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My dog's nail is loose, crooked, and separating from the quick. Is it serious?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Boxer | Female | spayed | 1 year and 3 months old | 40 lbs

My one year old boxer puppy has a nail on her back left foot that looks seperated from the quick. I can tell the top part of her nail is becoming loose because it is now a little crooked. Is this something to worry about? She has not had any bleeding and it doesn't. Other her if I touch it. I have been cleaning it to make sure it won't become infected, I have just never seen this happen before and I'm worried.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on April 26th, 2017

Poor Ellie! It can happen that the nail becomes cracked and separates from the quick. It can be painful, and in this case, it would be best to cut off as much of the nail as possible without cutting the quick. If you aren't comfortable doing this, you can have her seen by a vet in the morning to have it done. To keep from cutting the quick, you can cut back a little at a time until you are close to the quick but not too close. It's fine to keep cleaning it to keep it from getting infected, but she should be ok :-)

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    Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    It is possible for a nail to get pulled off the quick - just like how human nails can turn black and fall off if hit by a hammer. I would recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian to have them remove the loose nail. Depending on how well it's attached, Ellie might need some light sedation. While it's possible to just give it a yank at home, I really don't recommend this, because if the nail is more attached than you realize it will hurt a ton and may bleed a lot which would be scary for both you and Ellie. Overnight, just leave the nail be. Put Ellie in an e-collar ("cone of shame") if you have one so that she can't lick at and irritate the nail. Also, please do not give her any human pain medications (Advil, Tylenol, Aspirin, etc) because they are actually toxic to dogs.

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