It's been a long time since I posted this so I thought an update was due....
The cracked claw I mention was actually symptomatic of an auto immune problem - lupoid onychodystrophy
He subsequently lost more claws or they cracked along the upper ridge and generally became infected. They had to be removed by our vet leaving ollie with dried nail beds that have now formed into hardened nails. It took some time to get this under controls and involved changes to his diet (hypoallergenic dry food only), plus extra vitamin E and Omega 3. We were also giving him powered gelatine on his food but we've found it difficult to source so now we mix in some wet food with the dry as that helps with gelatine. He is also on steroids permanently (Prednicare) at varying amounts depending if he has a flare up or not but generally he'll have 1/2 tablet everyday.
Over the past few years he's eyes and nose have become crusty but increasing steroids, eyedrops and steroid cream helped sort those out. He now moved into the more severe stage of the illness and we've found his skin is affected, this meant he was shedding loads of hair as scabs formed mainly on his back, as they dried the hair would fall out leaving him patchy in places. The only way to treat this really is to wash him in Zincoseb which definitely helps. We are now also using coconut oil both to eat with his food and rubbed into his coat.
The only other issue I think we've had with him was his tail that he shredded a few years ago, a few months ago with bloody spattered up the walls, doors and radiator we reluctantly decided to have his tail removed, he's been fine although he did manage to nibble on the end and expose some of the tissue whilst it was still healing....he's such a little so and so!!!
For those that have meet Ollie they will remember him running non-stop around, a complete nutter and he still is.... perhaps a little slower and a bit fatter. He still has a brilliant personality despite the issues he's had, he's definitely more dependent on us and doesn't like being left on his own for long periods which sometimes during the week we just can't avoid. He's getting old now (10 years old this year) and I guess he just wants more attention than he did when he was the young whipper snapper with the ladies chasing him around Shorne Country Park, Eynsford and Minnis Bay