As you get closer to the quick, the center of the nail will appear black, and may eventually look pink right before the quick. The trick is to trim a very short bit of nail at a time and stop as soon as the cut surface shows a black center. If you get to the pink, definitely stop!
Dogs' dark nails are more challenging to trim than the lightly coloured ones. By checking the underside of the nail, you should be able to see the lighter fleshy part – the quick. This contains the inner nerve and blood vessels. You want to trim above that point to avoid causing your dog any pain or discomfort.
Trimming Black Nails
Go slowly. Hold your dog's paw firmly but gently. Position the clippers to cut the nail from top to bottom (not side to side) Trim a very small length of the nail, about 1/16th of an inch.
The cutting blade should be closest to you, not the dog. Be sure not to cut too short, as the nail will bleed. Nails should be cut from underneath at a 45-degree angle.
Ways to Identify the Quick
Using a small flashlight or your phone light, extend your pup's nails directly over the light. Hold the nail between your thumb and pointer finger where the nail curves. Look for a dark mass inside the nail. If your pet's nails are thin enough, you'll see the quick as a shadowed area.
Many dogs have naturally black nails, but if you see a normally white dog nail turning black, then there is usually a cause for concern. It's worth paying attention to your dog's nail color since changes in color can indicate fungal infections, allergies, and even an autoimmune disease.
You can usually walk your dog within an hour after cutting the quick. Provided it was only a small cut, and you stopped the bleeding, there is no reason not to walk your dog. The only matter you want to keep in mind is how deep the cut is and whether you take some precautions.
How often should I trim my dog's nails? Most dogs need to have their nails trimmed approximately once monthly.
You should cut your dog's nails vertically, not horizontally - exactly like you would trim a human's nails. If you do happen to cut your dog's quick, they may react suddenly as it can be painful for them. With a cut quick, there will be bleeding and it's best to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.
Once you have cut too deep, your dog will always remember the pain and will have to be retrained to trust you, but don't worry, every dog lover has been there and it is very rare for the bleeding to not stop on its own.
Some dogs' nails are naturally colored differently. Natural pigmentation causes different colored nails in dogs, which can vary even among dogs of the same breed. What is this? In reality, some puppies may have white nails (or a combination of white and black) that gradually turn black or darker as they grow.
As you get closer to the quick, the center of the nail will appear black, and may eventually look pink right before the quick. The trick is to trim a very short bit of nail at a time and stop as soon as the cut surface shows a black center. If you get to the pink, definitely stop!
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.
A dog's nail is made up of two parts – the outer shell and inner “quick” – and inconsistent nail trims can cause the quick to overgrow.
Just like human nails, dogs do not have any feeling in the nail itself, but the quick contains a nerve that transmits sensations back to the brain. When trimming the nail, it is important to stay far enough from the quick to avoid causing pain or drawing blood.
Here's the trick to make the quick recede - after trimming the nail, use the dremel to file off the shiny outer surface of the nail 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch back from the tip. This will cause the end of the nail to dry out much more quickly and the quick will recede faster, too.
Dogs who spend a lot of time outdoors walking on hard surfaces will have nails that are shorter and blunter than dogs who spend the majority of their days indoors and do not take long walks on hard surfaces. Dogs who don't walk or run on hard surfaces will need their nails trimmed more often.
Nail grinders get the job done in a fraction of the time it takes clippers. You can also round off the tip of the nail with much more precision. Once the super efficient grinding heads wear down, they are easy to replace. Once clippers have dulled, most people toss them out and have to buy another pair.