Dr. Joe answers:

Some of these changes to dog's toenails occur with aging, and others are due to a disease process. Generally, changes severe enough to cause them to bleed are usually from a disease. My suspicion is that your dog has an infection involving the nail bed, the area where nail growth occurs, something like your cuticles on your fingernails or toenails. This infection can be bacterial or fungal. In addition, some immune system disease can affect the toenails as well. A physical exam, and probably some testing, will be necessary to try to determine the cause of this problem. Some of these conditions can become serious if not treated, so I urge you to go to your veterinarian. Sometimes different treatments are tried before testing, and sometimes they work only temporarily. If you have been through some type of treatment for this condition, I suggest that you have testing done before more random treatments are begun. It is important that the underlying problem be identified.

Leslie asks:

As a new breeder, I have several questions.

 I have a Poodle that came into heat but never stopped bleeding, so I was not sure when to breed her. Is it normal for them to bleed through the heat and can you breed when this happens? Could she have an infection that makes her do this? What day should be the first day to breed? Some people have told me the 8th day and some the 11th day. How many days before the pups are born? I have heard 60-66 days.

Dr. Joe answers:

Some females do have moderate bleeding throughout the entire heat cycle, and there is usually no reason not to breed them. If the bleeding remains extremely heavy, there could be a problem, and you should have your dog checked, especially if this occurs with every heat cycle. Your veterinarian may want to perform a CBC or PCV to make sure that your female is not anemic nor showing any signs of a uterine infection. If the discharge is also thick ( in addition to looking like blood ), it may indicate that there is a uterine infection. Also dogs who have "false" pregnancies are very likely to have a uterine infection.

The optimum day for starting to breed a female varies with every dog. The "normal" heat cycle consists of 7 to 9 days "going into" heat, 7 to 9 days "in heat" ( when they are actually ovulating ), and 7 to 9 days "going out" of heat. So, if a female "follows the rules" ( which cannot be counted on ), then starting to breed at day 7 or 8 should be effective. However, we have had females that ovulated very early, and would have been "missed" if we had waited the "normal" amount. Experienced breeders are less likely to miss the first days of heat, and they often can "read" their females well. Many may use one of their experienced males to "check" their females. We have an experienced male that usually ignores females just "going in", but "alerts" on females that are apparently "ready". There are testing kits available, or blood can be sent to a lab, to determine optimum breeding date. These are expensive, however, and are often only used in conjunction with AI (Artificial Insemination) breedings. An experienced reproduction veterinarian can often tell much with a vaginal swab. The appearance of the cells seen on the swab can help determine the best breeding time, as well as sometimes showing potential problems such as a possible bacterial infection. I recommend that all females ( and males ) have a recent test for Canine Brucellosis, and if anything abnormal is seen on the vaginal cytology smear, I also recommend a vaginal/uterine culture and sensitivity.

The easiest part is the last part of your questions. Normal gestation for dogs is approximately 63 days. I just tell folks 9 weeks instead of 9 months. But, the range you indicate of 60-66 days is normal for some dogs. Any less than 60 days, and there may be problems with the lungs expanding normally for the pups. Any longer than 66 days is also cause for concern. While everyone has "stories" of successful whelpings that were either less or more than this range, there are many more problems if you are shorter or longer than this range. I, like most veterinarians, like to put the "mother" first. Usually, it is easy to get more puppies, but it is hard to replace your pet. If she is doing well, then usually all else is well, but the early signs of problems can be very subtle. I always hope that someone new to breeding can be mentored by an experienced breeder, and the experienced breeder can give assistance to and knowledge to the beginner, making the new breeder's first litters a safer and more enjoyable experience.