Toenail problems.

Dr. Marie replied:

This sounds like a frustrating situation. I have had some cases like this that have taken several months to heal.

The last case that I had like this was a mastiff with a very severe bacterial infection affecting the toenails. A culture (where we send a swab off to the lab to determine what type of bacteria is there) showed us that the dog had a resistant infection. He needed to be on a very powerful (and expensive) antibiotic for a few months but eventually recovered.

Sometimes toenail issues like this can be a sign of a more serious problem such as a type of lupus called symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy. It is usually treated with doxycycline, niacinamide, vitamin E and omega fatty acids and can take months to recover. Some dogs need to be on lifelong therapy for this. The only way to diagnose this is to have your vet do a biopsy. So, this is something they may consider if things are not improving.

Sometimes dogs with toenail issues can benefit from a Zinc supplement. (This may be what you mentioned with the vitamins), but you have to be careful when supplementing Zinc because too much can cause gastrointestinal issues.

It does sound like your vet is doing all of the same things I would. Hang in there. And if things haven't improved in another month or so you could ask your vet about possibly doing a biopsy.

Hope things improve soon!

Dr. Marie.



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