How do you treat overgrown dog nails? What to Know

What is a dog’s nail quick?

How do you treat overgrown dog nails?

The quick, which consists of a blood artery and a nerve, is more visible on light dog nails. Hold the paw of your dog up to the light. The quick seems to be a nail-within-a-nail because it is visible through the nail. You must not cut into the quick since it will bleed and give agony to your dog.

How to Trim Dog Nails That are Overgrown

How do you treat overgrown dog nails?

There is no major magic here. You just need to do several things to deal with extremely overgrown dog nails.

  • Trim off a small part of the nail each time to let the quick recede
  • Use the correct angle for cutting the dog’s nails (see diagram above)
  • Use the right dog nail clippers for YOUR situation – see this post on DIY dog nail clipping for details on nail clippers.
  • When you trim off just a bit of the nail at at time at the correct angle you allow the quick to move back into the nail, this lets you get the nail a bit shorter each time you trim.

    How to tell if your dog has a broken or damaged nail

  • Rather than stepping on a paw, they favour it by holding it in the air.
  • Walking with a limp or obviously not placing weight on a paw.
  • Your dogs bedding has blood on it.
  • The licking of a paw on a regular basis.
  • A paw or toe that is noticeably swollen.
  • When you try to examine a paw or toe, you will encounter resistance.
  • An unusually angled nail.
  • Examine your dogs paw if any of the aforementioned signs are present if you are comfortable doing so.

    If the toe is painful and damaged, dogs may refuse to let you look or touch it; if this is the case, its time to see a vet.

    Extremely Overgrown Dog Nail Clip

    Long nails on your dog are more than a nuisance — they can also cause pain for your dog and can eventually lead to health problems if not addressed.

    The best way to keep your dog’s nails in check is to trim them regularly. But if your dog’s nails get to a place where they’ve overgrown too much, you’ll need to take extra care when trimming their nails. While it might be tempting to go ahead and cut an overgrown nail short right away, this could lead you to accidentally cut the quick, which can lead to pain and bleeding for your dog. That’s because when a dog’s nail grows too long, the quick grows along with it.

    Instead, you’ll want to gradually cut your dog’s overgrown nails over time — a little bit each week, so that the quick can gradually recede. Once you’ve developed this routine, you can continue to trim your dog’s nails every week or every other week to avoid getting into another overgrown situation.