I was reminded after a very lovely dog I know, jumped up on me to say hello (yeah, don't mind that as long as their paws are not muddy), but I got a giant scratch on my arm. After a quick glance at her feet, I noticed that her nails were daggers!! Not only were they about 3x a healthy length, but they appeared to have never seen the likes of clippers or a dremmel.
So this is one of my pet peeves - especially with some sport/working dogs. I guess I expect the general pet owner to perhaps not know or not be able to trim their dogs toe nails. However I do see so many sport dogs with horrendously long nails! Yes I know, it doesn't pose a terrible threat to their health if they are a bit long - however with long nails, they are certainly more likely to catch on things. Not to mention anyone who has gotten their nail smashed in something, or torn down accidently can attest to what a sharp pain and discomfort that causes. These things can usually be avoided or minimized with maintenance manicures/pedicures.
At work, we see at least a dozen dogs a day for a nail trim and I can attest that black nails are often more difficult to trim. This is mainly because you cannot visualize the nail bed (or quick) as it is commonly referred to. The quick consists of an artery, vein, lympatic vessel and a nerve. This is why when you cut the nails back too far, not only does your pet yelp or pull its foot away, but you will usually see blood drip from the end. After only a few times of "quicking" your dog - they will soon learn that nail trims are NOT fun and in fact quite painful. Then the next time you go to trim their toenails they run from you or make it extremely difficult for you to trim their nails. This is a learned behaviour.
Adding fuel to their fire - most of the clotting agents used to get the bleeding to subside also sting. So now not only have you severed the tip off a nerve which hurts, but then you either apply a cautery stick or the yellow clotting powder, which causes further transient discomfort. They quickly learn that getting their nails trimmed results in discomfort and hence many of the most wonderful displays of poor behaviour stem from this simple procedure.
Everyone has a different situation. Physical abilities can be extremely limiting as well as dog-human relationships can also be limiting. I will share from personal experience that teaching a puppy to accept nail trimming without fear of pain or discomfort is far more simple then going that way with an adult dog. My first two dobes were both adopted as older dogs (one 8 months and the other 5 years) and had disgustingly long nails where their quicks had grown too long. Keeping their nails a reasonable length was/is a constant stress point. They both hated it and would go to their crates when they saw the clippers come out. It has taken years to get my current female's toe nails to their current length - which is still quite long in my books!
Dieter has had a different experience. From 9 weeks of age he has had his nails trimmed almost weekly and only once has been cut a bit too short. He stands quietly and obliges to me cutting them. Their is no fear of discomfort, only the annoyance of having to stand quietly for 2-3 minutes while I trim them. His quicks have been kept in check and subsequently his nails are neat and tidy in appearance. The risk of him losing/tearing a nail is also far less.
Fore Limb - View from Above
Hind Limb - Side View
I beg everyone with dogs - strongly consider investing in a decent set of nail trimmers (that are sharp) or a dremmel. Then TRAIN your dog to accept the procedure by building trust and rewarding for good behaviour. This may mean that for the first few sessions perhaps you only touch the device to their toenail and reward them while gradually working your way up to actually cutting the nail. My female gets one toe nail trimmed per day, just before we walk out the door to go to the park. Sometimes two nails. Makes things simple and she has learned the quicker we trim a nail, the faster we leave. If you accidently quick your pet - don't make a huge deal out of it. Stop the bleeding, reward them and continue on. Make sure you don't leave blood too long on carpet, takes a lot of scrubbing to get out. Trust me.
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