Dogs are a bone of contention for many pet parents. As per 2022 reports by Forbes, around 44.5% of U.S. households own dogs, and around 41% of owners practice at-home dog grooming. While dog nail trimming is an important part of a dog’s grooming routine, ensuring comfort and health, many owners do not practice this because of the costs involved.
Experts say a dog’s nails require trimming when they start clicking on the floor, indicating they are too long. While you can always take your dog to professional groomers, having the right tools and knowing useful techniques can help you do the job at home without spending much. Here’s everything you must know in this context.
Important Tools for Dog Nail Trimming
Using the right tools to make dog nail trimming safe, convenient, and effective can completely revolutionize the process. Invest in any type of superior quality nail clippers, like Guillotine-style clippers with a hole to poke the nail through, scissor-style clippers with divots at each blade end, perfect for small puppies and dogs and plier-style clippers with springs to manage thick and large nails. Regardless of your choice, ensure precise and clean cuts without causing any discomfort to your dog.
Nail grinders can be a lifesaver for dogs with thicker nails, and the best alternatives to clippers, grinding down the nails gradually, thus reducing the risk of cutting the nails too short. These are specifically useful for larger dogs and those sensitive to clippers. A gentle nail filer is vital to smooth out rough edges after trimming to give the nails a polished and neat finish and prevent sharp edges that can cause discomfort or snag on the surfaces.
Techniques to Convert Dog Nail Trimming into a Stress-Free Activity
- Make Your Dog Comfortable
Even before picking up the clippers or grinders for dog nail trimming, ensure your dog is comfortable with you touching its feet. That’s important because dogs, like humans, can have ticklish feet that desensitize with repetitive handling. That’s exactly what you need to do. Make it a routine to use rewards, like tempting snacks, every time you touch your dog’s feet. Throughout the dog’s & cat nail trimming procedure, shower your pet with reassurance and praise while making them feel appreciated and loved for their cooperation. Go for breaks allowing you and your dog to relax. This kind of positive reinforcement helps the dog associate with the process while reinforcing good behavior.
- Start Slow
Avoid rushing through the process. Trim small nail portions at once and keep rewarding your pup for cooperation. Increase the amount trimmed over several sessions to get your pet accustomed to the process, thus reducing the risk of accidental cuts.
- Hold Your Dog the Right Way When Trimming Its Nails
Make sure to hold your dog’s leg comfortably throughout the trimming session. Bend the legs as they bend naturally, and stand right in front of your dog when trimming its front nails. For more control during the trimming session, face in the same direction as your dog, ensuring its paw pad rests in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Now place your thumb on the dog’s paw, ensuring it is pointed in the same direction as your toes. But remember that not all dogs are the same, and maybe yours will do better if you allow its foot to remain where it is. In that case, stabilize the nail you want to trim instead of holding the dog’s entire paw.
- Expose the Nail to Cut
Decide the toe and isolate the nail you want to cut. For dogs with furry feet, trim or push the hair out of the way to see the nail. Avoid using nail grinders, which tend to grab yank and fur when trimming the nails. Now place your forefinger on the dog’s toe pad and your thumb on the top of the toe skin just above the nail. Next, push your finger up and backward on the toe pad while pushing the thumb forward to extend the nail you want to cut away from the foot.
- Make the First Cut
Praise your dog while holding the clippers to cut the dog’s nail from top to bottom. Avoid cutting the nail side by side as it may crush the nail resulting in uneven and untidy cuts. Try trimming parallel to the nail bottom while squeezing the clipper handles.
- Smooth Out the Edges
Once you are done with the trimming, you will find your dog’s nails round around the edges. Try smoothing them out with a standard nail filer.
- Trimming Black or Overgrown Dog Nails
If your dog’s nails are black or overgrown, spotting them quickly and avoiding cutting them will be difficult. Here the key is to trim the nails slowly in small sections, and with each clip, try spotting the white bulb within the nail, indicating the tip of the quick. Stop immediately when you spot this bulb to avoid clipping it, as it may cause extensive pain to your dog. Remember, the more you trim overgrown or black nails, the more the blood vessels will retract, offering you the scope to trim the nails further in the next session.
And if you trim to an extent where blood draws out from the quick, do not panic; instead, use a bit of styptic powder to stop bleeding. Place the powder on the nail for two to three seconds for instant relief.
- Practice Gentle Handling and Patience
Remember, patience is the key to trimming your dog’s nails professionally. Do not rush with the process; handle your dog’s paws with care and gentleness. Being gentle and patient helps build trust and makes the procedure more comfortable for your dog.
The Bottom Line
Dog nail trimming will no longer be a dreaded affair if you have the right tools and the best techniques. Properly using your dog’s nail-trimming knowledge and different tools will make this routine task a stress-free experience for you and your dog.