Nails

Since we opened the daycare in August, we've had a few dogs "break a nail". We've never been able to figure out what they are breaking their nails on. The dog never cries out so we don't know it has happened until we see blood. A dog's nail is constructed of a hard outer cover, which protects the quick. The quick is the inner soft part containing blood vessels and nerve endings. If the hard outer core breaks (or is cut too short) to expose the quick, they will bleed.

While we can't figure out for sure how dogs are breaking their nails, we are starting to see a pattern in the length of the nails - they tend to be on the longer side. We think the longer nails might be getting caught on something, possibly the chain-link fencing. Some dogs are more prone to it than others (i.e. if it happens once in their life, odds are it will happen again) but you can help reduce the occurances if you keep your dog's nails nice and short.

How do you know if your dog's nails are too long? An easy way to tell is if you can hear them clicking on the floor. If you are unsure, you can always just ask.

These nails are too long

This is a good length for your dog's nails to be.

If you aren't sure how to cut your dog's nails, Amanda would be more than happy to give you a quick tutorial or we can cut them here for you for $10. Some regular daycare dogs have a standing order to get their nails cut once a month, during one of their daycare visits. If you are interested in this, just let us know and we can schedule them in.