Experience with broken dewclaw?

[curlydog]

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My younger dog managed to remove one of his dewclaws this week. It's completely gone. Has anyone else had this happen? What was the recovery like? I've only had one other experience with a broken dewclaw. That one required surgery to properly remove it. That dog was in a bandage for a week and needed another couple weeks to recover after that.

The vet was not terribly concerned this time. I'm supposed to prevent the patient from licking the wound and avoid going on long mountain hikes. I couldn't really get a firm timeline on when to resume normal activities. The patient himself seems equally unconcerned. He was upset that I locked him in the tiled kitchen until he stopped bleeding on the day of the accident. He is disappointed I'm not letting him wrestle with his brother now. He occasionally takes a short step when we are out walking. Otherwise, he acts like it never happened. Out of an abundance of caution I didn't take him on a walk for the first three days; we just did quick outings to take care of necessary business. I took him on a short walk today.

 

[BKayHol2]

Since the dewclaws don't touch the ground with normal walking, I'd say that would be OK. I'd just try to limit activities that might cause it to come in contact with... whatever. No wrestling is probably a good idea, or off leash runs through long grass or other uneven terrain.

Otherwise, it's just a busted off nail, right? It should dry up & not be causing him any problems or serious discomfort after a few days (IME, at least)

 

[O2.0]

As long as it's just the claw and not any internal structures involved, I'd let him guide you.
Before he goes out, wrap it up - get a gauze pad, some neosporin, put the gauze and neosporin on the empty claw, wrap that with vet wrap (tight enough to stay put, but not tight enough to impede any circulation) and let him go about his business. Then check the wrap after the outing, and if he's leaving it alone by now, day three, let it stay open to the air while he's inside. Claws tend to sort themselves out pretty quickly. As we used to joke, it's a long way from his heart