Position : Home / Information

How to Trim Your Dog's Toenails

2022-03-10 / 718 Read

If the toenail is not cut for too long, it will cause the toenail to bend, deform and eventually grow into the flesh. Do not cut too deep to avoid bleeding. Trimming your dog toenails will not only make your dog more attractive, but more importantly, ensure better foot health and reduce painful injuries.

How

Preparations

1. Make sure the dog is relaxed and comfortable, if he has never been clipped Toenail (such as a young puppy), sit with him several times a day for about a minute each time, and tap the toenail cutter that will be used on him at the same time. Respond to his voice in a gentle tone, tell him not to be afraid, and gently rub his ears to distract him and reduce his anxiety. Sit down with your dog and talk to him softly to calm him down.

Also, remember that if you're nervous, he'll feel it.

2. Always be friendly during this period and at the end. How you choose to approach this practice has nothing to do with passing mid-term toenail grooming training, but it does make a lot of sense for your dog.

3. In case of injury, you should have hemostatic powder or cornstarch ready in case you accidentally cut too close and cause bleeding. You should do your best to avoid this, but don't blame yourself too much for slipping, even the most experienced groomers sometimes have accidents.

4. To know how to solve the problem of the dog not cooperating. If your dog keeps twitching, try the steps in step 1 until you feel comfortable working. Remember, a dog learns quickly when it comes to whether he can trust you, especially after going through something that has hurt him in the past. But remember that you are the leader, he needs to accept and trust you, it will take a lot of time and effort, now and in the future, are you ready?

Nail clipping

1. Grab the dog's foot firmly and lightly with the palm of your hand, keeping your hand in the same direction as his paw, away from the dog. Just remember not to try to scratch his paws through the pads, even a very cooperative dog will be ticklish and keep pulling their paws away.

2. To secure the toenail, gently place the finger under his paw and use the thumb to secure the toenail being trimmed from above.

3. Identify sensitive areas. If your dog's toenails are white, clear, or light-colored, your job will go well, as you can more easily see the sensitive area inside the center of the toenail, which looks like a little pink or red Blood vessel. If, unfortunately, your dog's toenails are black or dark, you need to be extra careful because you can't see his sensitive areas.

Sensitive sites are the sites of blood vessels and nerve endings. Your dog will be very, very upset if you accidentally cut his sensitive parts, so this should definitely be avoided.

4. Start by trimming your toenails. If this is your first time trimming your dog's toenails or his nails are unusually long, then you need to know how to trim your dog's toenails. It's as simple as stabilizing the guide part of the nail clipper on the surface of the toenail and then cutting a small piece with the blade. This is done because the sensitive area is very close to the tip of the toenail. It is very safe to familiarize yourself with your dog's toenails based on subsequent nail clippings. Each time you cut your toenail, the sensitive area will recede a little. It's wise to do this if your dog has black toenails.

5. Cut toenails. When you're ready to cut your toenails, take a look at the shape of your dog's toenails. You will find that the base of the toenail is relatively straight and does not curve until the tip. Use a toenail clipper to cut off the tip of the toenail, but make sure not to hurt the sensitive areas mentioned in step 3.

You want the blade to reach exactly what you want, but some toenail cutters may slightly obscure the blade, so be careful. The dog will instinctively pull the toes back a bit, but you should quickly dispel his unease and let him see that this is what he should do. The dog is very obedient, and with your comfort, he will cooperate as much as possible with you to trim the next toenail.

6. File the nails. Toenails are trimmed and smoothed with a file.

Dealing with injuries

1. Control. If you accidentally injure a sensitive area and your toenail starts to bleed, don't let your dog run away from you.

If you can't control the situation, your dog will start to be afraid of clipping toenails. Conversely, if you settle him down with a hug, and reassure him that it hurts and that you're sorry, he'll continue to trust you.

2. Stop bleeding. You will need to coat the ends of the toenails with hemostatic powder or cornmeal or flour and press your fingers on the base of the paw and the end of the nail until the bleeding stops.

You need to keep pressing the hemostatic powder for two to three minutes, the longer the time, the better the hemostatic effect.

Don't worry if your dog wants to lick the wound as soon as the bleeding stops. But be sure not to let it bounce for at least fifteen minutes.

3. Leave the dog to a professional. If you don't have any hemostatic powder or cornmeal on hand to stop the bleeding, or you're concerned about not being able to trim your toenails properly, you're better off leaving this task to a pet groomer. Especially when the dog's toenails are dark, the wisest thing to do is to leave it to a pet groomer or someone who is confident in handling emergencies.

Things to keep in mind when trimming your dog's toenails:

Loving hands, gentle or firm verbal communication between you and your dog As important as money is to a bank. He will affirm his efforts from your reaction, and if you continue to develop, the dog will feel more secure.

If your dog can be sedated, it is a very good idea to have your veterinarian trim his toenails, many at no extra charge.

Meticulous care of your toenails can prevent painful injuries such as gait deformities and open claw tears. A dew paw is a dog's thumb, and when they grow too long, they tend to get caught easily and tear from the paw, causing life-threatening bleeding and severe pain. The exposed claws will gradually grow and curve, and if left unattended for long periods of time, they will develop paw pads and cause gait deformities, which are extremely distressing for animals.

To get the sensitive area to recede at a steady rate, your dog's toenails should be trimmed every ten to fourteen days. One way to achieve this goal is to file your toenails every day or every other day. While you're doing this work, think that sidewalks can do this too. You'll find that dogs who spend more time on rough surfaces like concrete yards, asphalt or sidewalks don't need to clip their toenails as often as dogs who live happily ever after on lawns or carpets. They retreat faster than the sensitive areas of our pampered dogs.

Puppies adapt easily to this grooming procedure, but sometimes older dogs can give you unpleasant past experiences. The most important thing for success is patience and gentleness.

Occasionally treat your dog so that he can do the task of clipping his toenails, in a sense you might consider doing the same to motivate your dog to learn something new. You need a reward bag that can make a lot of noise because dogs are sensory animals and the more you use your senses during training, the faster your dog will learn. Also, you may want to think of a keyword for the reward bag, which can also be used for other training purposes, to let him know it's time to practice.

Keeping the habit of giving special rewards for special training for a long time can finally achieve the purpose of reminding the dog that a certain task should be completed at a certain time, and when the new training starts in the future, the requirements you put forward will be very important for the dog. will become more acceptable. Other rewards for play and other purposes.

Bringing joy to the owner is the most important thing in a dog's life. If you can make your dog feel successful in this area, you are at least 90% complete.

If the dog is reluctant to sit alone, an assistant is required to crouch behind him, wrap one arm around the dog's neck to control his head, and use the other hand to control him claws, this is done to prevent the dog from escaping and to avoid injury. However, this is a last resort. Doing so is likely to have a negative impact, making it more difficult to trim your toenails in the future.

After the dog has successfully done it two or three times, intermittent strengthening exercises can begin. The rewards start to taper off, starting with every other toe, then every third toe, every other paw, and finally reaching the goal of only getting rewards at the beginning and end. As the dog completes each stage, he is ready to receive praise and rewards based on your judgment.

When training a dog, a dog's playful nature also needs to be given high priority. By combining training and entertainment, the dog feels successful and will encourage him to continue to improve, even if he doesn't fully enjoy it. In the process of communicating with a happy dog, his receptivity was doubled compared to a dog who felt disappointed by its owner.

Warning

Try not to cut the pink part of your dog's toenail as it may cause bleeding.

If your dog is severely traumatized and is trying to bite while you are holding your dog's paws, it is a better option to take him to the veterinarian where he can be calmed down and treated professionally , which is also a test for the master. Regardless, nail care is an important issue for your pet's health.

If the bleeding does not stop after applying powder and pressing for thirty minutes on the toenail injury, it is necessary to call the veterinarian for help. Sometimes you can also take him to a pet grooming facility that can handle this, in the order you decide.

Preparation Tools

Dog nail clippers, (there are two types, one resembling scissors with short, curved blades, and one resembling Giant Needle Eye, using this type allows you to place your toenail inside the scissors, giving you more precision where the blade goes).

Hemostatics

A small or large towel if you want to wrap your pet.

Quiet space and patience.