Yesterday we went to the vet's office because Cody somehow managed to crack one of his nails on his right paw. I first noticed when he was holding up his paw but luckily the it was not that bad. Of course he was licking his paw a lot since it was clearly uncomfortable. Take a look at the picture below.
Like any smart and responsible dog owner after I Googled all sorts using “Dogs” and “Cracked Nails” “Cracked claws” etc. I see a lot of different information out there about cracked dog nails and claws but I haven't seen anything definitive about whether it is ok for a dog owner to handle this sort of issue on their own or have a veterinarian and vet tech take care of it.
The last time Cody cracked his nail it was splintered in several places. It was fairly serious and he had to have bandage on his paw for awhile. That time it seemed like it was better to have a vet take care of it instead of us. I wonder though if the visit this time was really necessary.
What the veterinarian basically did was just cut above the crack. There was minimal bleeding since it went into the Quick, as it is know. The vet applied some powder that helped stop the bleeding. Cody was not a happy camper when she did it and had to have a vet tech help clip the cracked nail and Cody's other nails while we were there. Since we were already at the vet's office why not just have them do it, right? Cody also got a few shots that he was a bit overdue for and the vet drew some blood so so they could test for heartworm.
Sierra also got her nails cut too. It was funny because Cody went first and then Sierra hopped over to the vet as if to say “My turn!” (Sierra is a bit jealous if another dog is getting more attention.) Little did she know that she was going to get her nails clipped which she found out was not as fun as it looked.
If you have a decent set of dog nail clippers and basic First Aid supplies in your house, it seems easy to take care of a cracked dog nail in my opinion. All the vet did was cut Cody's nail and use some power to stop the minimal amount of bleeding. Something I felt we could have taken care of on our own.
What do you think? Is a cracked dog nail something a vet should take care of or is this the type of thing dog owners can handle i? I am interested to hear opinions, comments, and advice.
Maybe this will inspire us to write a song about cracked dog nails and broken dog nails. Cody would be good at singing that song! 🙂