Precautions when trimming your pet's nails

Cutting nails is not a difficult task for most of us, but why is it so difficult to cut nails for our pets? The nails of moderate length can protect the dog's paws and help them better grasp the ground and fix the prey. When they walk daily, the nails will rub against the ground and do not need special trimming. However, dogs living in cities usually walk on tiles and floors, which can't play a frictional role. If they are not trimmed in time, it is not conducive to their normal life.

This article describes the precautions for trimming nails.

First of all, you need to use the right tools and use pet-specific nail scissors, which not only saves effort (dogs’ nails are much thicker than ours), but also prevents unnecessary splits in dog nails.

There are blood lines in the dog’s nails. If the pet owner does not understand the structure of the dog’s nails, it is very easy to cut the blood lines, leaving a bad memory for the dog, and making the next nail cutting more difficult.

There are parts of the blood line through which blood vessels and nerves pass. Its function is to provide nutrient delivery to the nails. If the dog does not cut his nails for a long time, the blood line will grow longer and longer in the nail. And regular nail trimming can keep the blood line at an appropriate length. It is recommended that the length of each trimming is 3-5 mm away from the blood line. If you accidentally cut the blood line of the dog, please keep calm first, use a cotton ball or styptic powder to press on the bleeding site of the broken nail, and soothe the dog's emotions, observe the bleeding mouth, and let go when there is no bleeding.

If the color of the dog's nails is translucent, and blood lines can be observed under bright light, the pet owner will also have a certainty when trimming. But some dogs’ nails are black, not to mention blood lines, and you can’t even see the dirt in the nails. What should I do? Don't worry, cut slowly, 2-3 mm each time, when you see a darker black spot in the middle of the nail, you can stop trimming.

If the dog itself is not too resistant to cutting nails, the pet owner can start cutting nails directly. For small dogs, the pet owner can choose to have his belly facing up and hug it in his arms; for large dogs, he can let the dog lie on its side or the owner squat to trim. If you are not sure about the position of the blood line, it is recommended to push in from the tip of the nail a little bit, and control the length to about 3 mm each time. If the dog is not too resistant after cutting it, be sure to give the dog a reward in time, such as a verbal compliment, or a small snack. Then continue trimming.