- Trimming your dog's nails can be a stressful
experience, especially when you get to the part
where you're trimming their back nails.
So today I've called in the expert, it's Joanna
from Yellow Dog Grooming, and she's gonna give you some
simple tips to make trimming your dog's
back nails much easier.
I'm Ken Steepe and welcome back to McCann Dogs.
(guitar strumming)
(dog barking)
So Joanna what are some common mistakes you see people
make when they are trying to trim their dog's back nails?
- Often people try to take off too much length at one time.
- Okay.
- It's important that you're not going into the vein
of the nail, so that they dog stays comfortable
and isn't trying to pull away from you all the time.
There is a vein which we call a quik inside the nail
and it's very tender.
So if you go too short too fast it can make the dog
uncomfortable, which makes it uncomfortable for the person
trying to do the nails.
- Sure
- Because the dog is struggling.
So if we just start with a little bit at a time,
then the dog is much more comfortable and you can see
there is just a tiny little bit sticking out from the
nail trimmers and that's all that needs to come off.
- Okay so little bits at a time.
- Little bits at a time.
- What other things can our viewers be aware of when
they're trimming their dog's nails to make this the most
comfortable as it can be.
- For sure, not only do you want your dog standing
in good position and moving that leg comfortably.
You also have to be mindful of the toes.
Especially as a dog gets older, sometimes they'll get
arthritis in their feet, so if you're really pushing
at the toes or separating them, that can be uncomfortable
for the dog.
So you wanna try and keep the feet in a natural position
as you're trimming the nails.
You can push the hair back if they have hairy feet
so that you can see the nails but you don't wanna
extend the toes separating them or pulling them away
from the foot.
Just hold a nice firm grip in your hand and just trim
the toenail like that.
- Now what are some tips that our viewers can take home
about specifically trimming their dog's back nails?
- When you are trimming the dog's back nails it's important
to have them in a comfortable position and you want to
keep the hip close to the body and bend at the knee
and lift the leg up this way.
You never want to extend the leg away from the body
because it puts too much pressure on the hip and then
they're uncomfortable and they're not going
to enjoy the process as much.
- Okay, so having your dog on an elevated surface
would probably make life a little bit easier.
- It does help also because on the floor they're used
to that's family time, play time, they're not aware
that it's time to have their nails done.
So if you elevate them up then they know okay
every time I go up I'm gonna get my nails done.
- Yeah.
- So it makes it easier, more of a routine for them.
And then it's easier for you to be able to see the nail
and then you're not hyper extending the leg.
- Okay, the position that you had your dog in, are you
sort of, is it easiest to brace the dog from behind
as you flex that leg a little bit.
- Yeah, if you're behind the dog and even if you're slightly
above the dog, then you can see how the leg is moving.
If you're to stand on the front half of the dog then
you're automatically tending to bring the leg towards
you which is uncomfortable for them.
- Okay.
- So if you're behind them it's a much more natural
position movement of the leg, it makes it easier
for you to do the nails.
- Yeah, I'd imagine a helper is helpful to have.
- Yes.
- Someone holding your dog or maybe somehow a fashioning
a leash or something so that they can't move around to much
when they're elevated.
- Absolutely.
The more they struggle if they're trying to get away
or they're bored and they just wanna go off and sniff
a toy then it's gonna be a lot harder for you and for them.
So if you have somebody to assist you, you can feed small
treats, just rub their ears, help to keep them calm.
Even rubbing between the eyes helps to refocus the dog.
- Okay.
- So then it makes it easier to do the nails.
- We have lots of handling videos on the channel
and Joanna and I were just discussing some tips that she's
got for puppy owners for getting their dogs used to nail
trimming and what did you mention there?
- So in regards to getting your puppy used to having
their feet handled, you want to always touch their toes
but then they get used to the warmth and the softness
of your hands.
So you also want them to be used to having their
toenails touched with other objects.
So if you don't have a pair of nail trimmers at home,
you can use a metal spoon and just lightly touch
the toenails with that metal surface and then the dog
starts to get used to that and it makes it a lot easier
for them getting used to the nail trimming.
- Yeah and I love that tip because even if you're not
trimming your dog's nails at home, it's gonna make the
experience of going to a groomer a lot more comfortable.
So I love tips like that can prepare your dog
for these events.
- So if you're trimming your dog's nails at home
it's always a good idea to have some styptic powder
'cause accidents can happen.
So if you should happen to go a little too short
on the nails, you wanna have something to stop
the bleeding.
You can buy styptic powder in most pet stores,
vet clinics will carry it as well.
And it's just a powder that you press into the area
of the nail that's bleeding and it will stop the bleeding.
If you happen not to have any styptic powder on hand
at home and you hit a quik you can use things like
baking powder to pack it into the under nail
or sometimes even a bar of soap as a last minute
thing if you don't have anything else on hand that
will stop the bleeding as well.
If bleeding should happen you're dogs not going to
get to the point where you got to go to the vet
he's gonna bleed to death.
- It does seem like a traumatic event.
- It is. - But it's not that bad.
- When you see the blood and especially 'cause it's on
a foot every time they move the foot there's more
blood, it can be a little overwhelming
but even if you have nothing you can apply pressure
with a paper towel, wait a couple minutes, and it will stop.
- Great tips.
- It's important to know that when you're doing
you're dogs toe nails that the back toenails
are shorter often than the front toenails.
The reason being as dogs are walking and exercising
they tend to push off more with their back legs,
so they're grinding on the surface that's shortening them.
So if you've taken a certain amount off the front
toenail, don't expect to take the same amount off the back
toenail, you're likely going to need to only take
a little bit off the back.
- And that for me brings to mind the dewclaw.
Now some dogs will have dewclaws.
Can you talk to us for a moment about that?
- Absolutely, so the dewclaw is often located
a little higher up the side of the foot.
They can be on the back feet as well as the front feet.
And because they don't touch the ground they're not
wearing down so they almost tend to grow,
it seems like they're growing faster and they will
loop around and can grow back into the dog's foot
which is quite uncomfortable.
So you really wanna keep an eye on those dewclaws
and make sure they're trimmed very regularly.
Now if you're looking for more tips on teaching
your dog to be comfortable with handling then click
that card right there.
I have to thank Joanna from Yellow Dog Grooming
for coming out and being our expert today and sharing
tons of great tips.
If this is your first time on the channel be sure
to hit that subscribe button.
On that note, I'm Ken.
Happy Training.