03/26/2024
The Importance of Trimming Your Dog’s Nails
Trimming dogs’ nails is very important for more reasons than just avoiding the annoying clicking on the floor. When your pup is young, overgrown nails can lead to broken nails, especially in a drier climate. With mature dogs, untrimmed nails can cause decreased traction, affect mobility, and even cause pain.
A dog’s nails should be trimmed every 2 to 4 weeks depending on your pup’s growth rate. At the very least, they should be trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks. That frequency may seem like a lot, but the more you trim them, the less you have to trim off. I find this actually decreases the risk of quicking (cutting into the quick) your pup. Bear in mind that quicks grow as nails do. As a result, leaving nails unclipped for extended periods will mean significantly longer nails (even following a clip), because you cannot cut the nails back to their previous length without hitting the quick.
You should start nail trims early, as soon as you get your new puppy, or right around 8 weeks. Just take off the tips initially to prevent quicking them so it’s not a negative experience. Make nail trims a normal thing that your puppy is used to, expects, and knows they have to behave for it.
Sedatives may help. There are several over the counter options if those don't help ask your vet for a prescription if needed, but it means a sedated day when your pet needs a nail trimming.
Side Effects of Untrimmed Nails
Broken Nails
Broken nails are more than a pain to tease ladies about. When a dog’s nails break, they usually split up the nail toward the toe and can cause severe pain and be a risk for infection. If the nail fragment comes away, the exposed quick is quite painful on its own, and every time they bump anything with it, it’s even more painful. The same holds true for split nails that don’t break off, but they can be harder to detect if they are not bleeding. With a split nail that hasn’t broken away, it shifts around every time it contacts a surface, causing trauma and pain. In both cases, the exposed quick is at risk for infection, which can work up into the nail bed and the toe. This can cause abscesses needing surgical relief and even destruction of the bone in severe cases that may require amputation.
Broken nails need to be cut back above the split in the nail to prevent the crack from returning and continuing to climb up the nail. This procedure involves deliberately cutting through the quick, which is extremely painful and requires sedation (there’s a reason that pulling nails is used as torture) and coagulation. Oftentimes the nail has to be cut back to the skin, which can affect regrowth. The nail may not regrow, or it may grow back unusually. Most likely, it will just take a few weeks to grow back normally. While it regrows, it must be watched like a hawk because it will be at risk for infection during this time.
Mobility Issues
In older dogs, you can see extremely long nails — so long that they can affect your dog’s ability to walk. If the nails are too long and the first thing to touch the floor, they can inhibit traction and make it even harder for old dogs with arthritis or other orthopedic impairments. Nails can get so long that they alter how the dog’s foot sits on the ground, causing discomfort and even resulting in arthritis over time.
Ingrown Nails
Ingrown nails are also a concern. In severe cases, I have seen nails come all the way around 360 degrees and back through the top of the toe. I don’t need to mention how excruciating this is, especially in weight-bearing digits. Ingrown nails are most common in dew claws, as they don’t contact the ground or anything to abrade or wear on the nail
