Step-by-step instructions for dog nail trimming
When everything is ready, get your dog comfortable and youâre good to go. If your dog is a bit nervous, calm them with biscuits or extra cuddles. This will give them a sense of security while you begin cutting.
Be extra careful when deciding where to cut, as dog nails are supplied with blood. An accidental clip in the wrong spot could lead to a lot of pain. Itâs easier to find the right range for dogs with clear or light colored nails, while it can be a bit trickier with dark nails. Luckily, a flashlight can help you better see the blood supply area.
Remember these 3 tips and youâll be fine:
Defined the cutting range? Good! Your dog is (ideally) in a relaxed position. You have your equipment ready. Itâs time to start trimming your dogs nails!
Trim by taking small steps at a time, and use rewards to keep your dog comfortable if needed. If thereâs no blood at the end of the whole process and your dog behaves like nothing has happened, youâve done everything right!
Moreover, once youâre done cutting, you can soften the skin around the nails with some paw balsam. Itâs optional, but can be comforting for your pup. Trim the hair between the paws for perfect results.
Donât forget to reward your dog afterward! Only by doing so, your dog can associate the âunpleasant procedureâ of nail trimming with something positive and this can reduce the fear. Who would say no to a reward just because of a little nail trimming?!
Dog Nail Care: Why It’s Important
Dog nail care is important because it keeps your pet walking, running, and moving around comfortably. When your dog’s nails are too long, they create an unnatural angle for the foot. This causes unequal pressure on the toes and can cause the nail beds to become sore and tender.
Long nails on dogs are more prone to splitting and/or splintering. This is the equivalent of a human hangnail. It is not only extremely painful, but it can even warrant a trip to the veterinary clinic. The veterinarian will use sedation and pain medications to pull the hangnail and then bandage the foot to prevent infection in your dog’s nail bed.
Dogs with long nails will sometimes slip on hardwood or tile floors or walk gingerly to cope with the circumstances. Nail care is especially important in our older canine companions or pets with arthritis.
Keeping your dog’s nails at an acceptable length also protects you and your belongings. Have you ever been scratched by your dog after he jumps up on you? Or have you seen the couch or other furniture snag when your dog jumps off? Overgrown nails can also get caught on things causing your dog unnecessary pain.
Make Nail Trimming a Positive Experience
Whether its introducing him to the trimming tool or picking the right environment, “make everything a really positive experience for your pooch,” certified trainer Mikkel Becker says.
To get your dog used to having his feet handled, play with his paws regularly and give him special treats-such as small cubes of cheese.
Next, teach your dog to get comfy with clippers. “Let treats rain down from the sky” every time you pull clippers out of the drawer, Becker says. Anytime your dog approaches clippers, he should get a reward. To condition him to the sound of the clippers, clip something hard and crunchy—like pasta—in his presence. Reward him again.
Finally, make sure the environment hell be in when his nails are trimmed is comfortable and offers a stable grip for his feet. Try a counter topped with a nonslip mat or even his dog bed. Add calming smells, like lavender or a pheromone such as Adaptil. All of that prep helps him feel secure.
When you start trimming his nails for the first time, do it slowly. Trim just one nail a day, barely cutting off the end. Your goal is to get all nails even with the corresponding paw pad and then keep them that way with regular trims. Trim every two weeks to maintain the optimal nail length. The more you trim overgrown nails, the more the blood vessels will retreat back into the claw.
How to Trim Your Dog’s Nails at Home STEP BY STEP WITH TIPS
In the practice of canine rehabilitation medicine, we spend a lot of time focusing on knees, backs, hips, shoulders and elbows, but it is important to remember the importance of feet. With regards to the texture, temperature and firmness of the ground, the feet are the first line of communication between the land and the body.
Imagine wearing stiff new shoes or high heels if you are not used to them. What if you want to dance, or need to run quickly away from a threat? Or imagine having a pebble in your shoe. Either way, all you’d be able to think about is sitting down and taking the shoe off.
Dogs’ brains are hard-wired to interpret critical information through the soles of their feet, as well as using the sensory nerves in the joints, tendons and muscles. These signals communicate where the ground is, how hard it is, and whether it can support the body. The bottoms of the feet register body weight and sudden changes in weight bearing. For instance, if the dog is running in a field and places a foot into a hole, the changes in the angle of the leg and pressure on the foot will trigger a fast withdrawal of that leg and shift of the body weight, preventing a serious accident.
However, modern environments can tend to alter the sensitivity of this feedback loop. Dogs spend much of their time on slippery floors, abrasive concrete or pile carpeting – all very different from tall grass, stones, sand, snow, or dirt! This, combined with limited exercise, can impede the foot-brain connection. Dogs, like many domestic animals, are highly adaptable, and most dogs with a normal nervous system can easily adjust to these environmental changes. But when a dog has neurologic deficits such as those that develop with advanced age, hind end weakness or spinal disease, the information (or lack thereof) from their feet can hinder their locomotion.
One of the most common foot issues in domestic dogs is long toenails. Ideally, the nails should not touch the ground when standing on a firm level surface, but are long enough to provide traction when climbing a hill or digging. In a dog with long nails, the neurologic signals from the toenail touching the ground are interpreted by the brain as an inclined ground surface. This abnormal compensatory posture results in excess weight shifting onto the hind legs, overloading those joints.
Despite the health benefits, the average dog might get a nail trim several times a year. Many factors contribute to making nail trims a dreaded activity, among which is the fact that constant stimulus from long toenails contacting the ground sensitizes the nail bed, making it very uncomfortable for the feet to be handled and predisposing them to the development of arthritis.
If you look at a dogs toenail, you can see the hard, insensitive nail around a core of pink, living tissue or the “quick”. The quick contains sensitive nerves and blood vessels, and when nipped, it bleeds profusely.
When the toenails are excessively long, the quick grows longer, too. The goal is to remove the protective long nail so that the quick will recede. The easiest way to do this is to use multiple small, shallow cuts focusing on the top of the nail, parallel to the quick, not across it. It is possible to significantly shorten the toenails, and get an immediate postural response in a single session.
The quick is shiny and moist– like living tissue, and has a different texture than the nail. Nails need to be cut every other week to maintain their length, but to shorten the quick, one must cut once a week. Sometimes a dremel is tolerated better than clippers for this purpose.
Getting into the habit of nail trimming early in life is not only a good habit for any dog owner, but can also prevent arthritis and mobility issues in the long term! So take a look at those feet today and consult your veterinarian or rehabilitation therapist with any questions about your dog’s nails!
For additional information, here’s an extensive presentation by Dr. Leslie Woodcock, DVM on nail trimming in agility dogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM4HQDb1Ef0