Trimming Your Dog’s Nails
Giving your family dog a bath – not a problem. More than likely cleaning your dog’s teeth wouldn’t be an issue. But trimming doggie’s nails, no way! Ok, listen up. This can be done. It’s not nearly as challenging or terrifying as it appears.
Claw trimming in dogs can be done easily enough if you understand how. It may be beneficial to watch someone else (vet, groomer or friend) who is skilful in nail trimming demonstrate first. Some dogs won’t need to have their nails trimmed. Many will naturally wear the nails down or the dried up ends of the nails will merely flake away without you even being aware. But certain breeds, in particular Basset Hounds and Dachshunds may need your assistance with keeping the toe nails moderately short. As much as you’ll never want to, you might as well just count on cutting a nail too short on occasions. It just happens at times, even with experienced groomers. The nail will bleed if you cut it too short, so just be ready for that eventuality.
Get yourself a good pair of dog nail clippers. Ask a veterinarian or the staff in the pet shop which sort they suggest. Place the primary part of the trimmer in the palm of your hand and the moveable part is controlled by your fingers. You need to be able to see the small cutting blade which slides when you squeeze the handle.
Ensure that you aren’t cutting from the top downward; but rather from underneath. Slide the opening over the end of the nail whilst staying in the whitish part of the claw. The pink region of the nail is the live part and has blood vessels throughout. Ideally you should be able to see where the pink part starts.
If your pet has dark nails you may not be able to see any pink to recognise where the live part of the nail starts. Simply do a bit at a time with the dark nails. Examine the end of the nail. The dead area generally is whitish and when you cut further into the end of the nail you will start to see a dark area. That dark area is where the live part starts.
When you’re ready to cut, and you are sure you are not at the live, pink part of the nail make a smooth, quick squeeze on the handle while holding the trimmer steady. Don’t try to "pop" the end of the nail off; it will fall away by itself. You can file the edges or just let your dog wear the nail smooth. Taking your dog for a walk on the street can help them file down.
Understand that at some time you will cut too short. When this happens, position a tiny piece of tissue paper firmly against the end of the nail and hold it for a couple of minutes. Better yet, have some cornstarch or flour available and put a small quantity against the bleeding end of the nail and hold it there with your finger. This works right away. Or you can do nothing and the bleeding should stop in about 5 minutes. If it persists in bleeding much more than that, give your vet a call.
You can do this!. Play with your canine’s feet first to get them used to the idea. If you do it once a week, it won’t seem like such a tragic event. If you can only do one paw daily, that’s alright also. Man’s best friend needs you to do it for him. Relax and enjoy your dog!
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.