Another novice question - nail cutting!

[TreeMugger]

I've noticed that I can hear my dog's claws on the ground when he's walking on hard floors or pavement, does this mean that they need trimmed? I've seen doggy nail clippers for sale in pet shops but is it better to go to a groomer? I trim our guinea pigs nails but with them I can see the pink bit at the top so it's easy to see where to avoid but the dog's nails are all black so I don't feel very confident about not hurting him!

[Floralnomad]

My dog has black nails and the quick is very near the top even though they seem quite long ,so be very careful if you do it yourself . Our vet tried to trim one once ,at my request ,and the amount of blood was horrific especially as dog wouldn't let him put the stick thing on to stop the bleeding - vet ended up cauterising himself several times !

[TreeMugger]

That sounds awful, I don't think I'll do it myself!

[Floralnomad]

Probably best , if you are walking on pavements they should get worn down a bit .

[Bowlersarm]

I've never cut my 7 year old labs nails. He does a little road walking, and that seems enough to keep them short.

[TreeMugger]

From what I've googled, there are people who say walking on pavement will keep nails down and other people who say they need cut on a weekly/fortnightly/monthly basis (depending on the website!). Would you say that hearing the nails tapping on hard ground when he walks means that his nails are too long?

[Bowlersarm]

They do tip tap on the concrete. But he's a terror for 'pawing' when he wants to be stroked and I've never been hurt or scraped by his nails when he's pawed at my leg or arms because he wants a cuddle. I'll just go and inspect his nails and report back

[Bowlersarm]

Right, just woken him up from his snooze by inspecting his paws. Had a good look, and then went to get the tape measure to measure them by which stage he was looking a bit concerned and wouldn't keep still.

He's a big lab and I would say his nails are less than a centimetre long. That's having never been cut.

Is your ddog due a vets visit for jabs or anything soonish? I think id wait and ask your vet when you next go.

[Floralnomad]

Mine does have quite long nails but he has SLO and after the last debacle I'm leaving well alone ,he goes to the groomer every 3 weeks and they have never said that they are too long and they must see a lot of nails .

[pigsDOfly]

I had my dog's nails clipped yesterday. She walks on pavement a lot so I thought they were probably being worn down, and some of them were.

However, had good look and found that her dew claws on the front paws were very long and even one or two of the other front claws.

Popped her along to the groomer and it cost me £10 - also had her paws neatened and the fur between her pads clipped (long haired dog). Paws look very smart now.

I wouldn't attempt to do it myself either, way too scary, although like you OP, I used to trim the guinea pigs' nails and one of them had one or two dark nails. I think the quick on a guinea pig is much further back, especially if they're cut regularly.

[butterfliesinmytummy]

We walk on concrete every day but I take my dog to the groomer for a quick trim every couple of months. Dew claws still need a trim too

[merrymouse]

I asked the vet about this - she said it wasn't necessary. I suppose there could be breeds or conditions that mean that nails have to be trimmed regularly, but my impression was that with adequate paw use a dog's nails look after themselves.

[TreeMugger]

Thanks for all the replies (and thanks for waking your dog up for me Bowlersarm!) I think I'll ask the vet next time we're there and make sure he's getting plenty of pavements walks in the meantime.

[Dancingyogi]

I trim a little bit off every couple of weeks, seems to keep things right.