My collie came racing out the house when she saw next doors dog in our garden and skidded tearing her dew claw. Most of the nail seems to have gone but there is a teeny stump left. It is down to the quick and there was a bit of bleeding. I've bathed it and dressed it as best I can, She seems to be OK with it at the moment.
Should I take her to the vets when they re-open? I hope they don[t suggest removing the last bit of nail as she is not a good candidate for sedation.

Ouch. Has she torn the nail bed (the fleshy pad part around the nail) or just the actual nail itself? If it's the nail bed, depending how badly she's torn it they might suggest liquid bandage as its near impossible to successfully stitch pads. If it's the nail itself, has she torn it right out or snapped it off? If it's snapped and not down to the quick, you can clip it carefully to tidy it up so its not jagged which might cause it to catch on something else. If it's ripped to the quick itself you can't do anything as its like clipping the nail too far down, you just have to leave it. If she's torn it out completely so there's a fleshy sort of stump left, I would keep an eye in it but don't touch it as it will be incredibly painful. The quick is a nerve that's why it's so painful if it's cut into, so ripping it off completely will be even worse!

If the nail is dangling you can try very very carefully to see if it's still attached, and if it is a vet will cauterise it which is done under sedation as its so painful. If it's not attached however or comes away in your hand, leave it be, be careful putting anything on it like a bandage as there's nothing there to catch and it will just add pain if it touches the quick. The nail could well grow back, my parent's dog completely tore a nail out twice and they both grew back ok, and don't be alarmed at the blood as nails tend to spout like a severed artery!!

Thanks
There is now no dew claw nail to see though it feels as if there is a bit of a stump plus there is a tiny little pinkish sliver. Which would contain the quick I guess. It would probably be excruciating to try and take that off. I'm a bit squeamish and didn't want to look too closely! Plus I don't want to poke around and cause extra pain when I have nothing at hand to relieve it.
She has given up trying to lick it now that I have the dressing on. Maybe I shouldn't have put it on but I didn't want her chewing at it.? Plus I was worried about infection getting in while out
I'm praying they don't suggest a procedure with anaesthesia as it is so risky for her.
The fleshy part looked a bit angry but not sure she has ripped into that. She probably grazed it though. There wasn't a lot of bleeding. I'm hoping we can get by with antibiotics, a proper dressing (if recommended) and pain relief if necessary.
The next decision is do I take her on a 40 minute car journey to the vets she is still registered with or will the vets 2 mile down the road see her (was going to try to keep with the first vets for her chronic condition but register with the local one as well)

If there is no nail there, there is nothing for a vet to remove (unless they ask if you want the whole of it removed completely to prevent it happening again) so she shouldn't need sedating. She will lick at it as she'll instinctively know to heal it, unless she's going obsessively at it I wouldn't worry, she knows herself if it's too painful to go near. If you've already put a dressing on and she's not bothered by it then leave it on for a bit, but check itat the end of the day, as if it's wrapped up its not going to dry out as it will in open air so will take longer to heal. It is completely up to you if you want to get her checked out, but personally, if it was my dog, I would keep an eye on it, leave off the walks for a few days to reduce the risk of infection and not let her dash about until it's healing. Unless it was looking infected I wouldn't be giving the vet £25 + to tell me to keep an eye on it, and I wouldn't be happy with giving my dog antiB's for something quite trivial as I don't like her having meds unless absolutely necessary. When it's less painful in a couple of days you could put a bit of Savlon on it or I find this stuff is really good: http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_r...41&pf_id=52015.

Thanks MP
You were spot on.
I did go to the vet and she said to bathe it in salt water and leave it open to the elements - apart from walks - got some dressing and pet bandage for that. Also it is alright for her to lick like you said. My main concern now is she gave her a shot of metacam for the pain. This despite knowing her liver health history. She was so quick and unexpected with that needle I had no chance to stop her.
Cost £28 - not too bad.
No antibiotics.
I see on US forums people routinely treat their dog with antibiotic ointment which I dont think you can get over here without a prescription - apart from off ebay..
If she had been a younger dog with no health issues would probably have held off going to the vet but I read too many scare stories on the net about dogs getting infected through that injury. So it was worth it for peace of mind. Or rather it would have been without the metacam - which she assured me (after the deed was done) was safe. Hopefully there will be no damage as it was a one off.

Glad she's looking better . The ointment I gave you a link to will clean and disinfect cuts and wounds, but it's not got antibiotics in it. If you want something antibacterial, this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Martin-V.../dp/B003TL241A is really good. It's a powder so you just sprinkle it on the cut, less messy than cream and wouldn't cause pain to the nail quick like you physically rubbing cream on would. I've got both this and the vetzyme ointment in my first aid box and they've never failed to heal my collie's cut paw pads, nails or any other minor cuts and grazes. Metacam given over a period of time is can damage the kidneys and liver, but as it was a one off hopefully it won't do any harm.

Cheers I see I am going to have to work on my dog first aid supplies!
So far no ill effects from the Metacam. Hopefully no unseen effects as my girl already has poor liver and kidney health and was actually supposed to be dead as of 18 months back. We only got where we are now thanks to scrupulous measures including even avoiding flea products.