My GSD has a very sore bad paw which he is reluctant to put much weight on and is constantly licking. I am pretty sure it is a nail bed infection and will be picking up some antibiotics from my vet today. Does anyone know what causes these and is there any treatment I can give him to sort it out or are antibiotics the only option?

Nail bed infections can turn very nasty and need to be treated by the vet really. My bracco had one a while ago and was very lucky not to lose his toe. We still have no idea what caused it. There was no sign of trauma at all and the first we knew about it was when he started to limp! We didn't take him to the vets straight away because I thought he had 'pulled' something. I had checked his feet/legs/shoulder thoroughly and couldn't see anything wrong. By the third day the toe began to swell up. He made a full recovery but it took 6 weeks to heal. The vet had warned us that it wasn't uncommon for dogs to lose toes/claws through nail bed infections.
I hope your lad is ok.

Thanks for the prompt reply Leigh. He has had one before which is the only reason the vet is giving me the antibiotics without seeing him so hopefully they will do the trick. I will be keeping a very close eye on it and if it has not improved 100% in a couple of days I will take him in anyway. Will bathing his foot in salt water help at all or should I just leave well alone.

The vet told us to use a saline solution a couple of times a day. Is it the same toe Lisa?

No Leigh it was his front right foot last time and now its the rear left though it is the same toe but on a different foot if you know what I mean! My bitch has just had an operation to remove a growth from her leg so for the last fortnight they have both being having quiet on lead exercise only. I let them have a run for the first time on Thursday and they both went a bit bonkers so I am wondering if he has caught his nail then. Unless of course he is feeling left out cos the bitch has been poorly and has done it on purpose to get a bit of sympathy!
He has just had his first dose of antibiotics and I'm keeping my fingers crossed as they cleared it up in no time last time.

Sorry to hear of your troubles Liza, is your bitch all right now? Nail bed infection is serious but he should responed to the antibiotic within 24 hours. Did you have the 'growth' sent to the lab and is the result as you would wish, I do hope so. Have just had a growth removed from the spine of my 3 yr old male and it is OK so I hope you have good news too. Jackie H

Hi Jackie.
Thanks for your concern, my boy is now on antibiotics so hopefully he will be feeling a little better tomorrow. My bitch had a haemangiopericytoma removed in August 2000 which unfortunately returned. She had the second growth removed a fortnight ago and was bouncing around like a kangaroo within 48 hours, it never ceases to amaze me how resilient dogs are, she had 14 stitches as there were actually two lumps, I would still be groaning on the sofa! Unfortunately they do tend to come back so she may have to go through it all again in the future.
Glad to hear your boy is OK they are such a worry arn't they.

Dogs don't worry do they, wish we didn't. Glad thing are sorting themselves out. all the best. Jackie H

Lisa, hows your lad getting on. Have the anti-biotics done the trick? Leigh

Hi Leigh

Thanks for asking, it seems to be getting a bit better but I am still not happy so Im afraid he is off to the vets, better to be safe than sorry! The claw on the affected toe seems to have split and it is very sore at the base of his claw although he will let me touch it now without crying and he is not limping anymore, the swelling has gone completley but he is still licking at it which is not helping.

I'll let you know how he gets on.

Lisa

Hi

Bad news on Oscars nail bed infection, the initial dose of antibiotics seemed to have done the trick but sadly that was not the case. To cut a long story short he is now almost certain to lose one nail and possibly three as the infection has spread and he foot at the moment is a real mess.
He is now on a huge dose of antibiotics (1200mg) for 14 days to try and get on top of the infection and it is causing him a great deal of distress, poor lad. The vet has advised not to try and clean it at all as at the moment it is far too painful and he feels that the stress will outweigh the benefits.
At the moment I feel quite hopeless as their seems to be nothing I can do to help him just hope the antibiotics do get on top of it completely this time. Does anyone have any experience of using ABs at a higher dosage as I am concerned they will upset his digestive system, would adding live yoghurt to his food help?

Lisa

O crikey, I am sorry to hear that Lisa. Has the vet given you any pain control for him? Poor lad must be in agony :-( Let us know how he goes.

Taking live yoghurt will always help when taking anti-biotics. Hope he goes on ok.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Lisa so sorry to hear this. I do hope they manage to get it sorted for poor Oscar. You must be worried sick.

Good luck
Pam n the boys

Sorry to hear about your boys toes hope it clears up qickly for him. Had to smile though as we could really start to confuse people on here as I am a Lisa with an Oscar also :) Don't suppose you have a Tigger and a Fry as well.

Hi Lisa

Luckily I dont have a Fry but do have a teddy called Tigger! Scary isn't it. My other dog is Katie.
Oscar is a little brighter this morning though his foot still looks awful, the swelling appears to have gone down a little bit so hopefully the ABs are doing their job. Poor lad, you can hear him rattle when he walks he is taking that many pills, luckily he is very good at taking tablets so at least I dont have to wrestle with him every time. He does keep hiding from me though so he can lick his foot in peace!
I will start him on the yoghurt today, any idea how much to give him?

Lisa

Have you considered washing his foot daily in a tea tree oil solution to keep any external bugs etc at bay?

We soak a flannel in Honey and Camomile tea and put that in Isabelle's nappy at night when she's got nappy rash. It's the only think that works for her as her nappy rash is so bad she actually bleeds. Honey is a natural antiseptic and Camomile soothes any irritation.

It might be worth trying, you can buy the tea bags at most Supermarkets.

Fiona

Lisa sorry to hear about you boys trouble, don't try touching his foot, but if you make a saline solusion put it warm into a deep bowl and just swich his foot about in it will help sooth it without the risk of touching it. Jackie H

Lisa

My bitch was on a massive dose of antibiotics when she had meningitis at 7mths old, 2000mg per day for 2 weeks. I had no problems with her taking such a large amount, mind you nothing could have been worse than what we were already going through :-( Didn't know about the yoghurt so that's useful to know :-)

Fingers crossed for you and Oscar, bless him.

Our stomachs are always full of essential and beneficial bacteria which help the digestive system to work efficiently. When we take anti-biotics they kill off the harmful bacteria, but also destroy the beneficial bacteria. Yogurt contains beneficial bacteria and eating it when using anti-biotics helps to restore the digestive system to normal.

Joan
take the rough with the smooth