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Designed with love in Sydney
Regular nail trimming is a major part of your dog’s well-being. It keeps the dog's stature and movement normal, avoiding pain and integrity of joints and keeps the overall mobility of your pet healthy.
It's normal to feel a bit nervous when trying to trim your dog's nail. However, with these easy and useful tips, the procedure becomes much easier and relaxing. Start getting rid of nail-cutting anxiety by learning and practising these amazing tips that make the process simple and smooth.
Gradual preparation of your dog.
Use a calm environment and positive reinforcement with the appropriate tools.
Be patient and observe your dog's signals.
Gradual desensitisation.
Consider supplements or medication.
This guide comprehensively outlines everything that a dog owner should know with regard to clipping and cutting a dog's nails in as safe, effective, and stress-free way as possible.
As a responsible pet owner, keeping your dog's nails at the right length is not a trivial but an important task that greatly affects your pet's health, comfort, and quality of life. Overgrown nails can cause pain, mobility impairment, and expose your pet to potential injuries, risks of infections, and long-term complications in muscles and joints.
Painful walking: Maintaining your dog's nails is not just a superficial issue, but a fundamental part of pet care that has a significant impact on your pet's health, comfort, and overall quality of life. Do you know how often you should walk your dog?
Overgrown nails can cause a range of problems, including pain, mobility issues, increased risk of injuries, infections, and even long-term complications affecting the musculoskeletal system and joints.
Joint stress: Long nails force the foot into unnatural angles where the toes are splayed, influencing how the joints align from paw to spine.
This eventually becomes the habitual way of standing and walking, placing excess chronic pressure on some of the major joints — flexors, wrists, elbows, knees, and hips. Dogs continue to develop poor postures with much poorer ranges of motion, resulting in continuous pain and marked restriction of mobility.
Nail breakage or infections: Overgrown nails can expose the dog to potential nail injuries, such as splitting, cracking, or tearing. They tend to catch more easily on carpets, furniture, or outside objects, resulting in painful breaks that expose sensitive tissue and nerves. Often, these bleeds and incisions incur infections requiring veterinary intervention.
Such regular inspections and trims of the dog's nails should be done proactively. This way, your dog will not be affected by pain, injury, and health problems in the long run. Signs are presented in the table below to show that the dog's nails are already long and need to be cut:
Get the right tools or a set of tools made for dog nails rather than adapting human products. Not using the appropriate tools is dangerous for your pet's unique needs, which makes up the foundation of a safe and effective dog nail care practice.
Dog nail clippers or grinders: A dog's claws are much thicker and stronger than human nails, so it's necessary to use appropriate, specialised tools in different designs. Grinders give you more control over how much nail length you remove, which decreases the chances of cutting into the quick. Grinders are also helpful for smoothing sharp edges resulting from trimming.
Styptic powder (in case of bleeding): However careful, nail cutting can be too short and quick. This will usually cause pain and bleeding in your dog. Styptic powder or a styptic pencil is a must in any nail trimming kit, as it rapidly halts bleeding due to its action in promoting blood clot formation.
Treats for positive reinforcement: Rewarding calm and cooperative behaviour at every stage of nail trimming is essential for developing positive associations and reducing anxiety. Fixed to the surface, lickable treats or toys filled with snacks can serve to divert and settle your dog.
It is important to use vet-approved clippers that cater specifically to your dog's needs while performing safe, easy, and less stress-inducing nail trimming.
This guide offers a step-by-step and clear approach to cutting dog nails safely, including helpful suggestions on preparation, proper techniques, and care to make the experience anxiety-free for you and your pet.
A quiet environment can minimise your pet’s stress and fear while clipping its nails. Dogs are very sensitive to all sorts of energy and noise, and a quiet and calm atmosphere would surely make them more comfortable and cooperative.
Nail clipper tools should be introduced to your dog before nail trimming so that fear and stress can be reduced and positive associations can be developed. Moreover, the entire process can be made easier and safer for you and your dog.
By holding your dog's paw gently but firmly, you ensure that safety, control, and comfort are maintained throughout the nail clipping for both you and your dog. Noticing that gentle thumb pressure against the paw pad while providing support from above to the toe extends the dog's nail for easier viewing and visibility of where to safely trim without cutting into the quick.
The pink section of the nail is important for toenail clipping, as it contains blood vessels and nerves, which, when touched, can result in pain, bleeding, and injury. Knowing the endpoint of the quick will help avoid damaging the nails. It ensures a positive experience with the procedure, enabling the establishment of trust and tolerance for grooming in your dog.
Clipping your dog’s dark nails is much harder because the quick is much less visible. Clip in stages and trim off small amounts at a time. You can use light and visual cues or a nail grinder.
Trimming very small increments of pieces was less likely to cut the quick, resulting in pain and bleeding accidentally. Moreover, small cuts allow you to control the trimming instead of trying to cut big chunks together, which would minimise mistakes. To maintain proper nail shape and health, cut the nails at a 45-degree angle, following their natural curve.
The positive association created between nail trimming and the dog receiving treats after each successful nail clip enhances the dog's comfort and reduces its stress. Treats reinforce the good behaviour of the dog by associating nail clipping with something enjoyable. This enhances cooperation and makes the home grooming experience much easier for both dog and owner.
On average, dogs will need their nails trimmed regularly, probably between three and four times a year. The specific period will depend on the dog's overall physical activity level, age, size, and the surfaces it travels on. If a dog regularly frequents hard surfaces, such as concrete or asphalt, it is less likely to need trimming because it would have some natural wear.
Underneath these are dogs that are less active and stay mainly on soft surfaces like grass, which may need more regular trims, sometimes even once a week.
Usually, puppies, along with senior dogs, may require more regular sessions with the trimmer, probably because their nails grow much faster or because they are less active, respectively. The indications that long nails need trimming include clicking sounds on hard surfaces, curling up of nails, or raking on carpets.
Avoiding common mistakes when cutting a dog's nails helps the procedure remain safe, calm, and totally effective. Here are the crucial things to avoid:
Cutting the quick: Once you cut into the quick, the sensitive, vascularised portion of the nail, you immediately inflict tremendous pain and bleeding that could heighten fear and stress. Trimming less in such situations, especially if the quick is dark and cannot be visualised, means using good lighting.
Rushing the process: Rushing creates the possibility of an error, such as cutting too much nail or stressing the dog. Therefore, it is a good idea to slow down the entire process and trim a few nails whenever the dog becomes stressed.
Using dull clippers can cause pain, splintering, and damage due to uneven cuts. You must choose the correct type of trimmers to match the dog in terms of size and nail thickness and keep them sharpened. While electric nail grinders may offer a gentler option in some cases, they are not always suitable for every dog.
Skipping nervous dog preparation: If you jump straight into nail cutting without priming your dog by paw handling and getting familiar with the trimming tools, the dog may get anxious and resist. The best way to prepare is through gradual desensitisation, which includes frequent positive interactions with the paws and trimming tools, building bonds and trust, and calming nerves.
Accidents, such as cutting your dog's nails too short and causing minor bleeding, are common. However, if you stay calm, reassure your pet, and care for its wound properly, the incident can be dealt with thoroughly.
The bleeding can be stopped by gently pressing the bleeding nail with a clean cloth, paper towel, or gauze for a couple of minutes. Your dog may not like this, so remain calm yet firm. Gently apply a clotting agent to the bleeding nail while putting direct but gentle pressure.
Knowing when to enlist professional help for your dog's nails is essential for safety and reducing stress levels for both of you. The following will serve as pointers to consult with a veterinary doctor or professional groomer:
Very fearful dogs: Dogs that show extreme anxiety, fear, stress, aggression, or resistance to nail cutting will require professional handling for safety.
Overgrown, curling nails: Excessively long nails or curling into paw pads would necessitate expert help.
Past trauma from nail cutting: If your dog was traumatised with previous nail cutting, it's best to get the job done by the experts.
Professional grooming and veterinary treatment of nails ensure that they are trimmed safely and to the correct length, preventing pain, discomfort, and future health problems related to overgrown nails. Well-trimmed nails ensure that your dog moves well, has healthy joints, and is generally healthy, while avoiding possible infections, injuries, and bad posture that may develop due to too-long or improperly trimmed nails.
Gradual desensitisation and positive reinforcement, exercise and general environmental stabilisation, and possibly calming aids are helpful for relaxing your dog before you nail cut.
To safely cut your dog's nails, ensure that the quick is not cut, as it is the very sensitive part in the nail that contains blood vessels and nerves inside.
It’s common to cut the quick of your dog's nails accidentally. However, it can be controlled or dealt with calmly and effectively to minimise the pain and prevent future problems.
For the most successful and least traumatic experience for your dog, a combination of both tools is recommended: clippers for the initial trim and grinders to smooth and fine-tune. Whatever method you use, regular maintenance of your dog's nails is essential to prevent discomfort, injury, and other pet health issues.
The puppy should be prepared, and the tools set up for cutting nails. Gradually get the puppy used to touching its paws, then clip them very slowly and carefully, with regular nail upkeep.
