Grooming: Nail care for dogs

When you groom your dog, it’s important to incorporate nail trimming and overall dog nail care into the routine. Untrimmed dog nails can be a problem whether it’s scratching up floors and furniture to deformed feet for your dog. (Consider the weekly trimmings pet pedicures for your pooch!)

When your dog walks for instance, if you hear a little pitter patter, in other words, a clicking sound of nails hitting the floor, you’ll know for sure it’s time for a trim. But, with proper weekly nail care for your dog, it shouldn’t reach that point.

First, invest in a good pair of dog nail trimmers for an appropriate size for your pet. With the right dog nail trimmers, they can last a very long time.

Make the dog nail care a fun bonding experience! Sit on the floor with your dog, the trimmers, and some tissues to help stop bleeding if you hit the blood vessel running down the middle of your dog’s nail. As your dog’s nails grow, the vessel grows as well. The longer you wait in between dog nail trimmings, the vessel will be closer to the end of the nail, therefore increasing the odds of bleeding during the trimming.

Incorporate dog nail care into your dog’s weekly routine. Not only is it good for proper care, it will alert you to possible foot problems which may be lurking.

If your dog squirms during the dog nail care process, start slowly. Hold his toes firmly for about ten to twenty seconds and do not let him mouth or bite at you. The handling may be difficult to get used to but with time he’ll realize the quicker he sits still, the quicker you can trim the dog’s nails.

Similar to how you would trim a child’s toes, take it one toe at a time and trim very thin pieces off the tip of the dog’s nail until you see a black dot appear. This dot equates to the abovementioned blood vessel that you want to avoid.

If you can accomplish the dog nail care trimming in one sitting, terrific! If he won’t let you trim nails on all four feet at once, take a break. Don’t forget the dewclaws!! If they haven’t been removed on your dog, dewclaws are approximately one to four inches above the feet on the inner side of the legs. If they’re not trimmed, they can grow incredibly long to curl up and grow into the soft tissue, not unlike an ingrowned toenail.

So, once you incorporate weekly nail care into your dog’s grooming routine, it will become a habit for both you and your dog. At The Dog Bowl, nothing is more important than your pets’ health and overall well being. For more information about nail care for your dog, call us at 713-529-0334 or toll-free at 1-877-4RAW-DOG.