How to Trim Your Dog’s Nails

Whenever you go to the dog groomer, you can have the groomer take care of clipping your dog’s nails for you. Otherwise, in between appointments, you’re going to need to handle the task yourself. Unless your dog is frequently running on hard surfaces that naturally keep their nails short, you’ll need to trim the nails every week or two. When you hear that clicking, you know it’s time for a trim.

Most dogs really despise having their nails trimmed, so it’s usually not going to be an enjoyable activity for either the dog or the human. You can make the process go a little smoother by offering your dog a treat and maybe having a helper on hand to keep the dog calm with pets and scratches.

Your dog’s toenail is made up of the actual nail and the “quick,” which is the pink part of the dog’s nails that deliver blood to the area. You should avoid cutting into the quick, because this could result in quite a bit of bleeding and pain for your dog.

Here are the steps you should follow when trimming your dog’s nails between appointments for dog grooming in Henderson, NV:

• Hold the dog’s foot gently, but in a steady position.
• Cut off just a bit of the end of each toenail. You can use either a guillotine or scissors-type clipper, but start by taking a small amount off. If the nail feels spongy at all, you should stop what you’re doing immediately—this means you’re hitting the quick, and proceeding any further could result in pain to your dog.
• If any bleeding starts, stop it as soon as possible. The quick will bleed quite a bit if you cut it, so you might need to either use a nail cauterizer (which uses heat to stop the bleeding) or a type of styptic powder that can be applied with a cotton swab. You should make sure you have a damp washcloth near you while trimming, just in case you hit the quick.
• If you are unable to get all the dog’s nails done at once because your dog is being too uncooperative, don’t worry—it’s completely fine to do one paw at a time and have breaks in between. In fact, for some dogs that have had a bad experience with a cut quick in the past or simply are incapable of holding still during the process, taking it slowly might be necessary.
• If you are uncomfortable with cutting your dog’s nails, you can take the dog into the groomer more frequently, but we recommend asking your groomer or veterinarian to demonstrate nail trimming for you so you can see the exact techniques they use and the length to which you should aim to cut the dog’s nails.

These are just a few things to keep in mind as you trim your dog’s nails in between grooming appointments. For more information about dog grooming in Henderson, NV, we encourage you to contact us today at The Soggy Dog.

Categorised in: Dog Grooming in Henderson

This post was written by Writer