Does anyone else have a dog with weak claws?

blue_monkey_2

I was wondering if there were any other dogs that had this problem.

My dog has ripped her claws (usually the middle ones) 4 times in the last 8 weeks. One has had to be removed with an emergency op (and is just growing back), and now she has another one that is split - it hurts her but is not bleeding.

I was wondering if this could be a problem, the vets seemed to think it is 'just one of those things' but just one of those things does not happen over and over, does it?

Was wondering if anyone had a dog with the same problem that gave them a supplement at all. It is all rather weird. So far insurance has paid up, have another £90 to claim and looks like we are going up there again for another one later.

She is 2 this month and a staffy x char pei.

blue_monkey_2

Not sure if this is relevant but she hates going for a walk. Was wondering if the 2 things are related, that it is hurting her.

moomin5

Could possibly be SLO (symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy). I don't think its that common but might be worth asking vet about if sounds/looks similar to your dogs condition.

bagginslover

I was going to say SLO too. If your vet suggests amputating a toe to test for it, refuse! It's not neccisary for a diagnosis, and is rather barbaric! It's an autoimmune disease, which can be controlled well with certain drugs and supplements. There in an excellent yahoo group for it, and they have information sheets you can print off to take to your vet (most vets won't know about it as, luckily, it's quite rare). I am a member as I suspect my lurcher may have it too. He has only lost a single nail since we adopted him, but he shows signs of having lost others in the past, plus a few other symptoms.

uberalles

We have a staffie and whilst out playing one day we noticed that he lost a full claw, right into the paw.

We saw this immediately it happened but there was not a sign of blood and somebody mentioned to us that this may mean it has broken previously.

He was in absolutely no pain and carried on as per normal. It is just growing back out of the paw after 3 months .

getcarter

My vet recommended Biotin for my dogs weak, constantly splitting claws, haven't had any problems since. Got from vetuk.

blue_monkey_2

Hi, thanks for your messages.

I took the dog to the vets this morning and they have kept her in again for another GA to remove the claw.

They are also going to run tests on her while she is there, I have asked for blood tests because I thought she looked a bit yellow and if they are doing them, we might as well test anything.

Yesterday we noticed that she is having trouble getting up and down the stairs and hops one at a time rather than bounding but her claws on the back seem fine.

She is always biting and licking her claws and feet, initially they suggested an allergy but checked her over and her coat is perfect and no dryness so they think this might not be the case.

I just thought I would come and update. I did call Burns and they suggest I ask the vet for her to be tested for Auto Immune Disease too - this was before I came back on here to check so i asked the vet to do that. They did pooh-pooh the idea but said they would run some tests, they are taking the nail and culturing a bit of it to see if anything grows and they will send it off for testing too. Fingers crossed we can get to the bottom of it.

bagginslover

It is very possible that a culture will grow, as SLO dogs are very prone to infections in the nail bed due to the shaft of the nail being open, not closed as it should be. Please do take a look at the yahoo group I mwntioned before, and take their info sheets to your vet. I really hope it doens't turn out to be SLO, but the symptoms you are describing sound very much like it, and I'd hate for your poor pooch to suffer because your vet is closed minded

blue_monkey_2

Thank you, I will have a look, I did not think of printing them off today but I'll have a look later. I'll update on this thread also when I get the results.

blue_monkey_2

I wanted to update this thread.

My dogs claw was sent off for culturing and this bought nothing back, I had to wait a while for the results and they called me a few weeks ago.

Friday she had another claw break and I asked if they would remove them all and they said no but that they were x-ray her feet to see if they could see a problem. I have been asking about SLO on every appointment they would say no. They told me that the feet chewing was just a 'bad habit like a child biting their nails'. I had discussed with my friend that I was going to get this done and take her for a 2nd opinion.

This time though I got a call from a new vet who had not seen her before they told me that now she was knocked out they have had a good look and her claws do not look right, they did not do the x-ray but I agreed her to dew claw being removed and a bit of bone being sent off for testing. They explained it would be a while because thebone has to soften.

I took her back for a dressing change and saw the vet and she said it llooks like she has a complex and difficult problem with her nails - and kind of indicacted SLO - hurrah. Lightbulb. I am changing her food so I would be grateful if anyone whose dog has SLO could tell me what they feed. They have advised Hills VetEssentials (because the vets sell it) but I have already bought a couple of small bags of Purina Pro Plan for skin conditions as I wanted a change. Both mine have dry skin so thought this might help, but I do think the problem has got worse since she has been on Burns, maybe just a co-incidence though as she has turned 2 and I think it shows itself from age 2.

Again I will update but the results do take a long while to come through.

Fire_Fox

Well done for persevering, I would not be happy if my vet kept discounting conditions rare or not. Must be a relief that you have insurance and to be progressing towards a diagnosis. Most Purina foods are poor quality for the price, Hills tend to be better. The Yahoo group mentioned earlier should be a good source of advice on diets?