The Simple Guide to Making Pet Nail Trimming Stress Free
When your pet sees nail clippers does he or she automatically experience anxiety and run away as fast as possible? If so, the nail trimming process is likely a struggle leading to frustration on both parts. While trimming your pet’s nails isn’t exactly a trip to the spa, it doesn’t have to be a constant battle. Keep reading to learn how to make pet nail trimming stress free.
Tools for pet nail trimming
Before you can trim your pet’s nails, you need to be prepared with the proper tools.
Nail Clippers
You should opt for nail clippers that are similar to scissors instead of the guillotine style clippers, which can be painful for your furry friend. Look at your clippers as an investment, and choose based on quality instead of bargain hunting.
It’s essential to only use high-quality, sharp nail trimmers. Otherwise, using dull clippers can elongate the process, be more stressful, and increase the likelihood that you make a mistake.
Nail Grinder
After trimming your pet’s nails, you should use a nail grinder to smooth the edges of their nails. Be sure only to file the top and sides of the nail where it’s least sensitive. Filing their nails helps to keep them from snagging on objects and scratching you.
Styptic Powder or Cornstarch
If you make a mistake and cut the quick, you can cause bleeding. You want to stop the bleeding quickly, and one of the best ways to do this is by packing the area with styptic powder, or cornstarch.
How to trim your pet’s nails
Now that you have the tools in place, it’s time to trim your pet’s nails. Hold the paw firmly and gently and cut the nail below the quick only trimming small amounts at a time.
Identifying where the quick is can be tricky, so here’s a good rule of thumb.
When the nails are clear, you can see the quick because it’s the pink area in the nail. Stop trimming before you get to the pink area. However, if the nails are black, you need to make small cuts until you see the black outer part of the nail and a light circle in the middle. Once you see that light colored circle, you want to stop cutting because that is the quick.
Tips and tricks to have a stress free experience
- Get your pet used to the clippers even when you’re not trimming his nails. The younger you start doing this, the better. You can get him used to the process by holding his paw and bringing the trimmers close. As you practice, provide rewards and praise for displaying good behavior.
- Cut your pet’s nails bi-weekly to maintain their length.
- Think about what calms your pet down and have those things available during the nail trim. If he has a favorite treat, let him eat it. If he likes to lay down on a particular pillow, give it to him.
- Maintain calm energy. Pets can sense how you feel, so if you’re nervous and stressed out, your pet will feed off of your energy. The more confident you get in trimming your pet’s nails, the better the experience will be.
Trimming your pet’s nails is necessary, but the stress associated with the activity doesn’t have to be. At Crate Escape Pet Care, we are skilled at performing most pet maintenance tasks, so we’ve done our fair share of trimming over the years. We don’t believe in putting pets through undue stress, so whether we are walking dogs, pet sitting, transporting pets or trimming their nails, we use our expertise to make the experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
If you need pet care services in Richmond, VA, give us a call at 804-276-6968 to schedule a free consultation.