Clipping your dog’s nails

Are your dog’s claws getting long? Nervous about trimming them? Don’t worry—Globalvet has some tips to make it easy and painless for you and your fur baby!

NAIL ANATOMY

Dogs’ nails are made of a hard substance similar to your own nails, with a sensitive and vascularized core inside called the quick. The key is to avoid the quick and cut just the hard tip of the nail.

If your dog’s nails are white, you’ll be able to see a little pink triangle at the base of the nail where the quick is. If your dog’s nails are black, you won’t be able to see where the quick is. However, if you get close to the quick when you cut the nails, you’ll see a small light grey dot in the centre of the clipped part of the nail. The closer you get to the quick, the rounder the nail is. Closer to the tip, the nail is shaped more like a semi-circle.

WHAT YOU NEED

• Your dog’s favourite treats
• Good quality, sharp nail clippers to make the job easier. Use scissor-style clippers if possible, rather than guillotine clippers.

• Styptic powder to stop any bleeding (e.g., Fast Klot®). You can also use corn starch to stop the bleeding quickly.

You can pick up everything you need at one of our stores.

CLIPPING THE NAILS

• Trim just one nail a day to start.
• Clip off small bits of nail until you see the quick.
• As your dog gets used to having their nails clipped, you can gradually start clipping more nails at a time.
• Don’t forget to trim the dewclaw on the inside of the front paws.
• What to do if a claw bleeds:
  • Stay calm—it happens to everyone, even professionals!
  • Put gentle pressure on the base of the claw.
  • Wipe the blood off with a paper towel.
  • Put some styptic powder on the end of the claw.
  • Hold for a few seconds.