Is nail trimming important for dogs?
• Long nails can be painful for your dog when they strike the pavement with each step. When nails are so long that they constantly touch the ground, they exert a force back into the nail bed, creating pain for the dog.
For us, it would be like wearing very tight shoes! This is especially important in older dogs, whose posture can be dramatically improved by cutting back neglected nails.
• The longer the nails, the more likely they will hang up on things and be torn off or split, which is very painful for your pet.
• Untrimmed nails can curl and grow into your dog’s skin or paw pads, which is not only very painful, but potentially dangerous. Nails that grow into a dog’s skin can become infected, and may require a visit to a full-service veterinarian to have them surgically removed.
How often should my dog’s nails be trimmed or cut?
The short answer is, it depends on your dog’s lifestyle. Does your dog stay mostly indoors touching carpet, versus outdoors on grass and dirt?
Does your dog go for frequent walks on concrete? Also, your dog’s nutrition can have an impact on the health and growth rate of your dog’s nails.
At Florence Animal Hospital we recommend trimming your dog’s nails, as often as it takes to prevent their nails from touching the ground when they’re standing, which is typically every 4 weeks or so.>