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My sharpe/lab mix came in from outside with one of his nails ripped and exposing his bright red cuticle.  The nail is ripped off along the top and sides and appears to be still connected along the bottom.  I can see the tip of the cuticle - and sometimes more depending where the ripped  nail is at the time.  There appears to be more nail in tact along the top than the buttom (the top nail covers the cuticle a little) Approximately 1/4 - 1/2" of his nail is completely in tact.  It is from there down that we have the problem.  Will this heal itself? Does it need a vet visit?

I try to avoid vet visits because he is very scared and its quite the ordeal and he pees every time so we try to avoid putting him through that.

thanks for your input, jane