Question for dog owners...

[FutureMrsC]

My dog, Zuko, is a 1 1/2 year old sheltie/spitz mix. He's such a cutie!

Anyway... as he was prancing around in the backyard Saturday afternoon, he tore his right dewclaw. It wasn't torn completely off, but enough to be turned around backwards and bleeding. I did a little research online and read about putting ointment on it and then wrapping it up to keep it from being infected.

Yesterday, we clipped off some of the hanging-off part, just because there wasn't any way that it "heal back on".

My question is this: Is there anything else that I could/should be doing for my sweet little furbaby? He's not limping, and it's not bandaged at the moment (because he was insistent on taking the last bandage off).

I know I can count on my Disfriends

 

[hiwaygal]

It's probably okay...but you might want to have a vet check it just to be sure.

Several years ago, my dog managed to essentially tear his dewclaw out. I didn't know what had happened, I just saw lots of blood. I took him to the emergency vet and they patched him up. Eventually his dewclaw grew back and it was fine.

I would particularly be concerned about possible infections or something.

 

[Imagine Ears]

I'd get him to the vet. The chances of him getting an infection or having a problem are more times than not in this case.

I'm not sure about the dewclaw, but I do know that on their "regular" claws they have a vain that if its broken can cause major bleeding and they can die from blood loss. But, I don't think thats the case seeing as he stopped bleeding.

Just to be safe, I'd definately get him to the vet. He'll probably be fine, but better safe than sorry.

 

[maxiesmom]

When we had our German Shepard, our vet recommended removing the dewclaws. They did it at the same time they spayed her. So I'm guessing that this is a problem they see quite often. Has your vet said anything about having them removed?

 

[KristiKelly]

Our Dalmatian used to tear his dew claws from playing with his soccer ball. I took him to the vet once, after that I just cleaned it with peroxide, applied Neosporin, and bandage a couple of times a day (he would leave the bandage on though).

With the dog we have now, I had her dew claws removed when she was spayed, I didn't want to go through all that again.

I hope it heals okay.

 

[FutureMrsC]

Our vet hasn't mentioned anything about removing the dewclaws... however, we've only had Zuko since December. We adopted him from another vet's office about an hour away from us and they'd already neutered him. I know that dewclaw removal is only done when the dog is already under anesthesia for something else... so (hopefully) that won't be an option.

He looks pretty good this morning- his "wound" looks WAY better. I'm going to continue to watch it like a hawk (I'm a teacher & on spring break this week ) and if it starts to stop improving or look infected, I'll take him to the vet. I rebandaged it again today and put a sock on top of it... he's ignoring it for the most part... I think he was treating it as his own personal chew toy yesterday.

He's such a silly, spunky puppy... with such a "big dog" personality (too bad he's only 18 lbs and the close to being the runt of the dogs on our street! )

Thanks for all of your replies

 

[horseshowmom]

I would do the same thing that you're doing (particularly with the antibiotic ointment). Since it seems to be doing well, as long as it doesn't show any signs of increased irritation (swelling, etc.) and continues to do well until it heals, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[darlak]

You could always call your vet and ask for tips on treating the wound.

 

[milwaukee1]

Our dog ripped a dew claw once and it healed up just fine.