Dog Pedicures

Trimming a dog’s nails is a delicate procedure. Dog owners may opt to have a veterinarian or professional dog groomer give their dog a pedicure. With a little caution, a dog owner can take care of the dog’s pedicures.

There are different tools that can be used to give a dog pedicure.  For most dogs, a Resco trimmer is recommended. A Resco trimmer has a circular guide that slips over the nail. When the handle is squeezed, a blade cuts the nail at that point.  A claw cutter is similar to a scissors in cutting action. A claw cutter can be useful for giant breeds of dogs and basset hounds due to the large size of their nails.

When performing dog pedicures, the dog owner should lift the dog’s paw and cut the nails from underneath. The whitish part of the nail is the part that needs trimmed. The pink part of the nail is called the quick. The quick contains blood vessels and is painful when cut. The dog owner simply slides the end of the Resco trimmer over the dog’s nail and positions the trimmer over the white of the nail.

When the dog owner is satisfied with the position of the cutter over the white of the nail, the dog owner should squeeze the handle firmly. Dark nails are more difficult to trim without cutting into the quick since the beginning of the quick is often not visible. When cutting black or dark nails, the dog owner should cut the tip of the nail. The center of the dead nail is white. The owner can continue to trim the nail in small increments until the center of the nail is dark. The dark area is the beginning of the quick.

If a dog’s nail is cut too short, it is likely to bleed. The dog owner can hold a piece of tissue paper against the end of the nail for a few minutes. There is a powder on the market that is made to stop such bleeding. The bleeding would stop on its own in about five minutes. If the bleeding will not stop, the veterinarian should be contacted.