A dog’s nails are a fundamental part of its overall grooming, so paying attention to them every time is essential. It’s normal to be distressed about clipping your pet’s nails, especially if you’ve had a bad experience in the past. However, your cat or dog may struggle with severe health issues without regular nail trimming.
Why Should You Trim Your Pet’s Nails?
You may be stunned to find out that trimming your pet’s nails regularly is essential to their health and wellness. Several benefits of regular nail grooming for pets are improved mobility, reduced pain, stronger bonds, and better health. All of these significant advantages make this procedure worth trying.
Nail trimming may feel like a difficult task since most pets dislike it and will usually express their annoyance to their owners. Even so, these are the main reasons for giving your pet a nail trim.
It Can Cause Mobility Issues
Older dogs often have nails that have grown to be exceedingly long, to the point where they restrain their ability to walk. Nails must be trimmed regularly since they can hinder traction and make it much harder for elderly dogs with arthritis or other orthopedic problems to get around.
Long nails can affect how a dog’s foot rests on the ground, leading to pain and possibly arthritis if left untreated. Vet clinics offering pet nail trimming services are an excellent choice if you’re having difficulty trimming your dog’s nails alone.
It Can Damage Their Paw Pads
Nails, especially dewclaws or “thumbs,” have a tendency to curl inward and grow into the pad if they are allowed to get too long. The tough skin over the pads is penetrated by the pointed edge of the nail, creating an open, ulcerated injury that is often infected and causes severe swelling, pain, and discomfort.
A simple nail trim is all that’s needed for both treatment and prevention of this preventable injury. Antibiotics and pain relievers are common treatments as well.
It Can Cause Pain Due to the Pressure
Nails that are too long can place excessive stress on sensitive areas of your pet’s paws, causing pain, discomfort, and possibly a trip to the veterinarian to resolve swelling or damage. One of life’s best pleasures is looking after a pet you adore. But trimming their pet’s nails is a complex and painful task for any fur parent.
Nevertheless, another nasty job in caring for dogs is helping them with anal gland expression. The anus of a dog contains two anal sacs, usually known as anal glands. When the dog excretes, the fluid contained in these sacs is released and needs to be gotten rid of. Not everyone has the skills to properly look after their dog’s anal glands. Hence vets who provide dog and cat anal gland expression services are sought out because of this.
The Bottom Line
Trimming your pet’s nails is a simple preventative measure you can take to keep them safe. Your Vet will be pleased to assist you if you feel uneasy doing it on your own. Depending upon your dog’s activity level and rate of nail growth, you may need to trim its nails as often as once every two months. Keep in mind that nails should not be allowed to get too long to the point where they “click” on the floor.