Bad human, bad!

November 17, 2008 11:03 AM

Advice needed for dealing with my dog's overgrown toenails.

So, yeah, I've been a bad puppy mommy. The quick has overgrown in my dog's nails. At this point, she is clearly standing/walking/running on the back of her foot pad, as opposed to her evenly on her toes and foot pad. I've been diligently trimming as close to the quick as possible for the past few months, but the quick is not moving. I'm barely able to get more than a couple of millimeters of nail each time. She's quite calm when her nails are being trimmed, so this is all, 100%, my doing. I own that, I assure you.

She is going under anesthesia next month for a dental cleaning and the vet stated that the nails can be cut back then. She also advised me that my dog would be a "painful and bloody mess." I understand the anatomy of the toenail and know that "painful and bloody mess" is unavoidable if we go this route.

I haven't been able to find much by searching, other than advice that 'quicking' the nail should only be done by a vet and under anesthesia. My vet will be providing pain medication and antibiotics post-op.

Will the wounds re-open easily, or will it be more like getting a cat declawed? In that process, the cat (not mine, btw) didn't continue bleeding and seemed to be pain-free after a week or so.

Is there anything else I can do? I have been using standard dog nail trimmers. Would a dremel-type product be more effective? How long would it take to know that it was working? I would like to avoid two rounds of anesthesia, and I don't want to put off the dental cleaning for too long.

posted by wg to Pets & Animals (6 answers total)

I don't think you need a dremel because your dog isn't afraid of the clippings. I believe it is a good idea to seize this opportunity (surgery, anasthesia, etc.) to trim them way back. Probably just a little bit of styptic powder is all they'll need to clot up the nail (and thats what you want to buy for your own home kit for bloody nails, very inexpensive and available at any pet store). My trick with my dogs, and they HATE getting nails trimmed is to do one or two a day. Usually I can get two before they know what's happening so I sneak up on them while they're napping and quickly trim one or two then leave them be.
posted by vito90 at 11:45 AM on November 17, 2008

I suppose there's nothing that can be done (other than pain meds) about the "painful" part if you opt for the trimming under anaesthesia the vet recommends. But why can't the vet cauterize the nails after trimming them?
posted by bricoleur at 12:02 PM on November 17, 2008

Response by poster: I would imagine that the vet will be cauterizing the nail after the trim. I just wasn't sure how prone they will be to reopening. They will be cutting about 1/2 inch into the quick, so styptic powder might not cut it. But, thanks for the reminder to pick some up.
posted by wg at 1:45 PM on November 17, 2008

Ask the vet for some gauze and keep the paws wrapped for a couple days if you're super worried about bleeding, otherwise I'm sure styptic powder will be fine. Anyway, I'm sure your vet will provide you with appropriate post-op care directions.

The dremel is most likely not necessary - I'm sure you won't be putting off trimming your pup's nails after you get the vet bill. They're really fun to have on hand though (when I was grooming, I loved using the dremel) plus they get the nails all nice and smooth. The reason I recommend the vet's approach over the dremel is that the dremel will take forever to make the quick retreat, and your dog will be walking uncomfortably all the while.

ianavet
posted by ailouros08 at 2:28 PM on November 17, 2008

Best answer: I once had a dog that had thick gnarlicious toenails that were more prone to shattering than a clean cut when trimmed (if you had a clipper they'd fit in to start with, which was a problem), and had them cut and cauterized twice during other surgeries. He was neither painful nor bloody afterwards. He wasn't running around like a crazy dog because of the actual surgery, but he did not strike me as limpy and they did not bleed. If the vet does not cauterize, I can imagine a different situation, but there's no reason not to cauterize.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:37 PM on November 17, 2008

I love my Dremel. For my dogs' nails, the the special attachment that cuts out old grout, sanding weird corners of furniture, my own nails. It's like a hundred bucks for a Dremel that will do tons of stuff. Dremel dremel dremel. Oh, I love it.

I hear it cauterizes as you grind if the nails aren't too overgrown.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:25 PM on November 17, 2008 [1 favorite]