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Taking Care of Your Dog's Nails

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Owning a dog indubitably means taking on a lot of responsibility, we all know this. Food, vet bills, toys, training, etc. It's a lot of work. A lot of new dog owners are overwhelmed by it all and despite their best efforts, sometimes overlook what I consider to be one of the most important things to know when you own a dog: proper nail care. It intimidates a lot of people but proper understanding of a few techniques can make life a lot better for you and your dog. Even if your dog walks on a lot of concrete and doesn't have dew claws and therefore doesn't require a lot of attention, it's still good to know what TO DO if ever necessary... you ARE the best dog owner in the world afterall, right? ;)

Why it's important

Neglecting to take care of a dog's nails can result in horrible things. Your dog's nails - particularly the dew claws - can continue to grow until they've wrapped completely around and begin to grow into its paw pads, causing your dog extreme pain. This can cause pretty nasty infection and is completely avoidable. I worked in a grooming salon for some time and was heartbroken when somebody brought in a poor dog with dew claws growing into their skin. The owners weren't bad people, they were simply unaware and didn't know to check for these things. I would have to send them away - at this point, it needs to be taken care of by a vet.

Additionally, keeping your dog's nails short will help reduce damage done to your furniture, hardwood floors and most importantly, skin.

Did You Know?

Ever notice that your dog's hind paw nails grow slower than the front? It's because your dog uses his back legs to "kick off" in running and the increased usage results in the back nails grinding shorter against concrete, hard ground, brick, etc.

Nail Care Items

Some products you should look into before taking care of your dog's nails

The Best Advice

Get your puppy used to nail care from the start. Make it a point to play with her paws and touch her nails until she is completely comfortable with it. Then incorporate your nail clippers/grinder into the dog's atmosphere without using it on her. Make sure she is comfortable before advancing further. Once you start tending to her nails, do it as soon as needed to keep it frequent and make her more used to it. A lot of dogs are TERRIFIED by nail clipping but you can prevent this behavior in pups!

How-To: Nail Clipping

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-trim-your-dogs-toenails.html

The difficultly of clipping your dog's nails really depends on the color of his nails. If they are white, you should be able to distinguish where the quick is - the pink towards the base of the nail. If your dog has black nails, it's practically impossible to determine where the quick is just by looking on the outside. Cutting the quick is BAD, but can be avoided. Start by becoming completely comfortable with the clippers in your hand - you want complete control. Position yourself comfortably and hold the dog's paw with your other hand. He may try to snatch - be firm, but don't let him hurt himself trying to flee. Start trimming the nail in very small increments. If your dogs nails are darker and you can't see the quick, trim with great caution and check for a "wet" dark circle to appear in the center of your dog's nail. This means you are approaching the quick and have trimmed as far as you can without hurting your dog. Job very well done.

How-To: Nail Grinding

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_14407_FS21382P_01.jpg

Same as the clippers, become completely comfortable with the grinder in your hand and position yourself correctly. A lot of dogs are truly scared of the noise and vibration the grinder causes so this requires a high level of comfort with the dog. It's a good idea to restrain your dog with a leash and you might even want to use a muzzle. Your dog might be scared, but you aren't going to hurt her. Hold the paw with a firm grip and single out a nail by holding your dog's toe loosely but as you would hold a pen in your hand. Use the grinder to slowly shave away at the sides, layer by layer.

If you have a small dog that is weary of having his nails messed with, try putting him on top of your washing machine before you clip his nails. He'll be more distracted with the height and keeping his balance and you'll be able to tend to his nails without a fuss.

Why Grinding is Better

There may be a lot of reasons you wouldn't consider grinding your dogs nails; maybe she is old and has never been introduced to a nail grinder and therefore would not be able to handle it. Remember; dogs can be extremely stressed out and you should not continue if your dog's eyes become red, panting increases exponentially, she starts to drool or pee.

These are just some advantages I've found with grinding

Clipping can leave the edges of your dog's nails sharp and dangerous. Using a grinder can make them shorter and smoother - no more scratch marks all over your legs.
The heat from the grinder can help recede the quick without hurting your dog, meaning gradually you will be able to smooth your dog's nails shorter and shorter with ease.
Grinding just LOOKS better.
It's a lot harder to hurt your dog when properly grinding; you can't accidentally slip and cut into the middle of the dog's quick as can happen with clippers.

Important!

If you're going to be taking care of your dog's nails, it's a good idea to keep syptic powder on hand just in case you quick a nail. In lieu of this, corn starch can be used. Just take a pinch and press it against the nail, stopping the blood blow.