Has anyone had a dog's toenail removed?

[Blinky]

Our Rottie has had a front foot issue since Mid December. First they thought it was a fractured toe then they determined the nail bed was infected so they pulled her entire nail out about 4 weeks ago. It’s always been a weird nail and according to the vet it came out very easily. However, she is still limping around and the area still looks meh.

We have kept the cone on her for weeks so her licking of the area has been minimal. It’s not infected just seems to be very “moist” still…so my question is…

If your dog had their entire nail removed how long did they take to heal?

[Lazy_Palomino_Hunter]

I don’t know about nail removal, but I do know multiple dogs who have had entire toes removed due to fractures that wouldn’t heal. The dogs I’m thinking of were all competitive agility dogs who were able to return to their previous level of competition after recovery.

Just food for thought, if further investigations show it’s still the fracture itself causing her problems.

[Magicboy]

One of my Corgis tore out a nail. I discovered him standing in a pool of blood—he is so stoic!
it took about a month to resolve and the nail never did grow back.

[Huntin_Pony]

I’ve had two dogs that pulled off toenails - completely removed. Both toenails grew back and you could not tell anything had happened. What was required was keeping the toe very clean until the raw area toughened up and no longer looked “open.” Neither dog had any meds.

[snowblaze]

Did they x-ray her foot? It’s been long enough that I would worry that there’s some other issue.

[cloudyandcallie]

A nail being removed should heal of within a short time. If he licks it, you might want to have a cast put on it for a week or two. I lost my big toenail to a horse stomp when I was a kid. It grew back. My dog Raleigh lost 3 digits on one foot due to his being run over before I got him at the pound. He recovered with a cast, and an orthotic device, and ran and played for 14 yrs with just a limp.

I always get dogs cast when they injury their pads or claws since I don’t want them keeping the wound open by licking it.

[DarkenStormy]

My dog had his toenail removed and he was back doing agility in a week. I would be a little concerned if it’s still bothering your dog.

[Blinky]

Thanks all! We go back Tuesday and sounds like its time for an x-ray. The Vet kept the nail as well in case we need to send it off for any sort of biopsy. Its in a jar on her desk and if you haven’t seen a removed nail (in tact) its pretty big!

[Townsend]

Did your vet not do an x-ray when they thought it might be a fractured foot? I have Standard Poodles and my older girl (10 now) had a toe amputated due to toe cancer this past Sept. Toe cancer is not uncommon in large/predominately black dogs. Standard Poodles and Giant Schnauzers are well known examples and Rotties are another breed as well as black Labs, etc. I am aware of the issue and soon as I noticed a nail problem on my girl I had her in to my vet ASAP for an x-ray as I suspected cancer. My vet was pretty sure she agreed with me on physical exam and x-ray confirmed. Bloodwork was pulled that day for surgery prep. I also had chest x-rays done to make sure nothing had spread to lungs, etc. before surgery and the toe was off 3 days later. Biopsy confirmed squamous (as a lot of toe cancers are) as opposed to melanoma so taking the toe was curative. It was a back toe, non weight bearing. She was back to running agility a month later. I knew what to look for and we caught very early. I know others who waited and were not so lucky…

[Blinky]

Thanks for all the advice!

The x-ray came back normal so yesterday they amputated her toe and will send it off for a biopsy. The patient is home and grumpy…as expected. Its her third digit, in the front, which is weight bearing so hopefully she adjusts to that over time.

[Bagatelle]

Sending well wishes to your pup!

[jetsmom]

I had a dog that had a nail that looked like it broke at base. Vet cut it off, but dog was still lame. X rayed toe and found tumor in nail bed/toe. Amputated toe and dog healed fine. Vet said dogs can get benign tumors there that put pressure on bone, and cause pain.

[Townsend]

Hope your boy recovers well and the biopsy has good results. I’m sure the vet told you, but make sure to keep the foot/bandage completely dry. My vet wanted me in right away to re-bandage if it got even a tiny bit wet. I just vet wrapped a plastic bag over her foot whenever we went out and had no issues.

[Donna_pettit]

Morning my puppy has not had two front nails since we got him in April , I didn’t think anything of this but he suffering with it now !! Has any had the same problem please thanks

[Marla_100]

@Donna pettit

Morning my puppy has not had two front nails since we got him in April , I didn’t think anything of this but he suffering with it now !! Has any had the same problem please thanks

Maybe a good time to get it checked out by a vet. Could be an infection or even cancer as mentioned above.