Thursday, January 21, 2010

My Sheperd's toe nails have split and not growing or fixed to her cuticles, has this happened to anyone else?

Her nails are torn and ragged. The Vets have not seen this before, and do not have an answer to the problem. They can catch on things and be torn off. This happehed to her dew claw four months ago. Due to this happening to her, she stayed inactive for three months. Also, infection can accure.My Sheperd's toe nails have split and not growing or fixed to her cuticles, has this happened to anyone else?
Here is an interesting article, I don't know if you have seen it or not, but here it is anyway... it discusses how this can be a symptom of an autoimmune disease.


http://www.showdog-magazine.com/medical/鈥?/a>My Sheperd's toe nails have split and not growing or fixed to her cuticles, has this happened to anyone else?
Thanks for choosing my answer. I hope your dog get's diagnosed and fixed up real soon. Best wishes

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I can't thank you enough for sending this article for me to show the vets, that are not aware of this problem.


Thank-You,

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What you're describing could be caused by a immune-mediated disease called Lupoid Onychodystrophy; this is a pretty rare condition, but Shepherds are one of the breeds that it is seen more commonly in.





The best advice I can offer is that you ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist. Whether this is the cause of your dog's problems or not, I don't know, but it sounds like her's is a case for a specialist regardless.





Lupoid onychodystrophy can be treated- I believe usually with a combination of fatty acid supplementation and cortisone- and the nails can regrow if intensive treatment is put in place.





I hope that helps, and that you find an answer to her problems. Please feel free to email if I can be of any more help :o)
Is it all your dog's nails or just the dewclaws?


A few of the dogs I have/had constantly get their dewclaws torn, split, dangling,... painful, even took to vet to check coz one dog was on 3 legs fr. the pain.


The 1st reply is valid with all the questions and statements.


Is she on hard surface/pavement alot, is she lacking vitamins, etc.


How old is your dog and how long has this condition been with her?


Vets have not seen before? Well, what did they say? Their educated guess? How many vets did you see?


You were kinda vague in your question.
I hope you don't make the dog run or jog with you! It sounds but I am just guessing that the poor dog has to run distances on pavement as I see happening a lot, or in some other way is having her paws damaged.


Do you clip her claws or are they getting too long? Dogs need to have their claws clipped by a professional regularly, some dogs more so than others. Is she getting rough treatment somehow?


I would switch foods or give her some meat, like raw chicken every day. It sounds like she may not be getting enough protien in her diet.


Does she stay in a fenced yard a lot? Could she be pawing at a chain link fence a lot or digging?





Did the vet do any blood tests, like for underactive thyroid gland? I would take her to a different vet, one that someone has recommended as being good. There are many bad vets out there.

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