Sydney).

Hoping for some advice here, 2 weeks ago my 10 y/o Mastiff's toe became swollen, a few days later his claw fell out completely including the quick/nerve/blood vessels just leaving a big hole (his feet are enormous, he weighs 85kg) in it's place. We've seen 3 vets regarding this now, due to his age and other medical conditions (Cushings, hemophilia) they are all reluctant to surgery, so instead they have adopted a "wait and see" approach, his leg is bandaged (dressings changed daily) and he is on 3 sorts of anti-biotics (it's infected) and anti-inflammatories. It's unclear if this was the result of a trauma, or an infection, or something else (autoimmune etc) None of the vets had seen this before (they've seen heaps of broken nails etc, but none where both the nail and the quick etc all fell out leaving a hole), i am wondering if anyone here had come across it before and can let me know what to expect? I know with his age and cushings he takes a long time to heal, i just was hoping for some sort of improvement by now but it's still just a hole. I am also unsure how to approach, is just keeping him bandaged and on antibiotics indefinitely the way to go, or should i insist on surgery (which may mean amputation of his toe) despite his age and other conditions or something else? My usual vets are very good and have always taken good care of him, i just don't like the idea of him having an open wound/hole on his foot. Thanks!

Siks you did everything right, and you've made the right decision to re-home the Foxxie. Male dogs that haven't grown up together, food and such a huge size difference = a recipe for disaster.

thanks for the advice guys, very helpful indeed! the leg that he is limping with is the one where they left the meniscus in, they said it wasn't damaged so there was no need to remove it, this makes me think maybe you are right Kelly. I will try and take him to a regular vet to get some xrays done and see if they can see anything obvious. Golden, that's great news about your Dougal, i really hope my boy doesn't need his re-doing though, that's my worst fear! I give him ester-c too, but I haven't heard of metacam before, i'll look into that too. thanks again!

When my 4y/o Corso woke up this morning limping, my heart sank! I've seen this limp before. 2 years ago he had his first TPLO on the left knee, about 1 year ago he had his second TPLO on his right knee. He spent 2 months "locked up" (only allowed outside for potty breaks) after each surgery and was in terrible amounts of pain the first week after each surgery. I've been feeding him daily doses of Sasha's blend, fish oil etc trying to prevent anything like this from happening, and then bam he just wakes up limping. I think all this stress and pain is taking its toll on him, the poor boy is only 4 years old and his face is already turning grey. So i'm not sure what to do now, i know a failed TPLO is extremely complicated to repair and can be worse for him than the TPLO surgery, and after the last surgery i promised him that i wouldn't put him through that pain again, it's horrible seeing him like that, argh. He's booked in to see a ortho vet, but they can't see me to next week. Can anyone give me some advice?

very sad, it's hard to understand how a 12 month old pup can get mouth cancer? that seems too young! it may be worth inspecting the pups diet and environment for carcniogenic substances eg aspestos boards, herbicides etc.

This isn't that uncommon, especially in dogs kept in confined kennels without water sources (eg puppy farm/pet store puppies) They should outgrow it, make sure water is always available and a stern "NO" from you should assist if you catch him in the act. FYI urine is sterile and won't case them any problems.