Mot dog owners don’t view the process of clipping their pet as an art. Instead, they’re trying to deal with the problem areas – scraggly hair on the feet that tracks in mud, for instance. In their efforts to get rid of undesirable hair, however, they may forget that they can accidentally hurt their pets.
When you choose to clip your dog’s coat, it’s important to keep breed in mind. Longer hair breeds can suffer if you clip them wrongly. Dust accumulates in the coat, and skin diseases may result. In addition, parasites may more freely breed in coats that haven’t been cared for correctly.
You need to trim your dog’s nails to avoid breaking, splitting, and pain while walking. That’s because overlong toenails cause the nail to turn sideways, or even to dig into the foot. When a dog has claws that are too long, it becomes easy to catch them on hard surfaces or to break or split them.
It’s easy to accidentally hurt your dog while clipping his or her nails, since the quick in the nail’s center bleeds when cut. This is where the nerves and the blood vessels are located, and it keeps the nail alive and growing. However, if you cut the nail too short or accidentally splinter it, the exposed quick will be painful.
To cut your dog’s hair and nails, always use the sharpest clippers you can, and choose the right tools. Human nail clippers are wrong for dogs’ nails – use ones purchased at your local pet supply store instead. There are a number of great new nail clippers out there that are made to keep pain and damage to a minimum.
If you live in an area that’s cold in winter, don’t clip your dog during the cold months unless you have to. The winter can be very stressful for your dog if his coat isn’t long enough to protect him. Remember that dogs can get frostbite the same way we can.
Never cut your pet’s hair too short in the summer, either. Otherwise, you could expose her skin to the harmful rays of the sun. Dogs’ fur keeps them cooler in the summer as well as warm in the winter. A slight cut will be fine, but make sure you leave enough fur to protect your dog.
Don’t clip your dog when he or she is ill, since it can stress your pet even more. Clip only when needed to get rid of broken nails or dirty fur.
One way to help keep your dogs nails short and health is walking her on concrete on a daily basis. This allows the nails to gradually be worn down. It naturally controls the length of the nails, keeping you and your pet from needing to deal with nail clippers.
To get the best results, you’ll want to talk to a professional groomer who knows how to correctly clip your dog.
