DO NAILS REALLY MATTER?

LONG NAILS 

If your dog has long nails they are not only unsightly, are a nuisance as they can scratch and catch on things but there is a far more important  problem for your dog. 

Overgrown nails can be the cause of crooked toes, deformed feet, cruciate ligament, spinal and other chiropractic problems and obesity, all of which can cost thousands of pounds to get fixed and ultimately if left may require your dog to be on unnecessary and expensive medication for the rest of its life. 

Long nails can also cause a dog to become exercise intolerant, walk slowly and refuse to walk far at all. This occurs for two reasons, the pain that the dog is in and the inability that is caused when your dog cannot fully stand on its feet and apply weight onto the pads. Not only is this miserable for your dog but the resulting lack of exercise could lead to obesity which could cause diabetes and so on.

Have you ever bruised your nail bed as your toe nails were too long and pushed against your shoe? If your dogs nails are too long your dogs nails will contact the floor upon every step and eventually the nail has no where to go other than to continue to grow and either curl underneath the dogs feet or your dog will splay their toes to the side making them crooked and very painful. 

Dew claws (the single claw above the toe nails) grow in a curled direction. Depending on the breed some dogs have only two, one on each front foot, and some have four found on all four feet. If these nails are not trimmed they will grow and curl into the skin, embedding themselves in the dogs flesh. They will not stop growing. This is torture and your dog cannot tell you! The saddest part is it is unnecessary

Inside your dogs nails is a quick, much like your own nail. However in a dogs quick is a blood vessel and has as many nerve endings attached as your finger tips so cutting through the quick must be avoided as not only will it bleed excessively but it will hurt your dog. 

The quick grows down and out with the nail. Typically its only 2mm behind the nail tip. If the tip is removed each time during regular grooming (How often should my breed be groomed?) the quick “protects itself” by shrivelling back. Therefore by having your dogs trimmed regularly there is little risk that your dogs quick will be cut as there should always be gap between the quick and the nail tip.

If you do not have your dogs nails trimmed regularly, the nail and quick will have grown out together essentially meaning the quick will reach the tip of the nail. Therefore trimming the nail may well result in your dogs quick being cut. 

Beware: Once your dog has had one or more quicks cut the grooming process and experience may changes for your dog as it = PAIN 

If your dogs nails/quick  have grown out you cannot simply cut them to the desired length. The higher up the vessel you cut the more damage, pain and blood loss. Initially the nails will need to be trimmed but only the very tips. As the quick will then recede over the next 10 days, your dog will need to return and 2mm trimmed off again, continuing the process until the nails reach the correct length. Of course you must then have the nails trimmed regularly moving forward otherwise the problem repeats itself.  

It is crucial that you maintain your dogs nails and pads. Your dog cannot tell you when he/she is in pain and relies on you to look after their welfare. It is amazing the difference trimming your dogs nails and pads can have on a dogs behaviour, mood and life. 

Tip: Walk you dog regularly on hard surfaces such as concrete to help your dog file his/her own nails!

If you are on the Lakeside Groom Room Grooming Plan these interim appointments are absolutely FREE. Nails are trimmed as part of all full grooms and I do offer a "nails only" service for dogs that do not come to me for grooming.