Harry, The Tennis Ball, and A Toenail

Harry and I just got back from the vet. He tore one of the toenails on his right rear foot four days ago. It was the only toenail he has that grows sort of normally. He has an autoimmune disease that affects his nail beds so his toenails don't really grow at all, and I haven't clipped his nails in years. So I don't often think to check on this one sort of normal toenail when I clip the other dogs' nails. And it grew really long. So long that it got caught and tore. Caught in what, you ask? Oh, in the grass while Harry was playing fetch with a tennis ball. 

Yeah, he's a couple months shy of turning 16 years old, his eyes are cloudy and he's partially deaf. But he loves his tennis ball! These cool spring evenings we've had for the past few weeks have been perfect--the dogs can get a lot of exercise without overheating.

The toenail didn't tear completely off. I waited, hoping that it might fall off on its own but it got infected (took care of that with some Neosporin and a bandage) and it was clear that I needed to get it dealt with more decisively. And I figured, better for the vet to be the bad guy than me. 

Harry has a senior wellness package with the vet that covers a lot of basics like blood work twice a year but I got an add-on for a bit more money: unlimited visits. In theory, that means I could take him to the vet every single day and, except for meds and consumables, it would cost me nothing. When I bought it, I thought, that's ridiculous, the idea of taking Harry to the vet every day. But these weird things come up and that add-on has more than paid for itself.

The vet got out the clippers and with a quick snip the problem was taken care of. Harry is a stoic dog (most fox terriers are tough little buggers) so he didn't even make a sound. Of course it bled like crazy, toenail and head wounds do that. She bandaged him up nicely and sent us on our way.

So my crazy old dog still loves to chase down a tennis ball. And I am perfectly happy to oblige him, even if we must deal with the occasional toenail incident. In fact, I'm sure that after dinner tonight, he'll be pestering me as usual, giving me that look, that head tilt, nudging me with his nose, all to remind me that it's time to go play!

Houston, We Have Toenails!

I'm super excited! Harry survived the flyball practice with all of his toenails intact. We were outside running on grass mixed with mulch, which is a pretty tough environment for tender feet.

Just in case, I gave him half a deramax with dinner last night after we got home. He was a tiny bit stiff after the long ride home. This morning, I couldn't see any stiffness and he didn't walk like his toes hurt. In fact, when he heard me playing with Cap, which I usually do right after I let him out to potty as part of our morning routine, Harry got out of bed and came running into the dog room, found a ragged piece of some toy, and shoved it at me ready to play himself.

Harry normally is a big slug-a-bed. He'll sleep in until breakfast if I let him. So when he jumps out of bed ready and rarin' to play, I know he is feeling good.

During practice, Harry was running between 5.0-5.3 seconds. Since he runs slower on grass, I expect him to hit some sub-5.0's at the tournament weekend after next. That means Harry is back in the game!

Harry in 2004 savaging a toy

I intend to stick to my plan and not run him in every race though. I just don't think I can get him fit enough by then and I'm afraid that if I run him when he is tired, he will be more likely to make a mistake and tear one of his tender new nails. And as a bonus, this will guarantee one of our up and coming DITs (dogs in training) some mat time. He and his owner have been working hard to get this slot on the B team.