Some recommendations concerning nails

The nails are a good indicator of the pet's general state of health. Crooked, dry, cracking or pitted nails are a tip-off that the dog may have a fungal infection or be poorly nourished.

If you see abnormal nails, be especially watchful for areas on the skin where there may be circular, dry patches of hair loss. The dog may have "ringworm", a fungal infection (called dermatophyte), that requires oral medication to correct.What you see externally may indicate an internal abnormality in the pet.  And treatment entails discovering why the nails are diseased in the first place.  Treating diseased toenails may extend over a few months.

And it is very important to notify a veterinarian if there is any pus or bleeding from the nail bed. Be cautions yourself NEVER to get any bloody, purulent (pus) discharge into contact with a cut or scratch on yourself. A serious fungal disease of dogs and humans called Blastomycosis often will show up first a draining lesion at the toenail bed.

 We've all cut nails too short. It’s useful to use  the Quick Stop powder as a coagulant, but there are other quite satisfactory methods to arrest the bleeding. A healthy dog's toenail should clot on its own within 5-6 minutes, any longer than that warrants laboratory tests and veterinary analysis for clotting factors!

If you see large or overgrown nails that simple trimming won't provide proper nail set, have a veterinarian take a look. The dog may require a "deep pedicure" under anesthesia to cut the toe nails back close.

Broken nails need to be trimmed back to the fracture site, then a coagulant applied. Pulled nails, ones that have been torn from the nail bed and all you see is a bloody circle at the end of the toe, do require a veterinary check. Antibiotics may be indicated.