Hello everyone.
First off yes Im a new member, I joined just now. Why? Because I need some help figuring this out. Im hoping if we put our heads together we can figure out something that is troubling my dog. (I know I can just go ask a local veterinarian but consulting the internet first is faster. Plus the closest clinic isn't even open now so.) I will give you all the relevant information regarding him and his claws in hopes we can all figure this out. To be honest Im at a loss and could use a second opinion and a fresh pair of eyes.
First off he is a mixed breed. He is a mix of Dalmatian, Labrador and Golden Retriever and he is six years old and about 5 months. He was born June 2010. He is completely health in every way. But you see my dog Ajas (I know that name sounds weird in English, but I live in Sweden and here it does not sound weird. Just saying. ) he has a bad habit of continuously breaking his claws. Around four hours ago he broke his 5th one.
Now I have all the information on the time spans and when he broke his claws. He broke his first claw when he was about 18 months old, in December 2011. He broke his second one in April 2015. He broke his third in January 2016. And here is when the gaps get closer, the fourth one was in July 2016. And now today December 2016. So three claws in 1 year, that is probably not normal as far as I know.
Now I do not recall exactly which claws he has broken. Once he broke a claw on one of his hind legs. I believe that his first and second time was both on his hind legs. First time one hind leg one claw, second time the other hind leg and another claw. But both those times were his hind legs. Now in January was one of his claws on his front paws, not one of his dewclaws. He did however break one of his dewclaws now in July. And today he broke his second dewclaw on his other front paw. Oh and he only has two dewclaws, so none on his hind legs.
As I have stated he is completely healthy, besides for his bad habit to break his claws. This time today was more bad luck. I noticed about two weeks ago that he had a tiny splinter on his dewclaw. Which I filed away and it was fine, but there was also a very tiny crack. But then that crack got a little bit bigger, and a little bit bigger. And unfortunately when he was outside today he scratched the ground a lot. Im sure your familiar with your dogs loving to scrape up the ground behind them after doing their business, well my dog does that to. This time however he timed it badly and ended up damaging the dewclaw so much when he got indoors it was literally bent inwards.
Now I live with my parents and this time it was my dad who took Ajas out today on the walk that damaged his claw further. So this is the back story basically. Now for the dewclaw. I have cleaned it, it was bleeding somewhat. I have gently without placing it to tight or to loosely put bandage on, and for safety's sake Ajas is also wearing a cone. He has proven very skilled in the past at removing pesky bandage he doesn't want on his paws. So going with a cone to avoid that, plus his licking could make it worse.
Alright, now more questions to you all.
First of, now that you have all this information does anyone have any clue why he keeps breaking his claws?
As I have said he is completely healthy. And the veterinarians themselves have said he does not have weak or brittle claws. Now it could be a lack of vitamins I agree, I have already been told that is a possible cause. But as he is completely healthy and has no need for a special diet he should make do with the vitamins contained in his food. Which leads me to believe it is not the cause. Plus if he truly did have a lack of vitamins wouldn't that be evident in his physique by showing as for example, brittle claws? So I am not so certain that he is missing anything in his food. If so it would be evident in his fur, claws and just general health.
This break is different from his last once, I believe it is actually one of his better breaks. Now I did not have a chance to take a good look at it to really see exactly how deep or big the break was. I was a bit preoccupied with stopping the bleeding, cleaning it and getting some bandage on. But this also means I did not have the opportunity to take any pictures. However despite all this I think this is a good break, because it is quite exactly in the middle. So am I to optimistic to assume that its possible for the veterinarians to be able to salvage the claw above the break and only cut of the claw just at the break? Or would that mean that they would be cutting right through the quick? If that means they would have to cut right through the quick then I can see why it is not an option.
In the past the veterinarians have always had to remove the entire claw and leave just the quick. So the entire claw had to grow back again. But this time the break is not all the way up to the root. Which is why Im hopeful that they can leave the claw above the break and in a sense, cut it in half above the break.
Now I did not have a chance to take any pictures, but I have googled and found some similar looking pictures. Keep in mind these are only pictures of breaks that look similar to Ajas break. The pictures are not of his claw. I am only including these as it may help you to get a clear picture of the break. Oh beware these pictures are a bit nasty.
Now the picture with an entire paw on it. That is to show you about the angle of the claw right now. It is not at 90% degrees completely bent. Regarding how much the claw is bent that picture looks very similar. The second picture with only a claw is to show you about where the break is. Now just to be clear, neither of these two pictures are of my dog, they are from google.
I really apologize for the length of this post. I realize it is quite ridiculously long. xD :3 I want you to have all relevant information. This is kind of my investigation, a mystery to solve. And as with any investigation, the answer can only be found with all information. So I have just tried to give you all the information. I am really determined to figure out why this keeps happening. I suppose it can be just really bad luck but at the same time I doubt it. I know dewclaws are not as firmly attached as every other claw, so they are more susceptible to being damaged. But both dewclaws in approximately six months? I doubt that is common or very normal.
Now thank you to everyone who actually read all of this, I really appreciate it! And I hope you can help me figure out this medical mystery with my dogs claws.
/Kind Regards
Veronica
First off yes Im a new member, I joined just now. Why? Because I need some help figuring this out. Im hoping if we put our heads together we can figure out something that is troubling my dog. (I know I can just go ask a local veterinarian but consulting the internet first is faster. Plus the closest clinic isn't even open now so.) I will give you all the relevant information regarding him and his claws in hopes we can all figure this out. To be honest Im at a loss and could use a second opinion and a fresh pair of eyes.
First off he is a mixed breed. He is a mix of Dalmatian, Labrador and Golden Retriever and he is six years old and about 5 months. He was born June 2010. He is completely health in every way. But you see my dog Ajas (I know that name sounds weird in English, but I live in Sweden and here it does not sound weird. Just saying. ) he has a bad habit of continuously breaking his claws. Around four hours ago he broke his 5th one.
Now I have all the information on the time spans and when he broke his claws. He broke his first claw when he was about 18 months old, in December 2011. He broke his second one in April 2015. He broke his third in January 2016. And here is when the gaps get closer, the fourth one was in July 2016. And now today December 2016. So three claws in 1 year, that is probably not normal as far as I know.
Now I do not recall exactly which claws he has broken. Once he broke a claw on one of his hind legs. I believe that his first and second time was both on his hind legs. First time one hind leg one claw, second time the other hind leg and another claw. But both those times were his hind legs. Now in January was one of his claws on his front paws, not one of his dewclaws. He did however break one of his dewclaws now in July. And today he broke his second dewclaw on his other front paw. Oh and he only has two dewclaws, so none on his hind legs.
As I have stated he is completely healthy, besides for his bad habit to break his claws. This time today was more bad luck. I noticed about two weeks ago that he had a tiny splinter on his dewclaw. Which I filed away and it was fine, but there was also a very tiny crack. But then that crack got a little bit bigger, and a little bit bigger. And unfortunately when he was outside today he scratched the ground a lot. Im sure your familiar with your dogs loving to scrape up the ground behind them after doing their business, well my dog does that to. This time however he timed it badly and ended up damaging the dewclaw so much when he got indoors it was literally bent inwards.
Now I live with my parents and this time it was my dad who took Ajas out today on the walk that damaged his claw further. So this is the back story basically. Now for the dewclaw. I have cleaned it, it was bleeding somewhat. I have gently without placing it to tight or to loosely put bandage on, and for safety's sake Ajas is also wearing a cone. He has proven very skilled in the past at removing pesky bandage he doesn't want on his paws. So going with a cone to avoid that, plus his licking could make it worse.
Alright, now more questions to you all.
First of, now that you have all this information does anyone have any clue why he keeps breaking his claws?
As I have said he is completely healthy. And the veterinarians themselves have said he does not have weak or brittle claws. Now it could be a lack of vitamins I agree, I have already been told that is a possible cause. But as he is completely healthy and has no need for a special diet he should make do with the vitamins contained in his food. Which leads me to believe it is not the cause. Plus if he truly did have a lack of vitamins wouldn't that be evident in his physique by showing as for example, brittle claws? So I am not so certain that he is missing anything in his food. If so it would be evident in his fur, claws and just general health.
This break is different from his last once, I believe it is actually one of his better breaks. Now I did not have a chance to take a good look at it to really see exactly how deep or big the break was. I was a bit preoccupied with stopping the bleeding, cleaning it and getting some bandage on. But this also means I did not have the opportunity to take any pictures. However despite all this I think this is a good break, because it is quite exactly in the middle. So am I to optimistic to assume that its possible for the veterinarians to be able to salvage the claw above the break and only cut of the claw just at the break? Or would that mean that they would be cutting right through the quick? If that means they would have to cut right through the quick then I can see why it is not an option.
In the past the veterinarians have always had to remove the entire claw and leave just the quick. So the entire claw had to grow back again. But this time the break is not all the way up to the root. Which is why Im hopeful that they can leave the claw above the break and in a sense, cut it in half above the break.
Now I did not have a chance to take any pictures, but I have googled and found some similar looking pictures. Keep in mind these are only pictures of breaks that look similar to Ajas break. The pictures are not of his claw. I am only including these as it may help you to get a clear picture of the break. Oh beware these pictures are a bit nasty.
Now the picture with an entire paw on it. That is to show you about the angle of the claw right now. It is not at 90% degrees completely bent. Regarding how much the claw is bent that picture looks very similar. The second picture with only a claw is to show you about where the break is. Now just to be clear, neither of these two pictures are of my dog, they are from google.
I really apologize for the length of this post. I realize it is quite ridiculously long. xD :3 I want you to have all relevant information. This is kind of my investigation, a mystery to solve. And as with any investigation, the answer can only be found with all information. So I have just tried to give you all the information. I am really determined to figure out why this keeps happening. I suppose it can be just really bad luck but at the same time I doubt it. I know dewclaws are not as firmly attached as every other claw, so they are more susceptible to being damaged. But both dewclaws in approximately six months? I doubt that is common or very normal.
Now thank you to everyone who actually read all of this, I really appreciate it! And I hope you can help me figure out this medical mystery with my dogs claws.
/Kind Regards
Veronica