Arb dog claw care question

I take my dog to the vets as and when he,s due etc and asked my vet about trimming his claws down as his fronts and dew claws are to me very long and he catches then i get a yelp from him. he tells me they dont require doing leave them which i found odd i think he just didnt want to do them if i,am honest & this is my first dog by the way

So decided after buying my own trimmers then relising his claws are black so cant see the quick or wick so would hurt him trying to cut them blind so to speak and him loose trust in me etc. he gets out all day everyday with me we have a long driveway blockpaved so cant understand why his back claws are worn short and fronts /dews very long and catch everything what can i do to help him as its troubling me to be honest can anyone advise please

sorry about my grammer spelling etc i have trouble at times

Hi Predator,

Trimming black nails is always tricky as you can't tell where the quick is and if you catch it it bleeds a bit. Dogs usally wear there normal claws down on their own if they walk on paved areas at all. The dew claws don't wear down as they don't put them on the floor and often need trimmed.

Best advice is to trim little and often to get the dog used to it and minimise the risk of making them bleed. May be wise to get a silver nitrate pencil (available on ebay) as this can be used to stop the bleeding if you do cut one a little too short.

James

I take my dog to the vets as and when he,s due etc and asked my vet about trimming his claws down as his fronts and dew claws are to me very long and he catches then i get a yelp from him. he tells me they dont require doing leave them which i found odd i think he just didnt want to do them if i,am honest & this is my first dog by the way

 

So decided after buying my own trimmers then relising his claws are black so cant see the quick or wick so would hurt him trying to cut them blind so to speak and him loose trust in me etc. he gets out all day everyday with me we have a long driveway blockpaved so cant understand why his back claws are worn short and fronts /dews very long and catch everything what can i do to help him as its troubling me to be honest can anyone advise please

 

sorry about my grammer spelling etc i have trouble at times

I'd have a good look round locally for a dog grooming place if i was you. i take my 2 dogs every few months to a chap who only grooms gun and working dogs, he clips them, cleans teeth and ears and clips their nails. only 30 each, money well spent in my eyes,

had a spanniel who always caught his dew claws had them removed at the vets

Morning Predator,

My trusty hound's claws are the same, I probably only trim her rear claws every other time. No idea why this is so, she always charging about, maybe they just wear their rear claws more...

The black claws can be a little tricky to trim, try doing it in good light, sometimes you can see the end of the quick that way. Once you've done it once, it's pretty easy to keep them trimmed back to the same point.

Failing that, maybe just take him for a few pavement marches once in a while, my sister's dog is usually walked around the streets more than around the woods and her nails rarely need trimming.

Hope that helps a bit.

I have an English jack Russell and he had long Jew claws on the back feet. When he was at The right age he had them off when he had his knackers off by the vet.

Front dewclaws do serve a purpose in grip on downslopes and gripping chewing items BUT they can be a liability around kids, tights and so forth when the pooch is jumping up for attention or play.

Hanging, loose back dewclaws are a liability to the dog although they are a breed requirement for show in some..double dewclaws on the back of pyrenean mountain dogs! Removal during other surgeries is the easy answer.

Cutting ordinary claws: 'theoretically' you can push the claw forwards and trim it level with the toe pad BUT in many dogs the claw has grown enough that the quick has also lengthened and, yes, you will get bleeding if you get unlucky cutting them. various styptics will work if that happens. Silver Nitrate sticks have a habit of snapping off just when you needed it, potassium permanganate crystals held on the would work well but any left-over bits will corrode even stainless steel if it gets in the wife's sink. The easiest current answer is probably 'clip stop' which is a brown powder by the tub. Hold a small cotton pad of it over the cut claw - works fast.

My approach to the difficult guessing game claw is to start long and nibble back..you can usually get a bit of a clue as to the change in claw centre before you hit blood..and that gives a reference length for dealing with the rest of them.

If really in doubt then file them down instead..at least to round off the ends and reduce kiddie damage. Rough ground, gravel quarries and shingle beaches can do the job for you nicely.

I had a dream of taking dogs and fit young nurses to brighton for long tax-deducted weekends to get those claws worn down - while I recovered:biggrin:

Rear nails wear down a lot quicker than front ones because of the angle the rear foot comes into contact with the ground.Dew claws can be a problem and are usually removed on working dogs. My GSD gets lots of exercise and hasn't needed his nails trimming. He only has one dew claw and he trims that himself lol I have had nails trimmed on other dogs by vets and sometimes they bleed, so they can get trimming wrong too

What about filing them down with a dremmel drill type thing?

What about filing them down with a dremmel drill type thing?

thanks lads for all your advice i was very bothered about hurting him when trying to clip back hes on block paving all day every day and goes out everywere i go so couldnt understand his back one worn down and front really long and he,s caught his fron dew claws a few times and ended up yelping etc also he keep plucking clothes and my tights lol no the wifes n daughters tights and good clothes

you have just give me an idea i,ve got a fixed bench belt sander so will do the lot on that and let you know how he copes it will be dead quick to for him but i will have to muzzle him hes a little rip and it will be me who ends up bleeding lol brb to update shortly