Maddy Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 My senior greyhound has had a few issues with his nails recently and several months back, he lost an entire nail (I assume it was track nail that I somehow didn't see until it was too late) and now, we have another nail infected. He was treated with an AB shot, a week of AB tabs (3rd to the 10th of this month) and five days of anti-inflammatories . Despite that, he continued to show discomfort when having it handled and the claw itself, because of the initial infection, is now angled widely out and apparently infected still (he went to the vet today and got another script for ABs). The first vet I saw said it was likely that the claw would need to be removed (it was loose enough to snag on something but unfortunately, not loose enough for her to ease off) but that his toe should be fine and the nail would regrow as the last one did. The vet today (our usual vet) said that the toe would have to be removed as there was too much risk of infection to the bone through the wound. He has the appointment for the removal but I'm not entirely convinced it's the right course of action (especially considering he's an inside dog and keeping the wound clean and dry wouldn't be an issue). Obviously I don't want to put him at any unnecessary risk but removing an outside toe is going to have an impact on his movement (his joints are already a bit loose) and a fall could do him serious damage so I'm a bit worried. Has anyone else had to have claws removed entirely and if so, was it recommended that the toe also be removed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Augustine The Boxer Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 On both occasions that Augustine has snapped her dewclaw vets insisted she gets it removed while under anaesthetic. They treated it as very serious. The first time the groomer next door to the vet clipped it off and she was fine straight away and the second time I took her to another vet which removed it in a split second with ease. I felt that a quick yelp was far better for her health than going under. Now I just monitor her nails more carefully to make sure they don't grow too long. I genuinely believe to their knowledge they recommended what they thought was best. All I am suggesting is that maybe a second opinion is worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzledx2 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 (edited) I had a kelpie who was susceptible to nail and nail bed injuries. At one stage she developed an infection that got into the bone and she had lots of tests and specific antibiotics which did fix the problem but not before she lost a couple of toe tips which had to be amputated. She was a pretty good agility dog and the amputations never affected her running or jumping. eta only the toe tip was removed..the last bone..not the entire toe. Edited September 22, 2012 by bedazzledx2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 it's not SLO? I would be seriously considering removing the toe if there is a strong chance infection could get into the bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 I had a kelpie who was susceptible to nail and nail bed injuries. At one stage she developed an infection that got into the bone and she had lots of tests and specific antibiotics which did fix the problem but not before she lost a couple of toe tips which had to be amputated. She was a pretty good agility dog and the amputations never affected her running or jumping. eta only the toe tip was removed..the last bone..not the entire toe. Ah.. my vet wants to remove the entire toe to prevent infection but I feel like it's perhaps a very heavy-handed means of going about it. The other worry is that because of what they're doing, he'll need a full GA, rather than just sedation. The final concern is that he'll get it in other toes (this is the second toe to have the issue) and that we may end up having to do it more than once (which is going to impact even further on his balance). I might ask if a partial removal is possible to allow the wound to be fully closed without having to lose the entire lot, especially when it seems likely that he's going to have the same problem again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 it's not SLO? I would be seriously considering removing the toe if there is a strong chance infection could get into the bone. Besides the two issues we've have, his nails appear quite normal. He has one dewclaw that grows thicker than the other but the rest are healthy. The other nail that he fully lost is growing back quite well, no sign of any issues there. I did actually keep the last nail that he lost (got it in a ziplock bag on my desk, don't ask why I kept it, I have no idea) so I think I might take that in with me on Wednesday. Might not be usable for biopsy but.. I really do hope it is just track nail, he's getting on a bit and GAs are getting more risky as he goes (already got cataract surgery to look forward to ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 My last foster Whippet came to me with a very badly damaged nail. My vet recommended taking the whole toe off. She did an amaazing job, 4 stiches in total, it healed within two weeks and she charged me $140 to do it. I was super impressed with her efforts and how the dog recovered. He lost an outside front toe, hopped around a bit at first but quickly gained all of his balance and speed back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I have known of two Border Collies to lose an outside toe and it didn't affect the movement at all. Both went on to very successful show dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 Just to update.. Our amazing vet did a partial removal yesterday (saved the pad and most of the toe itself) and he's walking fine on it already. She said she didn't think it was SLO but the toe is being sent up to Melbourne tomorrow for testing so we should have a definite answer by next Friday. Fingers crossed that he just somehow managed to mangle the nail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 :) hope all is OK . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 Update.. Test results came back yesterday, nothing there that indicated SLO so we're in the clear :D What he did have was osteomyelitis in the first bone, presumably caused by an injury to the claw (bacterial and fungal swabs came up negative) so.. it looks like the old man just injured the nail somehow. He had his stitches out yesterday and everything has healed nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coogie Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 (edited) Pleased to see this Hardy's Angel, we are still monitoring Alfie's toe and clipping the nail very short so no surgery yet,it's very reassuring to read this as I'm sure we will need to do it at some point. Glad he is ok. Editing to say I have just realised I was discussing Alfie's toe in a different thread! Sorry - post about "still monitoring" makes no sense here - still pleased to hear he is ok though - I had been watching here to see if there was an update so thanks. Edited October 13, 2012 by coogie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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