Nail Care is essential for every pet owner. Whether you have a dog, cat, bird, reptile or other exotic pet.
We will focus on cat and dog nails for this course, however the main principles are the same for most small animal care.
We do not want to cause an extra stress so go slow if you pet is nervous. The simplest way to start is by playing with their feet and having the clippers you to plan to use out. Let them see and smell the clippers first. Squeeze the the clippers away from their feet so they can hear the noise. Never pull their legs at an awkward angle as this will make it an uncomfortable experience. If one stance isn't working, try holding them a different way (assuming they are small enough), try letting them lay down or have them on the couch or table while you get down low (as long as there is no risk of falling). An uncomfortable animal is not going to have a positive experience and may become more difficult later. Make sure you have good lighting, so you can see the quick.
Excessive nail growth can cause other problems for your animal companion, such as
We will focus on cat and dog nails for this course, however the main principles are the same for most small animal care.
We do not want to cause an extra stress so go slow if you pet is nervous. The simplest way to start is by playing with their feet and having the clippers you to plan to use out. Let them see and smell the clippers first. Squeeze the the clippers away from their feet so they can hear the noise. Never pull their legs at an awkward angle as this will make it an uncomfortable experience. If one stance isn't working, try holding them a different way (assuming they are small enough), try letting them lay down or have them on the couch or table while you get down low (as long as there is no risk of falling). An uncomfortable animal is not going to have a positive experience and may become more difficult later. Make sure you have good lighting, so you can see the quick.
Excessive nail growth can cause other problems for your animal companion, such as
- altered gait,
- increased lameness problems,
- nails can become ingrown in the foot pad which can result in cellulitis or abscess formation,
- broken toe nails which may require a veterinarian to "pull the nail"
Proper animal nail trimmers are required to cut the nails effectively and to reduce injury.
Trimmers should be durable, sturdy, sharp and clean (not sticking). Many types & brands are available. |
Dogs can have a mixture of white and/or black nails. Dew claws can be found on the inside of the paw (like your thumb) and don't get worn down, so you should pay careful attention and make sure to cut these so they do not start to curl into the pad. Not all pets have dew claws. Sometimes pets are born with out these and sometimes they are removed for various medical reasons, sometimes they have them on some paws but not all. A few breeds of dogs (ie. St.Bernard) have two sets of dew claws.
Cats nails are usually white and are retractable. To expose the nail for cutting, apply gentle but firm pressure on the foot. You can also place a thumb and fore finger on the either side of the paw and slide the skin on the dorsum back away from the nails. Once exposed, the cats nails can be clipped in a similar way to the dogs.
To begin cutting, place a single toe nail in the clippers. The blade needs to be close to (approximately 2-3 mm) but not aligned with the quick.
The trimmer handle should be held pointing towards the floor or the ceiling (depending on what is more comfortable to you). You should NOT cut sideways as this can crush the nail instead of cutting it and may cause splintered, sore nails.
The cutting blade (for guillotine cutters) should be on the outside (away from the paw), this helps ensure the cut is further from the quick.
The trimmer handle should be held pointing towards the floor or the ceiling (depending on what is more comfortable to you). You should NOT cut sideways as this can crush the nail instead of cutting it and may cause splintered, sore nails.
The cutting blade (for guillotine cutters) should be on the outside (away from the paw), this helps ensure the cut is further from the quick.
Animals have a blood vessel in their nails called a quick.
The quick can be seen fairly easily with white nails but cannot be seen in black nails, making dark nails harder to safely cut.
The quick can be seen fairly easily with white nails but cannot be seen in black nails, making dark nails harder to safely cut.
To safely cut black nails, start by looking at the under portion of the nail for the dark/hard top part of the nail and the lighter grayish tissue. Clip a small amount off at a time. When you see gray tissue, keep cutting smaller portions. Look for a small blackish dot to form in the middle. If the dot is visible but still has some gray tissue over it, proceed very slowly. Once the black dot is defined - stop. If you see the pinkish oval, stop cutting!

The sharper the nail trimmers the cleaner cut and the easier you can see the different in tissues.
What happens if you accidentally cut too short (into the quick) or at the wrong angle and now a nail is bleeding? Your pet will have some pain, so please be patient with them.
No matter how good you are, sometimes this can happen. Maybe you slipped or maybe the pet moved unexpectedly. Either way, you need to stop the bleeding. Styptic Powder or a silver nitrate stick is the quickest and safest way to stop the bleeding. If you do not have this product, you can use a small amount of corn starch. Apply a good amount of powder to the hemorrhaging nail and hold few a minute or so. If using a nitrate stick, apply by putting the black end of the stick on the nail and slowly turning the stick until the bleeding stops.
If you do not have any of these products, not to worry, the bleeding should stop on its own in a few minutes. However if you allow them to walk around, you may have a not so nice mess to clean up. You also want to be sure they don't step in anything that may allow bacteria in the sore which can cause pain and possible infection.
No matter how good you are, sometimes this can happen. Maybe you slipped or maybe the pet moved unexpectedly. Either way, you need to stop the bleeding. Styptic Powder or a silver nitrate stick is the quickest and safest way to stop the bleeding. If you do not have this product, you can use a small amount of corn starch. Apply a good amount of powder to the hemorrhaging nail and hold few a minute or so. If using a nitrate stick, apply by putting the black end of the stick on the nail and slowly turning the stick until the bleeding stops.
If you do not have any of these products, not to worry, the bleeding should stop on its own in a few minutes. However if you allow them to walk around, you may have a not so nice mess to clean up. You also want to be sure they don't step in anything that may allow bacteria in the sore which can cause pain and possible infection.