While it's likely that you'll have to trim your dog's nails fairly regularly, taking your dog on walks outdoors can help cut down on the number of trimmings a dog needs. Dogs who don't walk or run on hard surfaces will need their nails trimmed more often.
A grinding tool can give a smoother finish to the nail than the clipper and works well on thick nails. When working with dogs that have black nails, there is less chance of hitting the quick because owners feel that they have more control in the trimming process.
Grinding your dog's nails is a pain-free way of keeping them groomed. Nail grinders work by filing your dog's nails to ensure that they are blunt without causing any trauma or stress to them. So, your dog won't run away from you the moment he catches a glimpse of the nail grinder.
A good rule of thumb is that if you can hear your dog's nails "click" on the kitchen floor when walking, they need to be trimmed. You should also keep an eye out for any changes in your dog's walk as this might also indicate foot pain from lengthy nails.
Many dog owners who don't feel comfortable clipping their pet's nails will use a file instead. Personally, I usually clip my dogs' nails and then file down the sharp edges using either a nail file or a dog nail grinder like Dremel.
When trimming your dog's black toenails, follow these guidelines:
- Go slowly.
- Hold your dog's paw firmly but gently.
- Position the clippers to cut the nail from top to bottom (not side to side)
- Trim a very small length of the nail, about 1/16th of an inch.
Turn the Dremel on, ask your dog for her paw. Hold the paw firmly, but gently and put the grinding tool directly on the dog's nail briefly, grinding some of the nail. Click (or yip) and let go of your dog's paw. Deliver a fabulous treat.
No dog wants to be hurt and no person wants to hurt their dog! Cutting a nail too short is colloquially called “quicking” because we call the nail bed, where the nerves and blood vessels live, the “quick”. So when you quick a dog, you damage the nerves and vessels and it hurts (a lot) and bleeds (a really lot).
For maintenance, cut every two weeks. To shorten, cut every week. Once the insensitive nail is thinned out and isn't supporting the quick, the quick will dry up and recede. This will allow you to cut your dog's nails even shorter.
To view the quick of the nail, gently lift your dog's paw and look at the center of the unclipped nail head-on. If the nail has a small dark circle at the center, it indicates the beginning of the quick of the nail. Do not clip any nail that has a circle in the center as you'll be clipping into the quick.
Today, one way to allow your dog's quicks to recede naturally is by allowing Scruffy to spend hours running, walking and playing on rough surfaces. In this case, the regular pressure on the nail will wear the nails and force the quick to naturally recede over time, resulting in very short quicks.
Start by cutting small sections of the nail (especially if your dog has dark colored nails). Work your way slowly back to just in front of the quick. Do one paw at a time, until all of his nails sit just off the floor. Using a file or an electric grinder, smooth out the tips of his nails.
If the nails get too long, they can curve over and grow into the foot pad. Uncut nails can also split down to the quick (this is what bleeds when you cut the nail too short), causing pain, infection, and other issues. Keeping a dog's nails the proper length is a critical part of keeping a dog healthy and out of pain.
If a dog's nails are too long, you will hear them clack when the dog walks on hard surfaces. Deciding if your dog's nails are too long is quite simple. The claws should not protrude over the pad and should not touch the ground when standing. You can cut your dog's nails at home.
