Dogs tolerate nail trimming

jkoch

By Dr. John Koch

Question: My dog hates to have his toenails trimmed. I have always taken him to a groomer or to his vet to have this done. I wonder if he would behave better if I trimmed them. Is it difficult to learn how to trim your dog's toenails?

Answer: Learning how to trim nails is not difficult. Teaching your pet to like it is another matter.

Tools for trimming the toenails of a pet are available almost anywhere pet supplies are sold. Once a trimmer has been obtained, examine the nails. Look for a nail that is clear or white in color. Close examination of this nail should reveal an inner pink core. Do not cut into this core as the blood vessels and nerves are located here. Cut just in front of the pink area. Visually measure how much of the nail is outside the vascular portion. This measurement can be used to determine how much to trim from black or dark colored nails.

If a nail is trimmed too close, it will bleed. This is similar to nicking oneself while shaving. Anyone who has performed this procedure has had this occur at least occasionally. Be prepared for it. Have a styptic pencil and bandage material available. Use the pencil and then tape a cotton ball over the nail for a short period of time. This will usually stop the bleeding.

If your dog does not have any clear or white nails, you may wish to have your veterinarian or groomer personally teach you. You may wish to have this done anyway.

Some dogs are relatively tolerant of having their nails trimmed while others are not. However, even the most tolerant dogs do not especially enjoy the procedure. There really is not much you can do to change this attitude.

Dr. Koch is a Cape Girardeau area veterinarian.