Torn nails are a source of anxiety and fear in a dog owner while the dog itself may be painful and scared. We see torn nails fairly frequently at our practice and want to pass along some basic tips on how to handle these when you’re unable to come in and have us take care of it.

Basic First Aid For A Torn Nail

Dog owners usually know when their dog has torn their nail due to the amount of blood that is being left behind as the dog runs/limps around the house. This can be very scary as sometimes the amount of blood can seem to be very high.

Initial Steps For A Torn Nail

  • Place the dog either outside or in a bathroom to minimize the amount of blood being tracked around your house
  • Stay calm – most dogs hate to have their feet grabbed and touched so if you’re already upset and stressed about the situation, your dog will sense that and you won’t be able to get a good look at the torn nail
  • If the nail is literally just dangling by a tiny connection, you can just grasp it and the dog will pull it off for you. Yes, it might be a painful thing to do – think of it as ripping off a band-aid. A moment of pain followed by a great deal of relief.
  • If there is bleeding, there are a couple things you can do:
    • If you have a product at home that’s meant for bleeding nails such as Kwik Stop (which is what we use at the practice but you can also purchase it from Amazon), apply it generously to the nail.
    • When trying to apply this, sometimes it’s easiest to pour a little of the powder into the lid and then dab the bleeding nail bed onto that instead of using your finger to push it onto the nail bed
    • In an emergency, you can also use cornstarch or flour as they do a great job of helping to coagulate the bleeding
    • If the bleeding stops easily, then you likely don’t need to do anything else
    • However, if the bleeding won’t stop then a temporary bandage is the solution. This is an ideal time to have a Pet First Aid Kit at home for these kinds of situations.
    • Just make sure that the bandage isn’t too tight. Too tight means that you’ve secured the top of the bandage so tight that the foot swells. I’m not going to go into the specifics of a proper bandage in this article, but we will in another article at a future date.
  • If all of the above fails, or you can’t stand the site of blood and need someone else to tend to this for you – call us! We can take care of this issue and get your dog much more comfortable very quickly.

Why Do Dogs Tear Their Nails?

By far, the biggest reason why dogs tear their nails in the first place is that the nails are just too long. But how can you tell when their too long? The easiest answer is that you can hear the nails when the dog is walking. The click-click of too-long nails is a dead giveaway.

Another common reason why a nail gets torn is when a dog is being active in a location where their nails can get caught such as when they are running up and down a fence or hiking in an area with uneven terrain.

How often should you have your dog’s nails trimmed? It varies per dog, but the general rule is at least once per month in order to keep them at the optimal length.

Whenever we are tending to torn nails, we always trim the rest of the nails to alleviate this situation.

Should I Have The Dewclaws Removed On My Dog?

It’s a common belief that leaving the dewclaws (equivalent of a thumb in a human) will lead to many torn nails throughout the life of a dog. However, in my 30 years of seeing torn nails, I can say that a very small percentage (probably less than 10%) of nails that are torn are the dewclaws.

If the dewclaw itself is attached to the rest of the paw (versus the ones that are dangling with just a skin attachment), then removing the dewclaw is actually an amputation of a toe.

We recommend removing the dangling dewclaws when dogs are spayed/neutered, but the attached dewclaws have such a small chance of causing an issue in the future that we recommend leaving them.

Do Dremel Tools Actually Do A Good Job Of Keeping The Nails Short On A Dog?

By itself? No. A dremel can be a very useful tool for some folks, but it won’t replace trimming the nails unless you’ve been using a dremel almost daily from a very young age.

The reason for that is that the “pet” dremels on the market are of such low speed that they buff the nail surface but don’t actually take the nail off at all. They’re great for smoothing out the sharp ends of the nail after a good trim, but they don’t replace one.

What Are The Best Products That I Can Use To Keep My Dog’s Nails Healthy and Short?

  • Original Resco Nail Trimmers – I like these for their ability to be precise and easy to hold. When they start to splinter the nail they should be replaced.
  • Millers Forge Clipper – Many of my staff prefer these trimmers, especially for bigger dogs. If you have smaller, weaker hands then this clipper may do a better job for you.
  • Dremel 7300 – If you still want a dremel, then get a really good one. This is the version we use at work to help buff nails when animals are under anesthesia and we want to get the best possible nail trim. Use the slower speed in the beginning to get your dog used to it, and be sure to trim the nails first to get the best results.
  • Kwik Stop – Styptic powder for when you cut too much nail. Trust us, we do nail trims all the time and still occasionally cut one a bit too short. It happens. Be prepared.