Dog Nails

Trimming their nails isn’t an activity enjoyed by dogs. They think it’s a dreadful activity. And unless you can convince them otherwise, it always will be an awful experience for both owner and dog. There is a trick to it, believe it or not. There’s a way you can actually make your dog not mind getting his toenails trimmed.

Use pet clippers. They are the best kind of clippers to use. There is a special kind of clipper on the market that makes a clean swipe on their claws. If you use the same clippers that you use for your fingers and toes, the clippers will pinch the nails of your pet. When you cut the nail of your dogs toe, be sure not to take too much. You want only to clip off a tiny bit at the tip.

Clip only up to where the nail starts curving upward.

If you clip too much of your dog’s toenail, you might clip the pink vein you likely can see inside his nail. If you hit that area, he’ll bleed profusely. Use some dry powder to stop the bleeding.

When you’re trying to teach your dog to get used to getting his toenails clipped, first let him get used to the sound of the clippers. As you tempt your dog with a treat or with his favorite human food, just snap the clippers a few times. Let him get used to the sound. Also let him get used to you grabbing his paws in positive times. When you’re praising your dog, be sure to grab his paws and be happy about it. Then, when you’re praising your dog, clip two of his nails. Just two. . Don’t rush it, especially if your dog doesn’t like it. Eventually, you’ll be able to clip all your dogs’ nails, and he wont mind at all.

Dog Ears
If you have a dog that doesn’t shed much (Schnauzers, Shih Tzus, Malteses Westies, ) or you see a lot of unnecessary hair blocking the dog’s ear canal, you need to pull it out. Most pet supply stores carry a special powder that you put in the dogs ear before plucking. The powder helps make it easier to pull out the hair. So take your powder, pour a little bit in the dog’s ear, and rub it around. Then use quick, swift motions and pluck as much of the hair out as you can.

There is no need to go very far down the canal, just far enough so you can see in the ear better. This may be a bit painful for the dog, so it may squirm a little. Just hold on to it tight and finish as quickly as possible. The sooner you’re done, the sooner your dog will be comfortable.

If your dog doesn’t need ear plucking, or you’ve already finished pulling out the hair, the next step is to clean out the ear. Take the cleaning solution or alcohol and thoroughly wet the gauze.

After that, take your free hand and gently swab out the residue in the dog’s ear with the gauze.

Keep doing this as necessary until all dirt and build-up is freed from the dog’s ear. Be careful.

Dogs have very sensitive ears, just as, or even more than, humans. Do the same with the other ear.

Clean your dog’s ears about once a week, or whenever you notice them getting dirty. But if it has floppy ears, check on them about three times a week. Also, make sure to notice if your dog is scratching its ears or shaking its head a lot. If it does, it may have ear mites, so consult a vet. And, when cleaning the ears, you notice an odor or some discharge, see your vet.

To reduce the risk of ear infection, keep your dog’s ears as dry as possible. Dry them off whenever they get wet externally, and, when bathing your dog, use large cotton balls to prevent bath water from getting into the ear canals.

Dog Nose
The simple way to find out if your dog has a healthy nose is to see what color it is. If is the usual or normal color, then all is well. If the color is different, it could mean your dog has a more serious health problem of some sort. If your dog’s nose is normally black, it’s not going to change to a greenish color the next day. If your dogs nose changes colors even slightly, you should take it to your vet to make sure its okay.

Many people believe that if a dog’s nose is dry, then the pet is sick. They thought that the main sign of a healthy dog is a good wet, sloppy nose. This is not true. A wet nose simply means that the air is plenty humid. Just like anything else, when its humid outside, your dog’s nose gets wet. If the weather is overly dry, so will be your dog’s nose.

Another misconception is that you can tell how your dog is feeling by touching its nose. If your dog’s nose is hot, then it might have a fever. But if it’s cool, it’s feeling just fine. But this is not accurate. Again, a dog’s nose temperature changes based on the environment. If it’s warm where your dog is, your dog’s nose will be warm. If it’s cold, your dog’s nose will be colder.