Canine Nail Trimming

The hygiene of your pet is extremely important for his long term health. This will make the difference between a healthy and happy puppy that has lived a long life and a young puppy that has turned into a sick full-grown adult that has developed disease and health complications and has spent his life at the vet and has taken a lot of meds. The canine’s nails and ears should be taken care of every single time. The canine will be a bit impatient when the time has come for you to trim his nails but you will have to keep him calm and obedient if you want to get them done. He will feel more comfortable with them short and if they would have been allowed to endure they would have been ingrown and the dog would have suffered greatly. Dogs will experience problems in walking and they will in many cases be forced to shift the weight of their body so they can walk properly. The vein present in the nail area will expand if the nails are not trimmed on time.
The nails of the dog will either need trimming or clipping depending whether you keep him in the house or outside. There are canines that belong to various breeds and their nails grow a lot faster than the ones of other canines. Bassets and Dachshunds have nails which have been noticed to grow a lot faster than the ones of other canines. Outdoor canines will only have to have their nails clipped. While being outside they will wear and tear their nails by rubbing them on the ground.
Begin by examining the nails of your canine from one side and then the other. Also take a look at the pad, while noticing the horizontal line that begins from the pad and extends toward the nail. When the nail has grown and it extends the pad it is time to cut it down to size. You should be careful as to how short you make it because there are blood vessels present near the nail. These blood vessels are named the quick. This portion of a canine’s nail will be slightly darker in color than the rest of the area and you should be able to notice it in time.
Always keep in mind how fragile your nails are before proceeding with trimming the nails of your canine. If you make a mistake and cut too deep and make them too short the canine will be in a lot of pain and they will bleed. You should stock up on some corn starch or a styptic stick in the event this happens. Even a person may bleed and feel pain if he cuts his nails too short therefore a canine is similar to a man in many ways.
The market is home to many types of nail clippers and you should purchase one that looks like a guillotine. It is the most efficient one to have and you should also purchase some styptic powder, corn starch or a styptic stick so you may be prepared in the event you cut his nails too deep.

If you were to live in a world of happiness and sunshine the canine will obey you without question all the time and he will have no objections in letting you trim his nails for him. In our present world the dog will make a couple of objections by squirming and moving around too much but you should proceed to calm him down and continue clipping his nails. You should ask a family member to restrain the canine while you are performing nail trimming. A family member can prove to be priceless in a time like this when he or she is forced to use the weight of their body to hold the canine in place.

You should take your time if this is the first time when cutting the nails of your canine. The clipper should only take off small bits of the dog’s nail until you reach to a portion that is slightly darker in color. You should stop before this area in order not to hit the quick and make the canine suffer pain and have his nails bleed right after. You should also file the nails that have been trimmed and leave the ones that are bleeding as they are.
Inspect the leg of your canine and locate the dew claw. The canines that are forced to live outside in the yard have no means of shorting this section either. This portion of the nail present in the canine’s leg can grow to extreme lengths and become buried in the canine’s skin. There are dog breeds that have back nails on their legs. The Saint Bernard is an example of canine that comes with two sets of nails on the back of their legs.

Once the canine has been obedient through the nail trimming process you should ensure you reward him for his patience with a treat. The family member helping you can offer him treats to distract him every now and then while you are trimming his nails.

Content written by Kelly Mitts of Oh My Dog Supplies, where you can find a incredible selection of designer dog beds online.