Initially when I learn about the importance of trimming my dog's nails I was rather hesitant as I kept thinking and was worried that I might accidentally cut her nails and end up injuring her. Unknown to many of us, dogs like many other animals can sense our emotions via the energy or aura that we project. By worrying that I might cut her nails, I was actually projecting a negative energy to my dog, and naturally she was reluctant to stay put and let me trim her nails which increases the anxiety that I was already feeling, and the whole cycle of me sending negative energy to her and her reacting negatively to me making me feel even worse repeated. I am sure many of the dog owners have experienced similar situation and to save all the hassle, decides to pay the groomer to get it done for them.
Trimming our paw friends' nails is not only part of the grooming process, it is also important for their health. Our dog's health will be growing continuously throughout his entire life and keep it trimmed can significantly reduce lots of hassle that we might otherwise have to go through. The first sign of overgrown nails, is the clicking sound you hear when your dog is walking on carpeted ground.
Untrimmed nails can cause
1. nails to bleed profusely due to nails splitting.
2. your dog to walk in an awkward way or in more serious case to give up walking totally due to aches on the paws.
3. nail to curl inwards under the soft pad of the paw, digging in and causing pain and possible infection.
Nail trimming is a quick and easy process, much like cutting your own nails. The first thing to take note is, nail trimming is all about trimming away the excess portion of the nail and not removing the whole nail. The next thing to take note is your mindset, always have the outcome you want in your mind before you approach your dog, in this way you will be able to project your energy and intention to her giving her confidence in you and allowing her to be in a calm state.
The trick to doing it right is to be able to differentiate the excess portion from the part with blood vessels. For myself I follow the simple steps below to get it done in a couple of minutes.
1. Always place your tools (clipper, file etc) near you first.
2. I prefer sitting on the floor with my dog. I then hold her paw with my thumb under her pad and push it down/back (depends on how you hold) to have the nails extended out.
3. Next locate the pink portion (also known as quick) on the nail. This is the part of the nail that is running with vessels which you won't want to cut.
4. Using a clipper, make several small snips from the edge of the nail. Gradually trim inwards until you spot a black or pink dot at the center of the nail when looking at eye level. This is where the quick begins and we must refrain from cutting any further.
5. Remember to trim the dewclaw as well. It is located a few centimeters up above the paw on the inner side.
6. If this is your first time and you are unsure, another alternative is to make a small snipe at the nail edge and then use a file to file inwards. A time taking method but for first timer it helps to build confidence :)
7. Once done, its time to praise her for displaying such wonderful behavior!
Should you accidentally cut into the quick, just clean the blood away and with a clean cloth press against the wound and the bleeding should stop in about 15 minutes.
Once you have done it once, you will be more confident on the next time round and very soon both you and your paw friend will enjoy nail clipping session just like my and my dogs :)
Trimming our paw friends' nails is not only part of the grooming process, it is also important for their health. Our dog's health will be growing continuously throughout his entire life and keep it trimmed can significantly reduce lots of hassle that we might otherwise have to go through. The first sign of overgrown nails, is the clicking sound you hear when your dog is walking on carpeted ground.
Untrimmed nails can cause
1. nails to bleed profusely due to nails splitting.
2. your dog to walk in an awkward way or in more serious case to give up walking totally due to aches on the paws.
3. nail to curl inwards under the soft pad of the paw, digging in and causing pain and possible infection.
Nail trimming is a quick and easy process, much like cutting your own nails. The first thing to take note is, nail trimming is all about trimming away the excess portion of the nail and not removing the whole nail. The next thing to take note is your mindset, always have the outcome you want in your mind before you approach your dog, in this way you will be able to project your energy and intention to her giving her confidence in you and allowing her to be in a calm state.
The trick to doing it right is to be able to differentiate the excess portion from the part with blood vessels. For myself I follow the simple steps below to get it done in a couple of minutes.
1. Always place your tools (clipper, file etc) near you first.
2. I prefer sitting on the floor with my dog. I then hold her paw with my thumb under her pad and push it down/back (depends on how you hold) to have the nails extended out.
3. Next locate the pink portion (also known as quick) on the nail. This is the part of the nail that is running with vessels which you won't want to cut.
4. Using a clipper, make several small snips from the edge of the nail. Gradually trim inwards until you spot a black or pink dot at the center of the nail when looking at eye level. This is where the quick begins and we must refrain from cutting any further.
5. Remember to trim the dewclaw as well. It is located a few centimeters up above the paw on the inner side.
6. If this is your first time and you are unsure, another alternative is to make a small snipe at the nail edge and then use a file to file inwards. A time taking method but for first timer it helps to build confidence :)
7. Once done, its time to praise her for displaying such wonderful behavior!
Should you accidentally cut into the quick, just clean the blood away and with a clean cloth press against the wound and the bleeding should stop in about 15 minutes.
Once you have done it once, you will be more confident on the next time round and very soon both you and your paw friend will enjoy nail clipping session just like my and my dogs :)
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