Infected nail beds? Or something else? Allergy?

I was grooming all of the dogs tonight, and as I got to Dance and was doing her nails, I noticed that almost all of them have this reddish brown colour at the nail beds and they seem a little swollen (although maybe it's just the discolouration that makes them seem like that). They're not bothering her as far as I can tell, but it's weird. Does anyone know what might cause this? What I can do to get rid of it? It's not dirt. I tried to scrub a few clean in the bath just to see. To me they look infected, but yet she's not bothered and I don't smell anything weird. It's not normal, though, so something must have cause the irritation I would think. And it's odd that it's all four paws. She's not a foot chewer or licker, so I know she didn't cause it. And I don't think she has any allergies, but maybe? Nothing else is affected, though. You can't see it unless the hair is pushed back, so I tried to angle the blow dryer just the right way to try and show her nail beds for a few pictures.







Should I put Polysporin on them and see what happens? Have any of your dogs had this?

Poor Dance. :-(

Poor girl :/

Do you walk on salted sidewalks at all? I know salt can burn, maybe it works as an irritatant as well?

Gavroche always has that and it usually extends down the nail as well. I've asked multiple vets about it, and the consensus is some sort of chronic yeast/fungal infection, but the only way to treat it is with a medication that has a ton of nasty side effects. Since it doesn't cause pain or anything, I just leave it.

If they get really swollen, have nasty discharge, or seem painful, then I'd find it worthwhile to treat.

I would soak them in epsom salts and warm/hot water several times a day and bandage the foot up in animalintex poultice.

Keena has that too, all the time. It doesn't seem to bother her so we leave it be, but one of the vets where I work said I could soak em for 10 minutes in chlorhexidine solution a few times a week.

It's most likely a yeast problem. I've had good results with wiping the feet with ACV and adding a bit to food. Also, if she's on a food that has grains, it might be a good idea to switch to grain-free. Sometimes that can help as well.

Thanks, guys! I appreciate it all.

Ugh, I was hoping not to hear the word yeast. Between the Dobermans and their skin problems and now this, all possibly coming down to some sort of yeast infection, I'd be happy never to hear that word again.

At least the good news is that she doesn't seem bothered by it.

Not, not really. She just walks to the car and then runs in parks/grassy areas. The last time she was on salty sidewalks would have been a month ago I think.


Never heard of the last stuff you mentioned. Will have to Google. Thanks.


Dance eats 100% raw, so no grains. Thanks, though! I have ACV, maybe I'll give that a try. Never made a difference with the Dobes, but you never know.

Violet had that on one of her nail beds and had to take medecine for it. She seems to have chronic yeast issues (belly, ears, feet) and it comes and goes. We're putting her back on a raw diet to see if it helps because when she was on raw, she had very few issues.

I hate to bring up the dreaded words yeast and allergies lol. But Juno had a couple nails that looked like that over the summer when her allergies were yucky. I probably would have left it if she wasn't bothered by it, but at the same time she had a horrible rash on her stomach, so by trying to fix that I suppose I was indirectly treating her nails as well!

The question then would be... what is it that's causing her to react that way. =/