Expert: Jannie Balliett - 12/28/2011

Question
I have a 1yr. old boxer and recently when he goes out his toe nails have been splitting and breaking. This becomes very painful for him, i took him to the vet and they sedated him and cut the nail way back, then gave us antibiotic. This took care of the prob for about a week and then i noticed him favoring that paw again there was a bad odor coming from it so i took him back to the vet, this time they removed the top outer covering of the nail completely and more antibiotics. A couple weeks later, same thing so they put him on stronger antibiotics. As u could imagine this is getting quite expensive and i still have a dog with a soar paw and know he has split one on his back foot. Is this common with boxers, and do you have any helpful suggestions for me?

Answer
No, it is not common with Boxers or any particular breed.

I don't know what the problem is except the vet is not treating the one-time problem correctly to resolve it.

I suggest calling other vets and discussing the problems you have had about this and choose the one that best addresses the problem- then take him to that new vet and get this resolved once and for all.

Say goodbye to your old vet. It's just like our doctors, some are good for us, others are not at all.