My poor jack russel Major has ripped off the nail of one of his claws. not the whole toe part, just the nail. He's limping pretty badly, but doesn't seem to be in too much pain, though he does have a bit of a temperature. when he first ripped it off, it bled a fair bit and the flesh left from under the nail was pointy. Now it looks like the end of it has been rubbed off and he's definately in more pain than he was originally because he quivers whenever i lift his leg to have a look at his paw. the bottom of the flesh has gone a little black and i think it's just dirt. I know it needs a clean but I'm not sure what to use. Could I use human disinfectants or should i boil some water and clean it with that once it's cooled or would it just be best to take my baby to the vet? the poor thing is so gloomy and thats making my puppy Tammy gloomy because he can't play with her. please help.

p.s this happened sometime around sunday morning. tis now tuesday morning here.

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I just cleaned his claw with warm water, a mixture of boiled water and filtered water. it obviously hurt alot but i cleaned the dirt off it. I also cut away hair that was getting stuck to the flesh and now it's alot cleaner. should i take him to the vet?

Hi, I think its better to be safe than sorry, I would take him to the vet. It may heal up on its own but there is a chance of infection, especially as the injury is on a foot where it will walk in all sorts. I would bathe with cooled boiled water with salt added. Keep an eye on the warmth around the area - compare it with the opposite foot. If the injured foot gets noticebly warmer then you must go to the vet as it may be infected. Hope he is better soon.

i think i'll take him tomorrow if it's still causing him alot of pain. since i clean it he's not limping as badly, though he sure did wriggle and whine and shake while i cleaned it. I'll just clean it every hour or so n see how he goes. if he gets a temperature again i definately will.

Just to echo what Westie Lover said. Boiled water with a little salt in it is the best for bathing injuries like this. Keep a close eye on it, and at the very first sign of infection (increased discomfort, swelling, redness or heat) get him to the vet and onto broad-spectrum antibiotics as soon as you can. Nailbed infections can develop extremely quickly and are the very devil to cure. My dog had to have a toe amputated to get rid of the infection, which 8 weeks of various antibiotics was just holding at bay, but not curing.

It will be very painful for him - he's being very good letting you clean it. Some dogs would seriously object.