Happy Tail Grooming

Nail trimming is an essential part of dog grooming, trim nails are one clear sign of your dog’s good health and hygiene. 

When dogs spend a good deal of time outdoors, running on various hard surfaces, their nails are gradually worn down, and they have less of a need for formal nail-grooming sessions. 

But nowadays, with many dogs confined indoors when their owners are at work, and running mostly on soft surfaces such as lawns when they are outdoors, this welcome friction is often absent in their daily lives.

When nails grow too long that they constantly touch the ground, they exert force back into the nail bed, creating pain for the dog. This pain is similar to the pain a person feels when they wear a pair of shoes 1 or 2 sizes too small. This pain also increases the pressure on the toe joint.

When your pup is young, overgrown nails can lead to broken nails, especially in a drier climate. With mature dogs, untrimmed nails can cause splayed or deformed feet, reduced traction, injured tendons, arthritis and eventually cause pain.

A dog’s nails should be trimmed every 2 weeks depending on your pup’s growth rate. At the very least, they should be trimmed every 4 weeks. That frequency may seem like a lot, but the more you trim them, the less you have to trim off.  

This isn’t just an aesthetic problem: Compromising your dog’s weight distribution and natural alignment can leave them more susceptible to injuries, and make walking and running difficult, and painful. This is especially important in older dogs, whose posture can be dramatically improved by cutting back neglected nails.

In extreme cases, overgrown nails can curve and grow into the pad of the foot. But even if they are not that out of control, long nails can get torn or split, which is very painful and, depending on the severity, and extreme conditions may need to be treated by a veterinarian which can be very costly for you and painful for your dog.

The Basics of Trimming Dog Nails

While some breeds are often shown with nails so short they can barely be seen, the most commonly accepted rule of thumb is that when a dog is standing, the nails should not make contact with the ground. If you can hear your dog coming, their nails are too long.

In addition to one nail at the end of each of the four toes usually found on each foot, many dogs also have a fifth nail, called a dewclaw, on the inside of the leg, below the wrist. 

Some dogs are born with dewclaws in the front only, others are born with dewclaws on every leg. If a dog has dewclaws, they need to be trimmed, in some cases even more often than nails that routinely touch the ground.

The Canine Toenail Quick

Running through the nail is a nerve and vein called the “quick.” Nicking or cutting this sensitive band of tissue is very painful for the dog.

Cutting the nail without cutting the quick, “quicking” the dog, is easier said than done – unless your dog has white or light-colored nails, in which case, you’re in luck. It’s much easier to trim white nails nice and short, since you can see the pink, and your chances of “quacking” the dog is greatly reduced.

You can’t see the quick in a black or dark-colored nail. With these nails, you have to be even more conservative about how much nail you trim off. After making each cut, look at the cross-section of the nail. If you see a black spot in the center, stop cutting.

If a dog’s feet have been neglected for months or even years, it might take a few weeks or months of routing cutting of the nails to get them to a healthy, pain-free length. if you cut your dogs nails on a regular basis, it should get easier for the dog to exercise. This is important because as your pet’s activity increases the more their nails will come into contact with the ground in a way that will help wear the nails down, this will help the nail to recede quickly.

Puppies and trimming nails

Start handling your puppy’s feet and trimming their nails when they’re young, so they become accustomed to the process.  

In as little time as one week, you can make your pup to get used to it, but you have to be patient, keep gentle and positive attitude, and offer shower them with praise as well as treats.  

Just follow these steps: 

• Right from the first day, touch and hold your puppy’s paws in a gently and cheerfully way, so they won’t become sensitive to having their feet handled.
• Let your puppy sniff and even touch the nail clipper or grinder. After that, give them a treat and praise.
• Touch the nail clipper to each paw and squeeze the clipper so the puppy hears the sound, or turn the grinder on and let the puppy feel the vibration.  
• Try trimming off just the very tiniest tip from one front paw nail. Do only one nail at a time. Offer lots of happy praise and treats if your puppy lets you trim.   
• Keep this routine up for a few days it will be worth it because you will progressively be able to trim a few nails at a time or more after just a few days days. 

From here, keep working your way up, trimming additional nails each day, until you’ve got them all and your puppy doesn’t mind. 

Practice even when you don’t need to clip a nail. Even pretending you’re clipping helps your dog get used to the whole process.

Trimming dogs’ nails can certainly be a challenge, but it is much easier if you start this routine as early as possible and make it a positive process that happens regularly.  

If you need help or guidance, just ask your vet or the Happy Tail Grooming staff, who are all experienced in this area and would be happy to assist you. Trimming dogs’ nails is one of the most common demonstrations clients ask us for.