Richard i've replied above and told you what is wrong with your dog. He will need medication for life i'm afraid.

Well I think Gorgeous George looks like a leggier version of my Diesel and he's a pedigree staffie.
So if I was you I'd call him a Staffie, there's plenty of leggy ones about.

Good idea.

And great that Jackie&Mia have experience of the same problem with one of their dogs and are able to advise. I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's never heard of this. It does look really painful and sore to me.

It came up when I googled dogs brittle nails but yeah great that Jackie &Mia can give first hand experience.

It's quite a rare condition and most of the times goes undiagnosed by a vet. I only found it by googling my dogs problems and even then the vet said no it's too rare but the next week she admitted i was right.

As for the nails, that looks ouch!! Dogs do a great job of hiding their pain, especially breeds such as staffies, pit bull, etc. who have an extremely high pain tolerance because of what they were bred for.

Only a vet could help you with this. Also, I disagree that your dog looks like her staffy at all.

His head is much, much different and his skin is tighter and his paws are much smaller (small paws, pit bull) yet he's taller. He looks like a staffy crossed pit bull to me, but as they said... might want to start calling him a staffy.

Vitamin E oil works in getting nails stronger again. Paint it on including the nail bed everyday. I would also soak it in Epson salts to keep it clean. You don't want an infection getting in his bones.

But will Vit E address the underlying problem as described by JackieandMia above? And stop it happening?

No it won't Tangutica but i fear as the OP said he didn't really want to make a vets visit he won't be keen on the fact the dog will need medication for life. SLO can be controlled but not cured and it can get considerably worse if treatment doesn't get started early. If infection sets in the dog could even lose toes. This condition is extreamly painfull for the dog.

Hiya, can't help with the nails sorry but as for the pitbull bit you'd do best to call him a Staffie...not draw attention to him...particularly posting pics, sorry even though he is gorgeous to look at. Also the vet would not have the power to put him down..or seize him. If you are on face book like pages like DDA watch and get some knowledge just in case. You never have to agree to having your dog seized and you don't have to sign anything. That's not me saying he's a pitbull type...just it's better to be safe than sorry. There are so many measurements that go together for them to fall foul of the DDA and, oddly enough, it's not always about height. There are some tiddlers that have been classed as pitbulls.