Ensuring your dog’s nails are regularly trimmed is more important than you may think.
If your dog spends a lot of time outside, the friction from hard surfaces like concrete and blacktop may gradually wear their nails down, but this takes A LOT more time on these surfaces! If your dog is inside a lot, only going outside for walks or running on soft surfaces like grass, their nails will keep growing and growing.
Regardless of your dog’s lifestyle, their nails should be trimmed whenever you notice them getting too long.
Why Dog's Nails Need to Be Trimmed
1. Long Nails Cause Significant Discomfort
Have you ever let your own toenails grow too long, put on enclosed shoes then felt uncomfortable pressure? This is like what dogs go through if their nails are too long (with or without the shoes). If your dog’s nails are constantly pushing against the floor, the nail bed is being pushed back into their feet. As you can imagine, this can be extremely uncomfortable – every time they take a step!
If this happens for an extended period, their foreleg joints will realign and make the paw look flat and splayed out. More importantly, your pup will be in constant discomfort whenever they’re on the move.
2. Untrimmed Nails Are More Susceptible to Injuries
If your dog’s long nails are causing them pain while walking, he or she will likely redistribute their body weight to avoid the pain. This may cause their body’s alignment to be off when they move, making them more susceptible to injuries. While it’s always important to make sure your dog’s nails are trimmed, it’s especially important in older dogs with arthritis, weakness, and balance problems.
Additionally, long toenails on your dog can easily catch onto things. When caught, these toenails can tear or cause your dog’s whole toe to be wrenched. Veterinarians are frequently treating injuries like these, so please schedule your nail trim appointment as soon as possible to prevent this from happening!
3. Dog Nail Trimming Prevents Ingrown Nails
Ingrown toenails on dogs are nails that have grown so long that they curl and grow right back into a dog’s paw pads. Not only is this incredibly painful, but it also creates open wounds in their paws that often become infected. Without treatment, ingrown nails can eventually cause total lameness.
Ingrown nails are seen more often in older dogs because their nails tend to grow thicker, combined with less natural nail grinding due to outdoor activity. If you have a senior dog, make sure you’re having their nails trimmed every 3-4 weeks minimum.
Look at your dog’s nails, one at a time. If you see any nails growing back towards their paw pads, please make an appointment with your vet as soon as possible to get the situation under control before a larger problem occurs.
Keeping Your Dog’s Nails Short
We know it can be tricky to cut your dog’s nails at home, some helpful tips for ensuring it’s done regularly include:
Ask your vet or groomer to walk you through the process so you can receive hands-on practice with a professional there to step in as needed.
Set a recurring monthly puppy playdate with a friend. Use this time each to trim both your dogs’ nails together.
Save on your dog’s nail trims by signing up for Thrive Plus Membership which comes with unlimited $5 nail trims!
Learn more about Thrive Plus
Originally from Upstate New York, Dr. Silverman received his BA with High Honors (for Lyme Disease research) from Middlebury College in Vermont, his Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, and his MBA (Entrepreneurship) from DePaul’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago.
