Overgrown Toe Nails Can Kill Your Dog

photo credit:
www.admiredoggrooming.com/information/nails

   Overgrown nails can actually lead to the death of your dog in a round about way. I realize

that sounds a bit extreme, but when the nails are overgrown it becomes very uncomfortable for your dog to walk on his feet. Have you ever has your toenails grow out to the point that you can start to feel them push on your socks? Now imagine the intensity of that feeling if they were so long they hit the ground as you walked and actually supported your weight, pushing on your nail beds with extreme pressure every step you took. This is what happens with dogs and a result they shift their weight to try and reduce the pressure, putting that pressure on their hips and back to compensate for this weight. The nails can even grow in a complete circle and begin growing into the flesh of the dog's pad, can you imagine what that must feel like for your pet!? With prolonged strain on their nails, back and hips irreversible damage can occur that with age, can result in a pet loosing its

Photo Credit:
www.godsc.com/animal-info/creature-tips/dogs/

mobility due to pain of the hips and back and inadvertently lead to early euthanasia because the pet is in too much pain in its old age. All of this can be avoided by something as simple as regular nail trims, and can save you thousands of dollars in vet bills tending to the damaged hips and back. Not to mention the comfort of your pet in its everyday life, but if that’s not enough to provoke pet owners to maintain the length of their pets nails, maybe awareness of the potential vet bills can be sufficient reasoning.
   Nail trimming is a simple procedure that should be performed once a month at a minimum. The more frequent, the better. It takes approximately five minutes to do, and if you have trouble doing it yourself there are many grooming salons in your area that can help. The average price range for a nail trim at a grooming salon is about $10.00, but some salons (like the one I work at) do it for free. Most grooming salons offer it as a drop in service, and it takes a matter of minutes, so phone around your local area and find out what their prices are; I bet you will be surprised at how inexpensive and convenient it can be in comparison to a $2,000.00 hip surgery, which can inadvertently result in your pets premature euthanasia.

  Pets don't always sit still for their nail trims, and sometimes put on quite a show. This is nothing more than a four year old child throwing a hissy-fit because he doesn't want to brush his teeth, and needs to be treated the same way; it's not grounds for letting the dog get its way. As we discussed it's health concerns far outweigh the dogs distaste for having it done. If you would like to learn how to do it at home, this is a great instructional video with all the information you need. I highly recommend scissor-style cutters to the guillotine style.