[Pitsarethebest]

My pittie broke his nail pretty good on his back leg. I cleaned it up the best I can and trimmed it as much as I dare. It seems to be loose and its growing upward. Portion of the nail seems to be cutting into his skin if he gets active because it starts to bleed. I end up with a little trail of blood throughout the house. I have attached a picture of said nail

 

[Cynna]

Someone told me a dog could bleed out from that - not sure myself, but I'd get mine to the vet if that happened.

 

[lzrddr]

pretty sure that would not be likely. Nail is pretty badly injured on the underside and that sort of damage will be painful for a while... but eventually grow out of it. We usually bandage these nails with an antiseptic ointment or powder to keep the exposed nail bed from getting infected. If nail is actually loose, we may cut it very short and/or even yank it off if loose enough... otherwise it's like a hangnail and painful constantly as the pet moves. But not much chance of this injury being life threatening.

 

[Pitsarethebest]

Appreciate the information. If I cut it as short as I can isn't the vein in the nail going to bleed profusely?

 

[lzrddr]

Yes, that's why you should have your vet do it... can immediately bandage the toe until it stops bleeding