Originally Posted By LuLu My poor doggie stepped on a nail - it went all the way thru her foot. It was very crusty and hard to pull out. It didn't seem to bother her a bit tho. She was smiling the whole time I cleaned up her foot with HO and I'll keep an eye on it. Do you think I should be worried or rush her to the vet?
Originally Posted By hopemax I would call the vet and ask. Tetanus is rare in dogs, but it does occur. Googling suggests cleaning the wound, and keeping a close eye out for infection. But the vet would be able to answer if water is enough, or if you should use a mixture of water/peroxide or what.
Originally Posted By LuLu Thanks Hope. I used peroxide but it was fairly old stuff. I didn't notice any bubbling, but it did get a lot of dirt out. She's current on all her shots. I'll keep everyone posted
Originally Posted By Mary Poppins Poor puppy! Let's see what the vet says. Do they have evening hours?
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I'd call the Vet or the Emergency Vet to get an opinion on what to watch for. If the emergency room wants you to bring her in be prepared to pay $$$$$$ or watch her and wait until you can talk to your own vet in the morning. I guess I'd be more concerned than usual because of the "crustiness" of the nail. Hugs for your "little" guy and for you too LuLu.
Originally Posted By LuLu Well, I'm obviously not too worried I'll call the vet in the morning. Coco's still running around like nothing even happened. Thanks for the concern everyone. It was a little "ugh" when I had a hard time getting the nail out - then realized it poked out the other side :-/
Originally Posted By iamsally Sorry for your little puppy. Sounds like you are doing the right things. Our pets are pretty resilient. Just keep an eye out for infection.
Originally Posted By Stacers76 Darn dogs anyway huh! Now keep in mine our booboo didn't go THRU her paw, ouch for me! but one of our mutts did puncture one of her pads/toes a few weeks ago and the vet over the phone told us to keep it clean, neosporin helps as long as it's REALLY cleaned out..and watch for licking or favoring it when she walks...those are signs to go in asap. And of course she didn't do anything weird, just kept running around like a moron as usual Good healing doggie thoughts comin your way!
Originally Posted By LPFan22 Sounds like you're doing everything right LuLu. Cool water rinse, wash damaged area with antiseptic liquid (including 3% hydrogen peroxide to help cleanse area surrounding wound). Follow up care... for a puncture, soak the paw in 1 cup of Epsom salts dissolved in 2 gallons of warm water for 10 minutes two or three times a day. This helps keep the paw clean and brings any infection to a head. Any redness, swelling or odor could be signs of infection.
Originally Posted By beamerdog Oh my, this made me shiver. You've gotten some good advice here. LPFann22 has it right. Are you the vet who posts on LP?
Originally Posted By Kira Sending good thoughts out to your puppy! Yesterday must hav ebeen the day for pets to get injured. My cat (once again) got in a cat fight yesterday, leaving her with an injured paw thats so swollen she cant move it or walk right. Her vet trip was fairly inexspensive at this point because it hasn't turned into an abcess. The vet gave antibiotics & recommended the foot soak. But I want to second what LPFan said, soak, soak, soak your puppies paw a few times a day! If you haven't gone to the vet yet, I would reccomend a trip just in case you need some antibiotics to help keep the infection out of there =) Hope your puppy feels better soon. Major kudos to you for being brave enough to pull the nail out in the first place! That takes one strong stomach!
Originally Posted By LPFan22 I used to want to be a vet but realized in addition to helping animals I'd also have to deal with the sad stuff too. I just have a good first aid book for dogs/cats.
Originally Posted By bAmboo1 Sorry to hear about your puppy Lulu! What part of the foot did it go through? The webbing between the toes? At a minimum I would definitely do what LPFan22 suggested. I DO routinely put animals with a nail puncture wound on antibiotics because I had a bad experience with my own dog and a nail puncture wound, however many would do just fine without (again, soaking and neosporin will help). I'd maybe call your vet and see what he/she suggests. Good luck.
Originally Posted By LuLu Thank you all for the great advice! Yes, the nail went thru the webbing between the toes - something I didn't even realize dogs had before So a very short puncture! And it's looking good. I just got back from the drug store with some epsom salts and will try to hold her paw underwater for 10 minutes! Personally, I'm totally anti-antibiotics as preventative medicine, so I'll keep an eye out for infection, but it's looking really good so far (especially considering I didn't do anything yesterday but look at it!).
Originally Posted By disney pete oh LuLu this made me wince when reading hope your pooch gets well soon
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 I hope Coco is doing well today I thought the nail went through the whole pad and was imagining lots of blood and limping around. So much "better" that it was the webbing. Whew! How did the soaking go? Did she think you were nuts
