Trimming Your Dog's Nails

Title: Trimming Your Dog's Nails
Author: Miss Debra Rae

Part of your dog's good hygiene is keeping their nails trimmed.
One of the main reasons to keep your dog's nails trimmed is so
they have proper traction. If their nails get too long, your dog
may change their gait which affects their legs, shoulders, hips
and back. This may lead to other skeletal problems as well.

Long nails also scratch up the floor (even if it's carpeting).
When your dog has an itch they scratch and could lacerate their
skin, ears or bellies to bleeding. Long nails can also scratch
their human.

Many Veterinarians will trim your dog's nails for free. If it's
not free, it costs about $10-15. If the thought of trimming your
dog's nails stresses you out, take your dog to the veterinary
office about every 3-4 weeks. It's o.k. to pamper yourself and
your dog with this service. Make it a major event and take along
their favorite treat.

If you're willing to venture into the land of dog nail
trimming, here are a few tips: First and foremost, get some dog
nail trimmers. Buy the good ones. Spend the $15-$25 on your dog.
The trimmers don't need to be the platinum edition but they do
need to be sharp. Also, the better quality trimmers last longer
and many come with styptic powder (more on this later).

To get the most cooperation from your dog for nail trimming,
start out slow. Remember you're training your dog to get a mini
manicure. Have paw caressing sessions for several days to get
your dog comfortable with you touching their paws. For the
nervous, skittish or anxious dogs, take more time. Every time
your dog allows you to touch, caress or massage their paws,
praise them the entire time and give them a treat at the end.
Positive reinforcement works wonders and food is a major
motivator.

When you trim your dog's nails, take off the tip only. This is
about 1/8" TO 1/4". Start with the smaller trim size; you can
always do more. Be careful. If you trim too much and cut the
quick, there will be blood and it'll hurt (this is exactly like
cutting a human nail too short). If this happens, don't panic.
Be calm and praise your dog for trusting you. You want to get
the nail into the styptic powder immediately. Often this comes
in a container along with your trimmers. If you don't have any
styptic powder, use corn starch (put the corn starch in a
shallow cereal bowl).

To get the powder or corn starch to stop the bleeding, gently
put pressure on your dogs paw to extend the bleeding nail. Dip
it into the powder which will adhere to the wet surface. Leave
the styptic powder or corn starch on until it falls off by
itself. While you're doing this praise your dog for being such a
good boy/good girl. Remember their nail is sore and they need
reassurance that you'll take care of everything.

Don't stop your session. Finish trimming your dog's remaining
nails and take off a bit less than the one that was cut too
short. Continue to praise, praise, and praise. After you've
completed trimming your dog's nails, give them a treat. Maybe a
few treats. The association your dog makes between letting you
trim their nails and them getting a treat will make subsequent
sessions easier.

If your dog has super long claw type nails, you can either trim
every 2 weeks the 1/8" to 1/4" until they're the desired length
or take your dog to a veterinarian's office and have their nails
dremeled. (a fancy word for an electric spinning nail file).
Dremeling will cost anywhere from $45-$75. This includes the
knock out juice (puppy valium), the dremeling itself and a
kennel for a day. This is a great alternative for people who
want the nails trimmed now.

Whichever avenue you choose, be sure it's the best for your
canine family member. As always, if you have questions or
concerns regarding your dogs nail care, please consult your
Veterinarian or veterinary technician.

About The Author: Miss Rae has been a poet & writer since
college at UW, class of 1996. Click on over to her site for all
your dog's needs from training programs and nutrition to
choosing a vet, dental health and books galore. Visit
http://www.goodpoopy.com/index.html.

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