Why You Need to Clip Your Dog's Nails

Nail trimming is an important part of a normal grooming routine. However, clipping a dog’s nails is important for much more than just a regular dog grooming routine.

Nails, if not clipped will continue to grow to a very long length. Long nails have a tendency to curve inward and this will cause their tips to exert pressure on the skin, causing the dog a lot of pain especially when walking.

Clipping helps keep the nails at desired levels thus prevents this from occurring. Long nails cripple the dog and may cause the feet to splay.

Nails will collect a lot of dirt when the dog is walking around. This dirt end up accumulating in the nail and also acts as a harbour for a lot of disease-causing microbes. When the dog scratches himself with such nails, the microbes and dirt are transferred to other parts of the body resulting in infections.

Dogs that spend a lot of time outdoor are more likely to get longer nails than their counterparts who walk on pavements. This is because the pavements will help to keep the dog’s nails at desired levels. However, even in such dogs, trimming the nails is still advised since the nails may chip off badly and this is very painful for the dog.

Nails should be trimmed with clippers that are specially made for this purpose. Never try to clip the dog’s nails with a pair of scissors or the kind of nail clippers you use. Clipping of nails in dogs is not a pleasant experience for most dogs.

In order to make this process less stressful for your dog, it is best that you take some time to learn the best way to clip your dog’s nails before you actually do it. Dog’s nails will vary in hardness, some nails are very hard and additional pressure is usually applied when clipping them.

There is also another tool available known as the dremel. This tool works in a slightly different manner from the clipper since it grinds rather than cuts the nail.

When cutting the nails, you should make sure you can see the position of the quick. In dogs with white nails, the quick will appear as a pink or gray line at some point on the dog’s nails. This point marks where the nerves are, never cut past the quick since it will cause the dog a lot of pain and also cause bleeding. In dogs with darker nails, the quick is not easily seen and you have to be very careful when cutting so that you know when you’re about to reach the quick.

Nails are normally clipped bit by bit till you see the quick. Make nail clipping less stressing for the dog by first getting the dog used to you handling his feet. Initially, just hold his paws and stretch them or massage them then let them go. If the dog is afraid of the sound of the clipper during nail clipping or becomes aggressive, give him some time to calm down. You can even cut the nails over the course of a few days.

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