Start Em’ Young 💅
It’s unfortunately a common issue for dogs to be fearful of getting their nails trimmed. You hear about it all the time, a dog being good for almost everything, except getting their nails done. In almost every case, it likely could have been avoided had the dog started getting their nails trimmed as a young puppy.
It’s understandable people feel like they can wait to start this process because their puppy’s nails aren’t long when they’re so young and active. However, if it’s not introduced right away, they can become fearful of nail trims, and even aggressive about it. Even if you’re only taking off a small amount, it’s so important to do it early and often!
The plus side to making it a normal and neutral experience for your dog is also keeping the nerves in their nails short. For those who go a long time between their dog’s nail trims, we often run into the issue of not being able to trim a long nail much shorter without nicking the nerve, because the nerve grew out with the nail. By cutting nails more often, the nerve too stays short.
So how often should you trim your dog’s nails? Like people, each animals will have different growth rates, but somewhere between 1-4 weeks, depending on your specific dog. If you’re cutting off a lot each time, maybe do it more often. If you’re barely taking off anything, but spreading it out up to 4 weeks, I would recommend keeping it at least every 4 weeks to ensure it remains a neutral experience for your pup.
Having the right tool can also make or break the experience for your pup. And a groomer, I use these and am obsessed! —> https://amzn.to/4e4YFmP
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