Should I Have Dog's Claws Clipped?

[DameGobshite]

Hi there, I'm a first time dog owner and have had our Lab cross (father unknown but a big bugger!) since August. He's a big dog at 38kg with a lovely, gentle personality.

I asked our vet a while back during a routine check-up if his claws needed clipping as I really am clueless. She said no and not to let any groomers cut his claws as she was seeing lots of older dogs with painful problems from having claws cut too short in the past.

However, I have trained our dog to give his paw. He seems very pleased with his new skill so is now in the habit of waving paws about when excited or looking for attention and has scratched and bruised me a few times doing this as he is a clumsy one year old who doesn't know his own strength!

Obviously I need to work on the random waving of paws but should I have his claws clipped or not?

Thanks in advance!

Some dogs never need their claws cutting, especially if they walk a lot on hard surfaces as this wears the claws down.
If your dog's claws are long enough to touch the floor when he walks then they need to be cut.
My lab's claws grow downwards and follow the curve of the paw pads (compared to my GSD's that tend to grow straight ahead) so if they get too long they rest on the floor when he walks and I can hear them clicking. This must be uncomfortable and if left can cause foot problems, so his claws need to be cut regularly.

We just rehomed a dog and I asked the same question, she said that if they are walking on concrete they will naturally wear down. She did say if you do it yourself be very careful as they have blood vessels in their nails and if you cut one it will bleed a lot.

I am really shocked at your vet!

I keep my dogs nails mega short, I try and keep them level with the paw pad!

As far as I was aware, nails that touch the ground distort the way the dog shifts weight and cause arthritis.
Not to mention that they can be injured more easily by catching on stuff, injure you or cause minor injury if the dog scratched itself.

I always thought shorter the better and was not aware of any potential negatives from having nails too short but plenty having them too long.

My groomer cuts them to level with the bottom of the foot pad. They do walk on some paving, but not enough I think to file them back.

Thank you for your responses. We have laminate floors and we hear him coming because of his claws clicking on them. They are fairly blunt though as we do 3-4 mile walks each day on pavements.

As I said, I've never had a dog before but I've always had cats. I used to trim their claws myself but they were see-through so I knew where to cut. My dog's thick, black claws are a different kettle of fish though so I'll leave trimming those to the professionals .

I think I'd best find a good groomer to sort them out!

Hmm as a veterinary nurse I'd always advise to keep them short - as buttholelane said, long nails will put increased pressure on delicate toes and could lead to more problems!

Plus, the more practice at having his nails cut (and the nicer the experience is each time - use lots of treats!) that he gets, the less stressful the whole experience will be for all concerned.

Would recommend having them clipped by a professional if you aren't confident - nails bleed a heck of a lot if you go too short!