Problems with Cam recently

Hi Everyone- I know I don't post as much lately- I Have been really busy. Anyway, Cam is having a couple issues, and I need some advice:
1. She "broke" or jammed or did something strange to her nail a few weeks ago- we were outside playing and all of a sudden she was limping and she was bleeding from her nail. I took her to the vet, who gave us some antibiotic and said she had injured her nail, and that it would eventually fall off-- well, it's been 3 weeks, and i can tell her nail is still really bothering her- she is constantly licking it, and if we play too much outside she starts limping again- I have looked at the nail and it is pretty long right now and a different color than her other nails...will it eventually just fall off? I just feel bad because I know it bothers her. Anyone ever have this happen to their dog? Ok, next issue:

2. Cameron is having a problem with her anal glands today-she normally expresses her anal glands when she poos, and also sometimes when she's either nervous or very relaxed a little will leak out, causing a very unpleasant odor :/ But this is only once and awhile. Well, today she has been leaking it seems nonstop- it isn't a lot at all, just a drop here and there, but it is constantly smelling, and she is aware of it too, because she keeps smelling her bum and looks uncomfortable. Also, she has been stretching constantly, and she never does this- any ideas????!! I just feel like she's acting a bit strange, but she seems otherwise fine, poo is normal, she's eating, etc. Am I just being paranoid?

Any suggestions would be very helpful- Thanks

 

Hey Puggleowner! Nice to see you again!

I don't know about the nail. If it is a different color I would think it is going to fall off. Can you trim it back at all? Hopefully someone else will know more about that.

Do you know how to express her anal glands? You can find instructions online, but everything I have heard says to have someone who knows how show you the first time. Maybe a trip to the vet is in order to get them expressed and he can have a look at the nail again, too?

 

I think maybe you could get the nail cut back a little if it is really long.
With the anal gland thing, my old roommates dog had a problem with that. He used o take her in all the time about it, but the vet showed himself something where he puts his finger in there and presses, that is what roommate said he was told to do, so I think that is pretty basic directions, and there has to be more to it. Maybe if you go to the vet then s\he could tell you. My roommates dog stretched all the time. Which type stretch is it? Is it the go low in the front and stick the butt up, sort of friendly I want to play type stretch?
Maybe thez are related? Like she is getting stressed aboput the nail, so it makes her anal glands act up, which makes her stretch to relieve them a little?

 

If the nail is turning black in color, I'll fall off. It may still have some bloodsupply and part of it may still be living so clipping it off may be in order.


As far as the anal glands go, Smokey does this every now and then...
As far as stretching goes. If she's limping alot. SHe's over compensating on her other legs and back, this could be causing her to have back pain and thats why she's stretching. Trying to get the "kinks" out.

I would just do a routine check up on her though just to be on the safe side.

I have a feeling though that if its been 3 weeks, the nail needs to be removed. Infection could be setting in.

 

My agility trainer showed me an easy way to check for sore muscles. Have Cam stand up and put your fingers on either either side of her spine up near her shoulders, like you would if you were going to pick it up and raise it straight out of her body. I usually put my other hand under the chest for support. Squeeze very gently and then slide your hand slightly further down her spine toward her tail and squeeze again. Keep doing this. It is a very gentle pressure, so don't squeeze too hard! If you hit a sore spot, the skin and muscles will twitch and she may try to sit down, etc. If you find such a spot, it could be helpful in determining where the pain is coming from

 

I know what you mean about the "stretching" and the anal sac problem. One of my doxies will do that. They will stretch out their back legs flat. She only seems to have that problem (knock on wood) when she has loose stools but hasn't had it in a while since I changed her food. BUT I would highly suggest a trip to the vet to get it checked and expressed and maybe a lesson on expressing. If the dog knows you are trying to do it and don't want you to they can kinda "contract" them in and make it painful for the dog if you don't know what you're doing. (Did that make sense) Anyway, Zoey had an anal sac abcess and eventually rupture and she was in excruciating pain. She was also kinda leaking before it abcessed too, so that's why I would suggest a vet visit. Not so much as a leak... but maybe skid marks on the dog bed. And smelly too. I thought she was having a back issue, and that was causing the pain so that's what we were treating her for. The vet missed it too, but I still feel bad about that...it was very, very painful.

 

Thanks everyone for your help I took Cam to the vet today, and she had a look at the nail and the glands- she said the glands were very full, and she expressed them. She looked at the nail and said it wasn't showing any signs of infection- and that it looked close to falling off, but she did clip the end just a little. She also said that Cam's stretching could be the result of her being uncomfortable with her anal glands being so full....
She has been home now for about 2 hrs, and seems 100% better!!! I think it was definately the anal glands. The problem with that, though, is that i've tried to do it myself, but as coppersmom said, she seems to suck them in when i try, and nothing comes out. I guess I will have to rely on the vet for that!! Jamiya, i am also going to try that test for pain, just in case, because I don't always trust the vet's advice 100%, I think sometimes they're so busy (there were 7 dogs waiting after me), they tend to skip over things.

For now, though, Cam seems happy and back to her old self again so I am happy Thanks again guys!

 

That's great about Cam doing better. I am a wee bit paranoid about that problem now since Zoey had to have her sac drained after it abcessed and ruptured. I am able to express my other dog only when I give her a bath. Seems she forget to contract them (can't type that other word--he he he) when she's trying to escape from the tub!