Tag Archives: nails

Cutting Your Dog’s Nails

Posted on by jennariedi


If you have never cut your dog’s nails before, it is best to get her used to you touching her feet first. So for a few seconds, a couple times a day just hold her paws in your hands. Make sure to reward her for letting you do this-I always give a little treat so they know they are being good. Do this for a few days until she is tolerant of you holding them for more than a few seconds.
Now that your dog is used to you touching her feet, you can start cutting her nails.  I prefer using standard dog nail clippers (personally not a fan of the guillotine clippers, but go with whatever you feel most comfortable with).  I recommend just doing one foot at a time with a good, long break in between as a cooling off period. As time goes on, you may not need to do this since your dog will get used to the nail cutting. If your dog’s nails are white, you will notice some red running from the base, but not out into the tip. This red is blood and nerves, called the quick, so you do NOT want to cut into that! Just cut off the white tip of the nail. If your dog has black nails, you will want to cut off a tiny bit at a time and keep an eye on the surface where you are cutting. As you get close to the blood and nerves, a ring on their nail will appear where you are cutting. Once you see this ring in their nail, stop!
I recommend cutting your dog’s nails once a month. If your dog likes treats, it is always a good idea to reward her for a good job! And remember, your dog may not be a fan of the paw touching and nail cutting, so have some patience. It will take some time for her to adjust to this, but if you keep it positive and go slow she will be okay with it in no time!
Bonus: This method also works for cats! I cut my cat’s nails once a week to keep his nails short and dull at all times. It may take even more patience for your feline friend to be okay with paw handling, but go slow and reward liberally and your kitty will warm up to the idea eventually.  Once again, I prefer to use the standard cat nail clippers that you can find in any pet supply store.
*Picture taken from simplyk9.co.uk

The truth about declawing

Posted on by jennariedi


There are usually two main reasons why people decide to declaw their cat: fear of furniture damage and fear of human injury. I will go through the two issues and explain why declawing is actually not the answer. Then I will explain why declawing is an overall bad idea.

Furniture Damage
If you are concerned about your cat scratching furniture, please see my earlier entry about working with your cat’s nails and teaching them to stop scratching. A cat can be trained! The key is to provide an appropriate object for scratching, typically a scratching post, so your cat can act out the instinctive need to stretch, scratch and mark with his scent.

Children/Visitors
If you are worried about your children’s safety, please keep in mind that a cat gives off very distinct body language that you and your family should learn. If your cat does not want to be picked up or petted any more, you can tell! The more the tail is moving, the more agitated the cat and therefore the cat should be left alone. Also, if a cat’s ears are back and/or eyes are dilated (but you are in a well lit area), the cat is on high alert and likely easily startled. And this point is rather obvious, but your children may not realize it: if the cat is hiding leave him alone! He wants to be alone and will not be happy if disturbed. So teach your children to look for these signs before the approach your cat. That way, no scratching will occur!

Another topic to discuss with visitors and children is that most cats do not like to be held or picked up. They do not like to feel confined and therefore will struggle if handled. So make sure everyone understands not to pick up or hold down your cat!

Just Say No to Declawing
The option of declawing was very popular up until about five years ago when people began to realize the true extent of the damage done with this surgery. Most people think that declawing the cat is simply removing their nails when in fact you are removing their finger from the first joint. Even if your cat makes it through the surgery without complications, there are long term issues that have been proven to occur. A cat’s claws are their first line of defense. When a cat is tired of a child pestering them, they give a few swats of their paw as a warning. However, if a cat figures out their paws no longer work effectively to ward off unwanted attention they will resort to their second line of defense-their teeth. So it comes down to deciding if you would rather be scratched when your cat is grumpy or bitten.

Another behavior issue that can arise from declawing is peeing outside the litter box. When a cat loses his fingers through the declawing surgery his feet do not feel the same anymore. Some cats will respond to this discomfort (or, if the healing did not occur properly, pain) by avoiding strange surfaces. Like cat litter.

Declawing is a very hard thing for a cat to adjust to and therefore you should NEVER declaw a cat over the age of one. Take humans for example. If you take me, a 25 year old, and cut my fingers off it will take me a long time to adjust to this disability since I have lived with fingers for 25 years. However, if you take a newborn baby and cut her fingers off, that is all she knows while growing up and will therefore have less of an issue adjusting to the disability.

You should always discuss with your veterinarian about this surgery if you are considering it, but keep in mind your vet may recommend it because it means more money for them.
(image taken from http://www.declawing.com)