Saturday 17 February 2007

Does Trimming Your Dog's Nails Scare You

This post is an article from information website EzineArticles.com . I've added a couple of pics to help. You can get excellent Nail clippers and nail files at Alpha Pets website Alphapetshop.co.uk

Does Trimming Your Dog's Nails Scare You
By Fonda Fletcher

As any human parent knows, it's kind of scary the first time you cut your baby's nails especially if you have never done this before. Just remember that you can cut a quick. This will not require a trip to the vet to fix. If you were to happen to cut a quick, which is the blood flow part of the nail this can be painful for your pet.

If you are not comfortable clipping your dog's nails I would not suggest you try this yourself. You can always take your dog to a vet or a grooming shop and they will clip the nails for a minimal charge.

Your dog can pick up on your fears of clipping his or her nails which can be almost next to impossible if you don't know how to safely position your pet without either getting bit or twisting your back or your dog's back out of place depending on the size of your dog. Many a groomer has been bitten by not following the proper techniques when trimming the nails. Some dogs will fore warn you by growling others will not.

If you are brave enough to trim your dog's nails the easiest one's to trim are the white nails. Since the cuticle shows up a lot better. The quick is the pink part, like was mentioned before is the blood supply to the nail. The black nails are the hardest since they are dark in color.
Just remember if your pet's nails grow out too long it can have negative medical effects which can lead to surgical procedures. Meaning if the nail grows into the skin, the only solution is to have the vet perform surgery to get the nail out of the skin. Watch how quick your dogs nails grow if they grow out longer than normal length you cannot cut them shorter than normal because the quick also grows out.

There is one suggestion this is not suggested for anything but short close to the skin hair. Can you picture your dog's hair being caught up in a hand held tool. Don't try this technique with anything but shorter hair that can't be pulled by your hand. You can purchase a small battery powered rotary sander, called a dremmel. This method makes noise so if your dog is nervous to begin with then this probably would not work.
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Fonda Fletcher is a professional dog groomer who owns her own mobile dog grooming salon in Henderson,Nv. She has a lifetime of experience working with dogs, she likes to share her knowledge to help other dog owners who can benefit from her experience.


white nail showing pink quick

always avoid the quick

selection of available clippers and files

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