Step 2: Apply direct pressure.
As taught in basic human first aid, apply direct pressure to your dog’s bleeding toenail. You can use anything from a clean paper towel to facial tissue to the hem of your shirt (if you are in a real pinch). Granted, your dog may be a bit gun-shy about you pressing on that freshly-injured nail. However, if you remain calm, this is a doable and helpful step.
How to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding in 3 steps
You are trimming your dog’s nails and you accidentally cut the quick (the blood and nerve supply in the dog’s toenail) with your nail trimmers. How do you stop a dog’s nail from bleeding?
The good news is that when you clip your dog’s toenail too short, you can stop the bleeding in three easy steps.
The bad news is that hitting the quick is painful for your dog, nerve-wracking for you, and a bloody mess.
However, as an integrative veterinarian with 20+ years of experience (including teaching countless dog owners how to trim dog nails), I can assure you that you can avoid future nail trimming mishaps and confidently trim your dog’s nails again. You’ll find solutions at the end of this post.
The Quickest Way to Stop Bleeding is by Using Styptic Powder
Styptic powder is the most common and efficient way to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding. It’s what veterinarians and groomers use to treat minor cuts and to stop bleeding. It contains Benzocaine which works as a topical anesthetic to help ease pain, and ferric subsulfate which helps to stop bleeding.
To use styptic powder you can either dip your dogs nail directly into the powder or use an applicator. When using an applicator such as a swab or q-tip be sure to apply moderate pressure to your dogs nail for a few minutes, or until the bleeding has stopped.
Styptic powders or styptic pencils are antihemorrhagic agents that work by contracting blood vessels. Styptic powder helps to clot the blood and can help prevent bacteria from entering the bloodstream.
If you don’t have any styptic powder on hand it’s not a bad idea to pick some up next time you’re at the pharmacy or pet store, and most of the time you can find some for less than $10. Styptic pencils are commonly available near the shaving section in pharmacies since they’re also used to treat shaving injuries and minor cuts.
HOW TO Stop A Bleeding Toenail!
How to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding: learn the causes and treatment of broken nails in dogs, and how you can stop dog nail bleeding, quickly and safely.
Just like humans, dogs too can suffer from broken or torn nails. However, for our pups this is a bigger problem because the structure of their nails is completely different to ours.
Unless it’s only the tip of the dog’s nail that is broken off or cracked there will be bleeding – and pain. For a while it could impair their ability to walk, run and play comfortably.
Every dog owner is likely to be confronted with dog nail bleeding at some point. Here you’ll learn how to safely stop dog nail bleeding. And what to do if the dog’s nail won’t stop bleeding.
First let’s answer the question “Why is my dog’s nail bleeding?”, by looking why a broken dog nail bleeds and the causes of dog nail bleeding.