Cutting Them Down to Size -- Trimming Dog Nails

I recently returned from a music festival in another state to find that my six dogs seriously needed some nail trimming. Since they have black toe nails, it is difficult to see the "quick," so everyone is wary of trimming the nails. The job is left for me. It is a rare day when I don't cut one of the little guy's toe nails too short and they bleed. {sniff} They still seem to love me though despite the trauma. I find the same thing happens in my violin studio. When I tell a student that it's time to cut the student's nails, the student's eyes widen, and they shy away. From their mother, not me. Apparently there are a few moms who cut their children's nails too short. Not that I'm comparing children to dogs, mind you.

There are two schools of thought about trimming dog nails: dogs like it or they don't like it. Well, that was helpful, wasn't it? My husband and I raise the puppies in our home. From the minute that we pick them up, we are squeezing a little paw or ear gently, tugging softly on a tail or an ear, and generally helping the little ones become accustomed to the handling that is necessary for good grooming. After about two weeks, I trim the ends of the little puppies' nails so that the ends are not so pointed and hurtful to the momma dog. I trim the sharp hook ends every two weeks and often show the new owners how to do it before the puppy is removed to his or her new home.

If I have a dog who doesn't enjoy nail trimming, I get out the tiny doggie treats and put them prominently before the dog. Then I trim one nail and reward with lots of praise and a little treat. Maybe the dog will let me trim another nail (anything for that treat!). If not, I'll try trimming again the next day.

I find that most of the time, I can entreat the dog to let me finish the job in one effort. I also find then that the next time I trim nails, the job goes easier. I cut down the number of treats I give. At this point in time, I just trim my dogs and then reward with a treat. Sometimes we all forget about the treats because we are more interested in something else going on in the yard.

Now, I did not intend this post discussion to be a long discussion about nail trimming. There is much information on the web about that, although there is also some information that does not seem useful. I have also encountered dogs that appear to be severely traumatized about nail trimming. I am not sure whether that stems from a past abusive situation or the dog is neurotic.

I adopted one of my dogs. I am not certain how often his previous owner cut his nails, if at all. In such cases, the "quick" often extends longer than the usual nail situation. The quick is the nerve endings and blood vessels inside the nail. I cut the hooked edge of the nail, waited a week, and then cut a little more. In the between time, the quick got pushed back a little bit further as the dog walked on the shortened nail. I continued in this fashion until the nail was trimmed to the appropriate length I wanted. Then I kept the nails trimmed on a regular basis thereafter.

Here are some places with information you might find useful:

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/dog_claws.aspx (cutting a dog's claws; Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine; they cut the black claws deeper than I do but the pictures are great!)

http://www.jointanimalservices.org/pubs/TrimDogNails.pdf (brief PDF about how to trim a dog's nails)

http://dogliness.blogspot.com/2006/06/importance-of-trimming-dogs-nails.html (the importance of trimming a dog's nails and a lengthy tutorial)

Nail trimming is just another one of those things my dogs and I do together. It is a nice little time we spend, just the two of us, as I put my arms around my sweet darlings one at a time, and talk sweet nothings in their little ears. They seem to enjoy the process as much as I do.