Breaking a nail is a painful thing your dog can experience. A dog's nailbed is just as sensitive as a human's, and when their nail breaks off, it hurts.
In addition to sensitivity, a dog's nail contains a specialized blood supply called a "quick." The quick bleeds profusely when injured.
A bleeding dog in pain is always an emergency. If at all possible, you should get your dog to an emergency animal care hospital as soon as possible. In the meantime, here's what you need to know and do:
Common Causes of Canine Broken Nails
Dogs with longer nails are more prone to breaking a nail. All it takes is the dog getting a long nail caught in a floor HVAC vent cover or landing incorrectly when jumping out of your car and their nail can break or tear.
If the injury is towards the base of the nail and it injures the quick, then it will bleed in a way that seems completely unreasonable compared to the size of the injury. The reality is that broken dog nails always bleed a lot. Many pet parents see all the blood and panic, thinking their dog will bleed to death. This is very unlikely to be the case.
What to Do When a Dog's Nail Tears or Breaks
The key to stopping the prolific bleeding is to take a deep breath and understand that the situation looks way worse than it is. Yes, your dog is scared, in pain, and bleeding, but the injury can quickly be taken care of, and the dog will not have any lasting disability due to a broken or torn nail.
Applying direct pressure to the broken nail will force the blood to clot and slow the bleeding. Your dog may not like this approach, but it is necessary.
If you have corn starch in your pantry, liberally applying it to the nail will help the blood to clot. If your dog keeps licking the corn starch and making it bleed again, apply more and gently wrap the foot.
Get Your Dog to a Veterinarian or Emergency Veterinary Clinic ASAP
Once you've stopped the bleeding, getting your dog to an animal care hospital is crucial. This is especially important if the broken nail is still partly attached or broken very close to the end of the dog's toe.
Depending on the injury's severity, the veterinarian may need to sedate your pet to clean up the nail and wrap it for healing.
The good news is in a couple of weeks your dog's nail will grow back, and you will never be able to tell this traumatic day happened.
For more info, visit a local animal care hospital.
Share21 November 2022
Hello everyone. My name is Vern Mitchell. Welcome to my website about pet care. When I was a young kid, I helped the neighborhood families take care of their pets during the vacation season. As my neighbors went on their trips, I would go by their houses to feed and play with their pets. Throughout this journey, I learned about the care techniques required for almost every step of pet. On this website, I would like to help others understand how to care for pets of all kinds. Thank you for coming by my website about pet care. Come back soon!