CARING FOR A DOG’S NAILS
The dog’s nail is formed by what we know properly as nail that is composed of keratin and hardened dead cells, that is why it does not hurt them when cutting them, but it also runs inside a vein that we have to be careful when cutting if we do not want to hurt our dog.
This vein inside the nail grows at the same time as the nail, so a dog with long nails will also have longer veins than a dog with short nails. What does this mean? Well, a dog with long nails will probably not be able to cut them as we should and make them equal to those with short nails, since we would be cutting the vein, something that although it is not serious is very painful.
Although it may seem an unimportant issue, the length of the nails is key to the health of our dog. A dog that does not wear out its nails naturally and has no one to cut them can suffer serious postural problems.
When the nails grow, they push the animal’s foot upwards so that the support point of each paw decreases in surface. To put it another way, it is as if they had to wear heels every day of their lives. This puts pressure on their muscles and bones that can lead our dog to suffer a painful old age.
Finally, we must take into account the dewclaws. They are those nails that remain higher up on the dog’s foot, which do not touch the ground and are a vestige of the ancient anatomy from which dogs evolved. As it does not suffer any wear, it is a nail that grows longer than the rest and if it is not maintained, it can become too curved and dig into the dog’s skin causing an injury.
Nail trimming is a very simple and healthy hygiene routine for our pet, which can be done either at home or by the veterinarian or the groomer, and it is recommended to be done once a month.