Silly Dog Nail Question

[etruscan]

[etruscan]

I have been taking care of two dogs for the last several months and so far, so good, except that their nails are getting really long. Is this a problem for a dog’s health? One dog hates to have her feet handled and the owners tell me that cutting her nails involves a muzzle for the dog and two strong people to clip the nails. If necessary I could take her to the vet, and I will if cutting the nails is important, but otherwise I will wait until her annual visit in a few months. So, all you long-time dog owners, … what is the story on dog nails? Thanks. 🙂

[Skeeterdeee]

It’s VERY important! Their nails can actually grow so long that they grow back into the pads of their feet. Plus I think it’s more comfortable for them to walk. If you have a Petsmart nearby, they clip nails (with muzzles if necessary! My Chihuahua requires one, too!). I watch a LOT of Animal Planet! 🙂

[Kujacker]

Dog nails get long when they are not walked. A dog that is walked regularly will never have problems with long nails.
As Skeeter said, it’s important to keep them trimmed.

[Kristen]

Kujacker wrote:

Dog nails get long when they are not walked. A dog that is walked regularly will never have problems with long nails.
As Skeeter said, it’s important to keep them trimmed.

Not necessarily true. If you walk them on pavement all the time, then probably the nails will file themselves down, but not if you walk on soft ground (like a trail in the forest/etc, like where I used to take my childhood dog. All dirt and grass back there).

I would take the dog to a petsmart or something similar. I hear they aren’t too expensive either…. (my parents just used the all encompassing treat bribe with our dog, but she didn’t mind having her feet handled, either).

[Rusti]

It’s better to keep them trimmed to avoid having the quick grow out long and you having to start the laborious process of trimming a little at a time to get the quick to retreat again.

It takes a very long time for the nails to curl back into the pads and honestly it doesn’t happen super often, and mostly in older dogs. I would say if you’re up to it, you probably ought to trim them a bit at least once a month, just as a matter of grooming and comfort for pooch.

[Kujacker]

Dragon87 wrote:

Kujacker wrote:

Dog nails get long when they are not walked. A dog that is walked regularly will never have problems with long nails.
As Skeeter said, it’s important to keep them trimmed.

Not necessarily true. If you walk them on pavement all the time, then probably the nails will file themselves down, but not if you walk on soft ground (like a trail in the forest/etc, like where I used to take my childhood dog. All dirt and grass back there).

Seeing as I live in Arizona, and have for the past… oh, 20 years, we only have pavement here, and, up until the death of my mother, my dog never had problems with his nails (he’s probably 12 or 13). Now he has trouble walking anyway, so we have to trim them instead of walking.

I wish I had forests to walk in. Sorry, I was speaking from my experience being in this horrid state.

[dragonmedley]

We trim the nails when the “clicky-clicky” sound on the flooring gets to me… 😀

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[Kristen]

Kujacker wrote:

Seeing as I live in Arizona, and have for the past… oh, 20 years, we only have pavement here, and, up until the death of my mother, my dog never had problems with his nails (he’s probably 12 or 13). Now he has trouble walking anyway, so we have to trim them instead of walking.

I wish I had forests to walk in. Sorry, I was speaking from my experience being in this horrid state.
I was just stating a fact, it wasn’t against you at all (and I was assuming you were talking about pavement).

I guess I’m lucky to have grown up near a forest (and in town too), though now all there is here, is pavement. 🙁 I can relate to how you feel about wanting some woods to walk in. I can go to the river valley, but that’s all groomed trails and crud.

[etruscan]

Thank you all very much! I had hoped that the walks would be enough to keep the nails worn down (we walk on a mix of pavement and grass) but obviously not. Petsmart is a good suggestion. I will check with them and get the nails taken care of. 🙂

[Rachel]

Smaller dogs can have a problem with toenails, too, because they’re too light to effectively wear them down. But, yeah, what everyone else said. The quicks grow long inside the nail if not regularly trimmed, and if you clip too far down, they bleed. And it hurts! So, keeping them shorter helps keep from hurting them.

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