My GSP splits them and tears them right off all the time . First time he ripped one right off it looked so bad we took him to te vet and the cauterized it and it healed up good .... since then he has done it about a dozen times . Now I just let it heal on its own . It bleeds for a while when he first does it, but it stops after a while and they seem to heal up fine . Damn dog just runs so hard and fast through the nastiest thick bush when you let him off leash that wrecking his nails has just become the norm .... I think he is used to it too because it doesn't seem to slow him down any . I think its just one of those things some dogs are bad for and others aren't .