Dew claws can be found inside the feet of your dog and are the smallest toes of the pet. These toes bear no weight and will often get broken or cracked because they are very prone to injuries. Although most of the time an injury related to dew claws will result in blood loss, there are instances in which the affected area won’t bleed at all. Below you will find information on what to do when your dog has a broken dew claw that is not bleeding.
What should you do if your dog has a broken dew claw?
Most of the time, a pup’s nail that is not bleeding, even if it is cracked, won’t require too much treatment. All you will have to do is to give your dog medication to relieve any pain and make sure the claw is kept clean until it starts the healing process. Although, if you want to be 100% sure you reduce any chances for the dog’s paw to get infected, you can always take the dog to your vet. You can find below the necessary steps you should take to make sure that your dog’s broken dew claw gets the best treatment.
- The first thing you should do is properly clean the affected area and then cover it so that it can’t get any dirt on it.
- Get a bandage and wrap it tightly around the paw with the broken dew claw to give it support.
- If your dog is in visible pain, give it some medications to relieve the pain.
- Try to keep your dog as comfortable and calm as possible while he goes through recovery. Giving him a lot of love and delicious treats will help, of course.
Can a broken dew claw heal by itself?
This will depend on how badly it was injured in the first place. The nail will usually heal without needing external help if the dew claw gets broken from above its quick. You will know this is the case especially if you don’t see a lot of bleeding close to the injured area. Even though the dew claw will heal by itself, it is still vital that you keep it covered so that you prevent the dog from chewing on it.
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With proper dressing, you will usually have no issues treating these injuries at home, as they are considered mild. If you want to make sure your dog won’t try to chew the bandage, you can try spraying some bitter apple on it. If you have multiple pets in your home and they like to play together, make sure you isolate the injured dog at least until the dew claw gets better. This is to prevent additional damage around the injured area while the pets are playing or worse, fighting.
Everything I said above was for when the dew claw gets broken above the quick. But what if it gets injured below the quick? In this instance, you will need the help of your veterinarian. This is because most of the time, these types of injuries will cause severe and immediate bleeding.
How to avoid a broken dew claw?
Trimming the nails of your dog regularly can help prevent most of the dew claw injuries. Experts say that you will have to trim your dog’s claws every 3-4 weeks or so to keep them as safe as possible.
A lot of owners have a hard time trimming the nails of their dogs, although this task isn’t necessarily as difficult as you might think. You will need some time to get used to doing this properly, so if you’re not sure you will be able to do this, just take your dog to a professional groomer or a vet. This is to avoid cutting the quick.
