over the last few weeks my dog has been getting covered in lots of small cuts which have scabbed over as normal and I think she got them from running through bushes and with the better weather people out leaving rubbish lying around the park etc.  Over the weekend she has had bleeding toes (the outer nail on her front paws) and today she cut under the wee black pad (think its called the carpal pad).  She doesn't seem to be in any pain and I have been bathing her feet in a salt solution but I remember a recent post about dogs toes getting amputated and just wanted to check I'm doing the right thing.  I was wanting a bit of reassurance before we visit the vet as they all think I'm totally neurotic and if this is the dog equivalent of me breaking a nail I'll look like a total daftie (again) at the vets.  All thoughts gratefully recieved.

Hi ali,

bathing with salt water is usually effective enough if there are no deep cuts or obvious signs of infection.  Re. the "outer nail on her front paws" description - I'm not sure what you mean   Dogs can get fungal infection of the nail bed the same as we can - if there is no obvious damage it seems strange for them to bleed........

Not much help probably - sorry, Teri

hi Teri, sorry for rubbish description maybe this will be clearer. 
Its her left toe nail on left front paw and right toe nail on right front paw that are bleeding. 
I forgot to mention that they only bleed when she has been running about a lot and I thought it might have been when she was turning quickly or changing direction when she is running fast that might put strain on the nail bed and cause it to bleed - but that is only guesswork on my part.  there is no smell from her toes and no discharge apart from blood so I don't think there is any infection.

Hi again Ali :)

I'd restrict her exercise for a couple of days (no free running) and continue to bathe.  If supervised exercise also causes the problem, then I'd go to the vet to have her feet checked before the end of the week just to be on the safe side. 

Do you keep her nails short, i.e. physically cut or dremel them or do you rely on exercise to wear them down?

her nails are really short as she gets lots of walks on hard surfaces as well as soft terrain. I've not had to cut her nails since she was a tiny pup and only have to trim her dew claws.  thanks for the advice, I'm on holiday this week so will get her seen tomorrow. thanks

Do they hurt her? If she's injured both it's hard to detect a limp, but she may lick at them a lot. Are her nails short? If she's hurting them when she turns they may be too long. In the meantime, keep bathing them with salt water and hopefully they'll heal without getting a nailbed infection.

Edit: just seen your post about them being short nails - that's that theory out of the window!

she doesn't lick them and they don't seem to bother her at all.  She still runs full pelt after rabbits and squirrells is getting nearly 3 hours exercise a day approx 1/2 of this is free running.  I'll get her to the vets tomorrow and modify her walks until then

It was this time of year when my Harry injured his nail; the vet said that he'd seen several others with damaged nails at the same time, and reckoned it was to do with the ground being so hard. I agree with you - modifying her walks would be sensible till they've healed.

One of my collies has to wear stopper pad protectors in the summer and I have to watch how hard he runs otherwise he will come home from just running about in the park with sliced pads.

update from vets is antibiotics as a precaution, onlead walks advised for the rest of the week, it is not normal for feet to be bleeding without a reason and the finale is me £30 poorer (again!!).

Hi Ali,

hope that does the trick and her tootsies are back to normal soon :)  Thanks for the update! 

Regards, Teri