The first piece of advice is this: Begin early. Don't wait until your puppy is 6 months old to trim his nails. Begin trimming the first week it comes home, even if there isn't much to trim, and trim the nails weekly to get the pup accustomed to this routine.
When Can I start Clipping my Puppy's Nails? Start clipping puppies' nails within the first week of bringing your puppy home, usually from around six weeks old, then clip them every week, even if it's only a tiny amount. This would get them used to nail clipping.
Summon your dog and pick up the clippers in her presence. Act happy when you grab the clippers and give your dog a treat. Repeat this step several times a day for a couple of weeks. Your dog should quickly learn to associate the sight of the clippers with praise and treats.
The growth pattern of a dog's nails forms a curved shape. If left untrimmed, the claws will eventually curve under the dog's paws and dig into the skin, creating pain when they walk. Anyone who has ever experienced an ingrown toenail can attest to the amount of pain this will cause.
Filing dog nails provides more control and less chance of damaging the quick. Regular nail trims also prevent a painful condition where the nerve and blood supply extends into overgrown nails.
So if your puppy whines when you are cutting his nails, it doesn't necessarily mean you've hurt him. It may just be that he's anxious about the process and the strange pressure on his nails. With that being said, can you hurt him if you cut the nail too short? Sure.
Plan to trim your puppy's nails at least weekly. Nails need to be trimmed when you can hear those toes tapping on the floor. If you or your puppy is new to this process, don't expect to get through all of those nails in one sitting. Instead, plan to do a couple of nails, or just one paw during a single session.
Depending on their age, most puppies poop between four and five times per day, typically shortly after eating. There is a significant difference in bowel movements between dog breeds, and their bowel habits will change as your dog ages.
Puppies don't need a bath when younger than 8 weeks. Their small bodies are not quite ready to self-regulate body temperature yet. If they do need a clean, you can wipe your puppy down with a warm cloth. Once your puppy is older than 8 weeks, you can start bathing them in a sink.
Cutting a nail too short is colloquially called “quicking” because we call the nail bed, where the nerves and blood vessels live, the “quick”. So when you quick a dog, you damage the nerves and vessels and it hurts (a lot) and bleeds (a really lot).
Newborn nail-trimming tips
Push down on the fingertip skin so you can get the clipper or scissors around both sides of the nail and avoid cutting your baby's finger (or toe). Then, just as a professional manicurist would, finish off any sharp or rough edges with an emery board and… voilà!
If you're wondering when can puppies go outside away from home, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) recommends that pet guardians begin taking puppies on walks and public outings as early as one week after their first round of vaccinations, at about seven weeks old.
It's best to not cut within 2 millimeters of the quick. As you cut the nail deeper, a gray to pink oval starts to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick and cause bleeding.
Again, relax him with your hands and voice. When he's calm, massage one of his paws for just a couple of seconds. Give him another treat and let him go. Repeat this several times a day for several days until he stays calmly on your lap and allows you to touch and massage all four paws, each toe, and each toenail.
Clip only the tip of the nail, straight across. Include the dewclaws, located on the inner side of the paw. Avoid clipping past the curve of the nail or you risk hitting what is called the quick (the pink area of the nail that contains the blood vessels). A nick there is painful and will bleed.
Not only does cutting a dog's nails too short cause them pain, but leaving them to grow too long can be even more painful. For instance, long nails can cause a dog to lose traction in their paw, making it easier for them to slip and fall, causing additional pain than that from the nail alone.
At the center of every dog nail is a bundle of nerves and blood vessels called a quick. Cutting this quick, or even applying pressure to the area around it, can cause your dog immense pain. Some breeds, such as Shiba Inus, pugs, shepherds, labs, and bully breeds, seem to have exceptionally sensitive quicks.
The quick within a dog's nail is a “vascular structure,” meaning it has nerves and lots of blood vessels within it. So when it sustains an injury, it is painful for the dog—and there tends to be a lot of bleeding. Cutting your dog's nail too much and seeing it bleed can be a traumatizing event.
So ... how long should dog nails be? The length of your dog's nails should be about 2mm away from the quick. Another rule of thumb is that the nails should extend far enough out of the quick that they are visible, but not long enough that they are going past the paw and touching the ground.
Most dogs are comfortable dragging their nails across 30-40 grit sandpaper, which files down nails fast. Dogs under 10 lbs: 80 grit. Dogs between 10-25 lbs: Start with 80 grit and slowly introduce 40 grit (medium grit). Dogs over 25 lbs: Start with 80 grit and slowly introduce to 30 grit (coarse grit).
If a dog's nails are too long, you will hear them clack when the dog walks on hard surfaces. Deciding if your dog's nails are too long is quite simple. The claws should not protrude over the pad and should not touch the ground when standing.