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Ingrown Nail

My 90-100 lb Golden Retriever is 6.5 years old and is suffering from an infected nail (toe pad). The nail is not long or curled however the single pad is puffy and inflamed. I know it is causing him pain by his rapid breathing while laying down for bed. I have soaked his pay in warm soapy water (out of hydrogen peroxide) and put an ample amount of triple antibiotic cream around the nail and covered with a band aid and sock (to prevent licking). It being christmas eve and the holiday weekend I can not afford an emergency vet visit. Is there anything I can do to help comfort my dogs pain.

Thanks in advance,

Alex
6 Responses
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1832268 tn?1326816010
You are welcome..
I am glad to hear that the treatment Tony suggested, has done the job nicely....!  Anytime dogs or people can avoid using pills, is a big plus with me..! It sounds like your dog is handling any discomfort he may have for now.
I hope your dog is back to his normal self soon.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...!
Connie
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wow! Thank you so much Tony and Connie for caring enough to respond so in depth. It means a lot to know that people care about the well being if others pets and understand my concerns for my dog. As of now no aspirin has been given. I have continued with the salt water soaking to much surprise it seems to be helping conciderably with his pain. I know dogs mask a lot of pain though when excited however he is baring his full body weight on it and even tried playing with our other dog. I think he might have stubbed it the other night before bed causing it to throb due to the infection which is what caused him so much discomfort. I believe I will simply hold off on the aspirin until I can contact my vet on Monday. Thanks so much again. Happy holidays!
Helpful - 0
1832268 tn?1326816010
Ok...this is a tough call...It would be best if you could talk to your vet first, because your vet knows of any health conditions that your dog may have, and therefore, would be the best person to answer this question for you.
I can tell you from personal experience, that I have given my dog aspirin. My vet was OK with it, as long as I was only going to give it for 1 or 2 days. ( it was over a holiday weekend ) and I was to bring the dog in on Monday. It had to be only aspirin, and nothing else..not acetaminophen, not ibuprofen, not naproxen sodium, ...Only aspirin.She told me to use regular or buffered aspirin, but not enteric coated. I was to give only the lowest dose, which was 5mg of aspirin per pound of dog. ( I had a 65 pound boxer ) The dosage could be used no more than twice a day..and at least 10 to 12 hours apart..My vet made it clear that she does not recommend usage of aspirin.She said aspirin is one of the first generation NSAIDS...then,she said, the problem with that is the aspirin is not selective in which enzymes it  blocks,and will block both the good Cox1 and bad Cox2 enzymes. She said because of this, you run a greater risk of side effects even at low dosage.  But because it was a holiday, and the office was not open, she said, that she was fairly comfortable with giving the aspirin , as long as I gave the lowest dosage.The aspirin was to be given with some food to help avoid stomach upset. My dog was not on any other medications,and My dog did not have any known gastrointestinal diseases.  As it turned out,luckily, my dog did not have any adverse effects to the aspirin.  That is not to say yours won't...so, if you cannot talk to a vet first, then the choice of what you are going to do,is up to you. I do not recommend giving the aspirin without consulting your vet first, but I know you do not want your dog to be in any pain..so, if you do decide to try the aspirin, without consulting your vet,...you might want to read the information on the following websites first....
http://www.2ndchance.info/pain.htm
(scroll about half way down the page, and you will see a section on older NSAIDS)
You can also check....
http://www.vetinfo.com/daspirin.html
and...
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/191606.htm
I can also suggest that you do a search on this forum, to see what others have done, about using aspirin for their dog.
Let us know what you decide...hopefully other forum members will reply..and as Tony said...check back often...!
Connie
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
The majority of dog sites and vets advise AGAINST giving a dog aspirin (even in very small doses), mainly because of the many adverse problems that can arise from it. Hopefully, others more knowledgeable on here will come back and advise what readily accessible pain relief medication can be given, so please check back often. Tony
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks, I am planning on getting him to the vet as soon as I can. He was treated for a torn nail in the past it isn't curled or anything like that. I will try the salt and warm water. After soaking it last night several times It seemed to help with the pain because his breathing slowed to normal and was able to get to sleep. I was curious if I could give him aspirin for the inflammation until the Holiday is over. Some sites have said yes and others say absolutely no NSAIDs at all. I know some meds cause the dogs kidneys to shut down and other nasty things so I want to make certain it is safe.

Thanks again
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
I think you really need to try and get your dog to a vet, if you can, as the nail sounds infected, so he will probably need antibiotics.

In the meantime, instead of washing in soap and water, use a small bowl of tepid water with two or three teaspoons of salt dissolved in it. Let his paw soak in it for a few minutes, then dry thoroughly by dabbing (don't rub) with a clean towel. This will act as a good antisceptic until you can get him to the vet.

Tony
Helpful - 0
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