Cutting claws tiny amounts - bleeding

[Waitingforsummer25]

my dog hates having his claws cut, and some of them have got long. I have tried cutting just a small amount( around 2mm) off and it’s already bleeding. I know if you cut too short it can happen but it’s not short at all. Can the blood vessels inside also grow? How can I now cut them without causing them to bleed?

google dog nail scratch board and they will wear them down if you put treats inside. Also you can get some styptic powder that stops bleeding quickly.

I would take him to a vet or a groomer and get them done professionally.

They probably don’t need clipping. Some dogs do have naturally longer nails that don’t cause problems, it’s fine and often conformational.
I wouldn’t cut them any shorter if they bleed as they hurt and you’ll cause problems. The more they experience pain while clipping the worse they will be behaviourally. I wouldn’t let a groomer cut them as they will still bleed and hurt.

Just get a file/grinder if they do need doing.

The quick do grow if the nail isn't cut often enough - little and often clipping will help shorten it

I wouldn’t let a groomer cut them as they will still bleed and hurt.

A good groomer would know when nails are suitable for cutting though, and shouldn't cut them if they're going to bleed.

As above a scratch board is a great way to encourage your dog to file their own nails down but it does require some training, they won't just magically do it themselves.

The blood vessel inside the nail is known as a 'quick'. It grows along with the nail and you often find that dogs who are predominantly grass/ beach walked vs. Pavement walking will have long nails as they get worn down less.
Black nails will be more difficult to clip than white ones as you're unable to see the quick through them.

The best thing to do will be to find a groomer locally (vets will charge you an arm and a leg for nail clipping, groomers tend to be more reasonable) who will be able to have a look and if needed set up regular appointments to begin to reduce the length safely and comfortably. It can take a long time but it will be the safest and kindest way to get them back to a good length.

Feel free to post a pic of your dog's foot/ nails, if it's clear enough I should be able to let you know if they need doing.

We are new to dog ownership and asked the vet about clipping the nails and he showed us the point where it would be problematic to cut. He also said just to do some walking on pavement and they won’t need clipping. We met another new dog owner who had taken her dog to a groomer ( for its first groom) and they’d cut the claws and made them bleed ( and that was a very small 3 or 4 month old puppy) so I will not be cutting.

We have a whippet and they do need their nails cut - long nails in whippets/greyhounds cause corns and dislocated toes. We have a dremel nail file and it’s great. Even if it reaches the quick it doesn’t hurt. Every couple of days I just whizz the file over his claws. It was expensive £70 but cheaper long term than a groomer and I just wasn’t confident using the clippers which he hated because we didn’t start until he actually dislocated a toe because his nails were too long 😔 (I had no idea we had to keep them short).

The problem is that pavement walks don't work for every dog. Sometimes their conformation just means that the nails don't wear down properly and so they need human intervention.

It's great advice but as a general rule don't depend on pavement walks to keep their nails under control.

Clip a tiny amount off every 2 weeks and the quicks will recede

Some bleeding means you are accidentally cutting the quick. The quick can vary in length so either see if you can see it and avoid it or go really slowly... like just 1mm a week. The quick will start to recede and each week slowly you will get there. 2mm is still too much in one session for a dog whose quicks are long, like your dog.

This should help https://www.dfordog.co.uk/blog/how-to-cut-a-dogs-nails.html