How Can I Help My Dog with Overgrown Nails?

A dog’s nails get overgrown when they are not cut for long, either because of neglecting them or because your dog was so uncooperative in the past that made the process too complicated or unbearable. The problem is that overgrown nails cause pain, discomfort, and difficulty in walking and standing. So your dog needs help ASAP! 🚨

In this article, we provide advice on how to cut your dog’s nails at home, what tools you will need, and some troubleshooting. However, if the nails are severely overgrown my recommendation is to take the pet to a professional groomer. They can help you get the nails to a normal length without cutting the blood vessels, and after that, you can maintain them at home.

Table of Contents

Cutting your Dog’s Nails at Home
Overgrown Nails
Final Thoughts

Cutting your Dog’s Nails at Home

You will need:

Nail clippers, designed for dogs. Don’t use human nail clippers or scissors.
Nail files are an alternative. Some people prefer to use these instead of clippers to avoid cutting too much. However, you will need to get your pet used to the sound.
Styptic powder can help stop bleeding if you cut into the quick by accident. So this comes in handy.
Your dog’s favorite treats.

How to Cut Your Dog’s Nails?

Start by removing the hair around the paws with a small scissor. This prevents small objects from getting stuck in your dog’s paws as these can hurt them.

Cut just the tip of the nails (about 2 millimeters) so you don’t reach the quick—the area that contains blood vessels. If your dog has white nails it’s easier to distinguish where to cut because you can see the quick, but if the nails are black it gets trickier.

To avoid accidentally hurting your dog, make sure to cut little by little. Check the nail after each trim, and stop when you see a small shiny dot in the center of the nail. If your dog has both white and black nails, start cutting the white ones and use that length as a reference.

👆🏼Note: If, by accident, you do cut a blood vessel, use styptic powder to help stop the bleeding. If the bleeding doesn’t stop within 5 minutes, you may need to take your dog to a vet.

How Do You Trim The Nails of an Uncooperative Dog?

Here are some tips:

Familiarize the dog with the tools before attempting to trim the nails. Allow them to sniff and investigate them.
Spend some time getting the dog comfortable with having their paws touched, and gradually increase the duration and pressure.
Use positive reinforcement to create a positive association with the tools. Reward them with treats and praise during and after the process.
Take breaks if your dog becomes highly anxious or uncooperative, and try again later.
Consider using a muzzle.
Ask for professional help if needed.

How to keep dog nails short without clipping them?

Alternatives to nail clippers are motorized nail grinders and manual nail files.

If you are considering using motorized nail tools, you may need to get dogs used to the noise gradually before using it on them, and be careful not to stay too long on the nail as it can get quite hot.

On the other hand, manual nail files are a good option if your dog can’t stand the noise of an electrical grinder or nail clippers. The problem is that is more time-consuming.

Overgrown Nails

When nails get overgrown they start curling, bending against one another, and pushing into the paws, which creates a lot of discomfort for your pup. In severe cases, it affects the dog’s ability to walk and stand.

How Do You Cut Severely Overgrown Dog Nails?

Overgrown dog nails are more difficult to cut because they are more sensitive to the touch and challenging to reach them as they are curled or twisted. So to have a better reach, you could start cutting with a smaller nail clipper or a cat’s nail clipper.

If the nail is wrapped around the pad and you can’t get the clipper underneath it, try cutting from above. Once you can get the clipper under the nail, cut it a little bit shorter each time until you reach the desired length. This will help you avoid hurting your pet and make the process less stressful for both of you.

When nails are too long, it is impossible to grind them because the vibration and pressure of the grinder will create so much pain for your dog.

Quick Receding

When the nails are neglected for too long, the quick grows following the length of the nail and gets overgrown as well, so you won’t be able to cut far enough without cutting the quick.

In these cases, you will need to get the quick to recede first to allow you to cut the nails to an appropriate length. Quick receding refers to the process of getting the quick to move back, and to do this, you will trim the nails very close to the quick every time, and repeat this process every week or so. With time the quick will recede.

After getting the nails at a normal length, you will need to maintain them by trimming them regularly. Some people cut their dog’s nails as often as every week while other owners do it once a month. It depends on how fast your dog’s nail grows, but as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t hear your dog’s nail clicking on the floor.

Final Thoughts

Ideally, you want to maintain your dog’s nails at an appropriate length to prevent complications. But if your dog already has the nails too long, please address the issue as soon as you can as it can be very painful for them.

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