A lot can happen in a few seconds and I shudder to think how much worse this could have turned out.Īnother of my dogs got her regular nail caught in a little hole in the runnerboard of our vehicle once as she jumped inside while on a camping trip. * And it never hurts to have veterinary styptic, vet-wrap, sturdy nail clippers, even wire cutters, and other critical animal 1st aid handy for emergency treatment, before you can even get them to your vet. They will tell you if you are paying attention. * Canines, historically, couldn’t show weakness, so know your pet well enough to recognize pain signals without the stereotypical kiyiying and whining. Had I not been right here… it makes my heart rate kick up again just thinking about it. Check on them at least every few minutes. * Never leave your dog unattended on a chain. I will be watching him closely after reading this though.Ī few lessons here beyond just trimming nails, including dew claws. So far, no limping since the offending spring/hobble was removed and no swelling yet. He’s not bleeding, so no styptic needed – Hallelujah! But I am concerned about secondary issues, I just didn’t know what. Si and the other dogs use that run several times a day for years and years without incident – then this. He was stoic (but he’s lived a long enough life with genetic issues that he stoicizes pain in a frightening way), but I know he hides it too well, so after freeing him from the unexpected, seemingly innocuous trap, I wanted to know what else to look for. GSD/Mal mix, Osiris, got his dew claw caught in the clasp/spring on the dog run a few minutes ago. Thanks for this article, my old boy, 12 y.o. Has your dog ever experienced a dew claw injury? Let us know how you handled it in the comments section!
Remember, infections can spread, so keeping her injury clean is the best way to nurse her back to health again. If you notice excessive swelling, pus, or bleeding, it might mean you need to take an additional trip to the vet’s office.
Hope’s a licker, so her veterinarian was sure she was going to need a cone collar to protect her paw from her incessant licking, but she ended up being so well behaved.įinally, if your dog has been treated for a dew claw injury, you’ll need to examine her bandages daily (or as often as the veterinarian recommends) for signs of infection. She was given some pain medicine and sent home right after the procedure to rest. In many cases, it’s likely the dew claw will be completely removed and then bandaged. The treatment will depend on the type of injury. If your dog has a dew claw injury, you should make an emergency appointment at her veterinarian’s office. Is there blood or a visibly swollen or dislocated nail? Those are obvious signs that something may be wrong with your dog’s dew claw. Have you noticed that your dog is licking her paw more often than usual? This could indicate an injury, as well. Is she favoring one foot or limping? While you may think favoring could mean that she hurt her leg or paw, it could mean she damaged a nail. Here are a few things to look out for if you’re suspicious that your dog hurt her dew claw. In some cases, this may be less noticeable. In Hope’s situation, it was obvious to her family that she had a dew claw injury. Also, it’s always important to keep your dog’s nails trimmed, as long or overgrown nails are more likely to get a dew claw injury.
I didn’t know this at the time, but I’ve learned that dew claws are more susceptible to injury than other nails, as they’re more loosely attached. Hope’s dew claw on her front right paw became dislocated, and everyone made an emergency trip to the veterinarian’s office. After the bleeding seemed to stop, and she could be cleaned up, it became more apparent what had happened. It was obvious that Hope was hurt, but she wasn’t giving her parents an easy time figure out what had happened. However, her human mom reported that Hope had been doing a lot of digging near the fence, and suddenly there was yelping, limping, and even worse: a lot of blood. When I asked Hope how her injury happened, she couldn’t quite articulate it. Depending on the speed or pressure put onto the dew claw, it could splinter, separate from the paw, or even possibly completely break off. Since dogs are active creatures, it’s easy for a nail to get caught onto something. My friend Hope recently had a dew claw injury, and after finding out how much pain she was in, I knew I must write about it!ĭo you know what the dew claw is? On your dog’s front paws, the dew claw is the nail that is located on the side of the paw, not at the top with the other four nails. What to consider if your dog has a dew claw injury
0 kommentar(er)
