# Infected toe nail?



## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Ouch, that looks painful. You might watch a day or two and see if cleaning it and keeping him from licking it makes the irritation go away. If it's still inflamed in a day or two it might need a different antibiotic. 

I would wait until the tests results come back before making any changes in his diet. They may find something that medication will correct. I think you are right about his system recovering, the normal growth cycle probably will take a few months for good nutrition to replace his unhealthy skin and coat.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

mylissyk said:


> Ouch, that looks painful. You might watch a day or two and see if cleaning it and keeping him from licking it makes the irritation go away. If it's still inflamed in a day or two it might need a different antibiotic.
> 
> I would wait until the tests results come back before making any changes in his diet. They may find something that medication will correct. I think you are right about his system recovering, the normal growth cycle probably will take a few months for good nutrition to replace his unhealthy skin and coat.


I agree...Poor thing is having such a rough time......


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## robinsegg26 (Nov 14, 2006)

I was just reading about hypothyroidism and a lot of the stuff going on with him is pointing in that direction.

Dry skin 
Hair loss
bald spots 
Discoloration or thickening of the skin where hair loss has occurred 
ear infections 
Severe behavioral changes such as unprovoked aggression (he growls & barks all the time at my other 2 dogs when we are outside)
seizures (he had 2 in jan) 
nail bed infections


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## GoldenShamus (Feb 26, 2007)

robinsegg26 said:


> I was just reading about hypothyroidism and a lot of the stuff going on with him is pointing in that direction.
> 
> Dry skin
> Hair loss
> ...


Do they draw blood to test for hypothyroidism? Or is there another test?

I think a medication can be given to correct that problem if that is indeed what it is.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

I would test him for that and I would take him to the vet,for the nail cos it looks infected and painful!.


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## robinsegg26 (Nov 14, 2006)

yes they drew blood on Monday to check for that and a whole slew of other things (255.00 worth of blood work :doh: ) it should be back sometime next week. I asked them to make sure to send thyroid test to Michigan state if i was already paying for the test anyway might as well and pay a little more for a more complete testing.. 


hes going to vet today at 3:30 and its the normal one i see in the practice so hoping she can give me a little more insight of what she thinks it could be..

poor guy.. i just want him to be well.

He went thru HW treatment nov-dec last year, got neutered in Jan, went back to vet a week later due to seizures and now this... just want a happy, healthy dog... hopefully that will be on the horizon soon!! 

The vet on Monday said it may be matabolic and something might be going on with his liver... hope they find out what is really going on..


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## Brinkleysmom (Dec 17, 2005)

Oh Lil, the poor thing. It looks so painful. So glad you are going to the vet this afternoon. Keep us posted and let us know how you make out. Hope its nothing too too bad.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Keep us posted, Lil. 

So many of the symptoms of thyroid disorders you listed are the same for humans. Of course, none of us humans in this household growled, but we did grumble!


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## wilki5 (Feb 25, 2007)

Ouch, that looks sore! Keep us posted.


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## robinsegg26 (Nov 14, 2006)

well the toe looked so much better yesterday when I got home was kind of embarrassed to still take him in .. but I did.. was just happy we were seeing our normal vet not the new one.  

She really thinks its all allergy related ..but the bald spots could be the sarcoptic mange and she said if Chris were her dog this is what she would do: 
1. put a dose of revolution on him 
2. change his food to the eagle pack formula that the other boys are on
3. give him 3V caps once a day
4. wait for the thyroid and other tests to come back next week.

and I said ok... so this is the treatment we are going to follow for a few weeks and see if he improves.. 

Also said that its bad to give dogs that have had seizures in the past an antihistamine because its been shown that that might cause more seizures. Said if was allergies that the only meds he could get if there was an outbreak again were prednisone and one other . I made a face when she said prednisone because I remember how things were with Coal last year and she said yes exactly. The only way she would put Chris on it was if we went thru allergy testing first (400-500 dollars). But said lets see how he does the next two weeks and come back in for a recheck. I know it takes sometimes several months with a new food to see any improvements if thats what it is.. but i think shes going to check to make sure the spots arent still getting bigger and his skin is doing better. 

Really not sure if it is allergies or not. He's not really scratching and he's not chewing on himself.. he's does lick a bit on his feet but not a lot. We will see. Mary had some suggestions that I could put vitamin E on his spots and also don't brush him dry anymore. Get a squirt bottle and lightly mist him down with water and a good leave in conditioner and then brush him.. and to do this every night. Also told me to give him a bath using selsum blue. soap him up really good and leave on for about 5 mins.. so will try that this weekend. and start him on Nzymes granules... 


It could be just his bodies way of bouncing back from everything he's been thru... I don't really have a good feeling about any of it because everyone has had a different opinion. first vet thinks its got to be metabolic (Liver) related, 2nd vet thinks its allergies or mange or both, and Mary thinks its just his body's way of bouncing back and I need to give him time.. Not to switch his food... 

So i dont know if we are on the right path but figuired i would follow the vets advice and do some of the things that was suggested by Mary and see where it goes..:crossfing


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

It's frustrating when all we can really do is experiment and see if there is an improvement. Eagle Pack is a good food though, so that will be a healthy change for him, and I'm betting the blood work will show thyroid, which is easy to treat.

You should be sure and take pictures now of his condition so that in 6-8 months you can take new ones and compare. He's going to be looking good!


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## robinsegg26 (Nov 14, 2006)

ugh still havent gotten the results in yet for all of his tests... called yesterday and they werent back yet... snotty vet tech said the vet will call you when they come in.... now i feel bad about calling so much... :doh:


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