Torn nails, cut pads

I have recently had someone contact me to ask how to treat their dogs cut pad.  On a legal point of view I am not a vet there fore I can not tell you what to do.  I have to say go to a vet regardless of what I think. 

But heres some friendly advice for all.

The Hungarian vizsla is an active dog, and jumps and propels itself off the floor with great force, and can catch a pad on a flint, and especially if you are in Norfolk. Flints were used back in the day when hunter gathers were needing weapons to kill animals to survive. The Norfolk flint was excellent as its sharp and can cut.  Different areas of the UK have different stone.  Then the Hungarian Vizsla will suddenly come to an abrupt holt for no reason and again can damage pads on glass, stone.  Nails are another which can really get broken or even torn out.

With all this in mind when you go out with your dog in the car its a very good idea to have a first aid kit with you, enough to treat the dog until your home and can get to your veterinary surgeon. 

It is very difficult to predict what a veterinary surgeon will do because all are different.  
I have learned that if a toe nail gets ripped right out, it will heal on its own, but you must clean it daily with salt water, not let dirt get into the nail bed, so use a dog boot when out.  A vet can check it to make sure its not infected, and they usually do not operate to remove any further as the nail will regrow back. 

For a torn  nail it depends on how badly its torn, because sometimes you can just trim the nail yourself and keep clean and it heals fine. But then some rip off the outer shell of the nail leaving exposed internal nail and thats really painful, so in these cases the vet may suggest cutting it right back, then bandage until its healed.  The problem with bandages is they sweat and often cause an infection, so dont allow it to get dirty.

With cracked pads, if the pad is cracked but not through to the underneath skin it will heal fine. Ive only seen one in my lifetime which was a real vet job as the dog had cut through with glass, so it was carefully checked to make sure no glass was in it, then recut and sewed together.  Thankfully not one of my dogs.  
Small injuries can be self treated with plaster spray and salt water.  I have used also germoline liquid skin on occasion, skin disinfectants and when I was stuck up a mountain I actually used superglue to hold the nail together.  But not if it had of been internal part exposed this was a dry split on the nail.

A helpful tip is do not let your dogs nails get long like cats claws, as these claws are then far more likely to get torn out.  A nice short trimmed nail is what you should have.  If you are going to walk in a flinty area, then sometimes a dog boot is advisable. 

First aid kits information will be added to my hidden pages for our pet owners with advice on what to have in the first aid kit.  This may take a few weeks for me to think of everything. 

Just remember if unsure vet vet vet.  Rachel xx