Dog Grooming Things to Know

Nail trimming is an essential part of a regular grooming routine. If your dog’s nails get too long, they can break, which is painful and sometimes results in infection. Long nails can also cause an irregular gait (a dog’s gait is its quality of movement) that leads to skeletal damage.

If dogs are not walked on hard ground, their nails te

Nail trimming is an essential part of a regular grooming routine. If your dog’s nails get too long, they can break, which is painful and sometimes results in infection. Long nails can also cause an irregular gait (a dog’s gait is its quality of movement) that leads to skeletal damage.

If dogs are not walked on hard ground, their nails tend to grow quickly. If their nails grow too long, it can lead to sprung toes in athletic breeds and turned-out toes in severe cases. A dog’s nails curve as they grow out. If they are not trimmed, they will eventually curl under the foot, where they can dig into sensitive paw pads and cause pain. Dewclaws (the nails at the sides of the front and sometimes back paws) are even more prone to this curling and growing. Keeping nails short and blunt often prevent injuries such as splitting and bleeding nails.