Written by: Samantha Boswell, Vet Assistant, Exotic Animal Rehabilitator
Nail cutting is an unpleasant chore for everyone involved; you, your pet, and sometimes your neighbours if your pet is dramatic. However, it is an essential part of your pets health. Not only do long, overgrown nails look terrible, they can also cause many issues with your pet.
The nails can become so overgrown they will turn into the paw/foot pad of the pet. This will lead to pain and infection and ultimately a more expensive vet bill in order to repair the damage. Before it gets to that point, the nails will press against the ground and back into the nail bed, causing pain while walking. Imagine wearing extremely tight shoes all the time; that is what untrimmed nails feel like on a pet.
The nails are made up of a living quick and a hard shell. The quick provides blood flow down into the nail and is painful to cut. When the nails grow, so does the quick; making it harder to maintain a proper length and making nail cutting painful.
Long nails can not only cause mobility issues due to pain, but can cause mobility issues due to injury. The long nails can cause balance issues compromising your pet's weight distribution and your pet's natural alignment. This can make walking and running difficult and makes your pet more susceptible to injuries. In older dogs and in long term cases this can cause posture alignment issues, hip issues, and other joint issues.
One of the most common issues though is when the nail will rip or split; this can cause issues with bearing weight on that leg, the rip can become infected, and this is all very painful for your pet. Many pets with limping issues are due to a ripped or torn nail that was too long and became too painful to walk properly on.
As you can see, nail care is not just for esthetics;
even though a nice set of trimmed nails does look so satisfying. Nail care is important for the long term health of your pet. It will keep them happy, pain-free and having less chances of injury. This is fantastic for both your pet and your wallet!
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