Anyone with a pet knows that trimming their nails can be extremely stressful, not just for your pet- but for YOU as well! Last night I tried to cut Stiles’ nails. He has black nails which makes it extremely difficult to tell where the vein is. WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE A VEIN IN THE NAIL?! I got them short enough that they are walkable. However, I usually like to just bring him in to the vet to have them do it and get it over with. I asked Karen from the Humane Society if she had any tips! This is what she had to say!
NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Nail trimming is right there in line with bathing but as with giving a bath it doesn’t have to be a nightmare.
The key is to try and make it a happy experience. With my dogs I do that with a spoonful of peanut butter to distract from the nail clipping and also give a nice treat. They love the peanut butter more than they hate the nail trim. You need to be careful with dogs not to get the quick when you trim, if they are light colored it is easier but the black nails are hard so just take off the tips and do it more often. Make sure your nail trimmers are sharp. I have never used the grinder type but it is worth a try.
The cats I have always found to be easier to keep their nails trimmed. I make it a point to handle their paws A LOT. It helps if you can start when they are kittens but you can still do it as adults. I just plop them on my lap and clip away, the faster the better. Cats claws are clear so it is easy to cut them without worrying about getting the quick.
It is like anything else, if you have a routine and they get used to it then it isn’t such a trauma each time you have to do it. Keep calm and don’t be stressed about it. If you lose your patience then stop and do it in a couple sessions. Eventually you will get it down so you can do all four feet at once. It is really important to stay on top of it though as it can be uncomfortable for a dog to walk on overgrown nails and if a cats claws get overgrown they can grow into the foot pad which is extremely painful for the cat and potentially an expensive trip to the vet for you.
This week for our adoptable pets we have…. Puppies! They are Rottweiler/Retriever, Labrador mixes and are 8 weeks old. Puppies are adorable and fun but also a lot of work and expense. Please do some research on raising puppies and think it over to make sure you can provide a forever home for one of these sweet pups.
