It would seem that there is nothing simpler than trimming a Chihuahua’s claws. However, the procedure often turns into a test for both participants in the process. The dog stubbornly resists and does not allow his nails to be trimmed. There are several reasons for this behavior:
- nail trimming is done by the owner for the first time, so the Chihuahua experiences fear and anxiety before an unfamiliar procedure;
- to the animal the process seems tedious and boring, with no personal benefit for its completion;
- Previously, during the trimming of claws, a painful injury was received, so the animal is afraid of the procedure.
The Chihuahua shows dissatisfaction with your idea by growling, or hiding in secluded places in the apartment at the mere sight of nail clippers. Believe me, novice breeders experience fear no less than their pet.
Firstly
, the owner is afraid of hurting his pet.
Secondly
, not everyone knows how to trim a Chihuahua’s claws correctly.
Thus, some owners never trim their dog's nails, leaving everything to chance. Which in the future will definitely affect the health of the animal.
Why is it important to trim your Chihuahua's nails regularly?
I don’t think it’s necessary to explain why it’s important to cut a person’s nails, but I’ll explain why a dog should do it. Untrimmed claws of a Chihuahua:
- lengthen and grow into the soft tissue (skin) of the fingers, causing pain;
- lead to deformation of the fingers and paw joints, the development of canine arthrosis, and atrophy of the limbs;
- provoke violations of posture and stance;
- brittle and fragile, contribute to the spread of infections, inflammation and suppuration through open wounds and cracks in the horny part;
- scratch the floor and furniture, click when walking on parquet and tiles.
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dewclaw in a puppy; removing it in adulthood is not recommended, because The operation is extremely difficult and painful. The dewclaws (fifth) fingers should be given special attention and trimmed more often than others.
The procedure is carried out once every 2 weeks, regardless of the length of the claw. If you don’t have the opportunity or desire to trim your Chihuahua’s claws yourself, you can use the professional services of grooming salons.
Cost of the service: 200-400 rubles. Calling a specialist to your home will cost 400-800 rubles. The price in different regions of Russia may vary significantly.
Nail trimming is a mandatory procedure
Some owners believe that it is not so important to trim their dog's nails. She can wear them off gradually herself, for example, when she walks and plays. This is a serious misconception! Chihuahuas need to have their nails trimmed at least once a month.
When the claws are trimmed on time, the owner no longer has to worry about his pet in this regard. If you neglect this procedure, there is a high probability of various problems arising. Let's say the claws begin to break off, causing the dog to suffer from pain. Sometimes bleeding even occurs, which further provokes infection with all sorts of contagious diseases. In general, haircuts should not be neglected.
Basic Concepts
Claws play a big role in the life of a dog, especially one so small and defenseless. A Chihuahua will not be able to sharpen its nails correctly on its own. But the functioning of the paws, the entire musculoskeletal system, depends directly on the claws and their condition. Experts give different recommendations. As per their requirements, puppies need to have their nails trimmed once a week or every two weeks. For an adult dog, trimming once every month is enough.
Remember this important point! You must clearly understand how to trim the nails of a Chihuahua puppy. The fact is that dog nails are significantly different from human nails. They may be painful and may bleed. The whole point is in the difference in structure. Each dog's claw contains a so-called pulp, which is highly sensitive. It has two parts:
- blood vessel;
- nerve endings.
It is imperative to trim your nails with extreme caution so as not to damage the pulp! If allowed to get injured, the Chihuahua will not only suffer from pain. Serious bleeding may even begin.
Good to know: What to feed a Chihuahua: a healthy diet for a puppy
Risk factors
As you can see, cutting a haircut is not so simple. But here you also need to remember about the risk factors that become relevant if you neglect this procedure. Let's list the most important points.
- Long claws will be a serious hindrance for a small dog. They greatly interfere with walking. Because of this, sometimes gait disturbances even develop and failures in coordination of movements begin. And some Chihuahuas even suffer from lameness.
- When nails are left untrimmed for too long, the blood vessel located inside the nail also begins to grow. It becomes too long and grows along with the stratum corneum. Then it is extremely difficult to correct such a violation, because if you simply trim the claw, bleeding may begin. And here it can even come to surgical intervention. The operation is performed and anesthesia is given. All this is dangerous and extremely unpleasant for the animal.
- Neglected claws are a danger to the joints and the entire musculoskeletal system of the animal as a whole. Joints sometimes begin to bend. As a result, the likelihood of all kinds of damage and dislocations increases, both to the fingers themselves and to the paws in general.
- In some cases, overgrown doggie nails grow directly into the skin on the toes. Because of this, the animal gets sick and suffers from pain.
- When a dog tries to get rid of a boring long nail on its own, this can lead to breaking and cracking of the nail.
- If a claw breaks off while walking, dust and dirt get into the resulting wound. And here the risk of developing infectious diseases increases sharply.
Remember! The owner must take care of the condition of his pet’s paws and claws. Chihuahuas are unable to fully groom themselves. This responsibility falls on the shoulders of the individual. And here it is important to know all the specific points: how to cut Chihuahua’s nails, what tools are needed.
How to train a Chihuahua to trim its nails?
Experienced breeders and dog handlers recommend starting to accustom Chihuahuas to trim their nails from puppyhood (from 2 months). At an early age, trusting relationships between the puppy and the owner, worldview, psyche, and personality are formed. Puppies are as flexible and trainable as possible. An adult dog is less pliable due to its established character.
The animal will clearly not be happy with your idea. He will remove his paw, struggle, perhaps even growl. The owner will have to show maximum restraint and patience.
Under no circumstances should you shout, hit, or forcibly restrain the dog while grooming. Such actions will only worsen the relationship of trust, and subsequent attempts to trim the claws will provoke severe stress in the animal.
By the way, my Thai friend advised me to growl in response to a dog's growl. In this case, the ward becomes more restrained. I haven’t checked, to be honest, because... not necessary. But I think there is an effect.
If the dog fidgets, bites and tries to escape, then do not interfere. Let him calm down and continue a little later. He should not form negative associations with the process. On the contrary, pet your pet, praise it in a gentle voice, and give it a treat.
Soon, trimming your Chihuahua's nails will become a habit and will evoke only positive emotions.
Bleeding Claw
While trimming your nails, you may miscalculate the distance and unintentionally hit a blood vessel. The sensation is extremely painful, so the dog will yelp and pull his paw away.
Don’t panic, he will live, but you need to provide first aid to the victim. It is necessary to treat the wound with a solution of hydrogen peroxide or iodine. Then apply veterinary hemostatic powder or a pencil to the cut site. If you don't have it, flour or talc will do.
Belemnite stone, also known as the “devil’s finger,” when ground to a powder, has an excellent hemostatic effect.
Usually the blood clots within 5 minutes. If there is heavy or prolonged bleeding, apply a piece of ice and go to a veterinary clinic immediately.
Please write how you trim your Chihuahua’s nails, and do you do it at all? What difficulties do you experience during the process?
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Cutting your Chihuahua's nails is not a whim, but a necessity. Overgrown claws limit freedom of movement and prevent normal paw placement, which leads to problems with the musculoskeletal system. But only proper nail trimming will not cause discomfort to the dog or frighten it.
Advice from veterinarians and dog handlers will help make the procedure painless.
Which nail clipper to choose?
Pet stores offer a wide range of nail clippers for dogs of all sizes. Some work on the principle of a guillotine, others on the principle of scissors equipped with sickle-shaped blades.
«What to choose? And why can’t you cut your hair with regular scissors?
" - you ask.
The thing is that the human nail is thin and flat, while the Chihuahua's claw is oblong and thick. Ordinary scissors will squeeze the claw with the blades, causing pain, discomfort, and separation of the nail plate.
Specialized nail clippers are made taking into account the structure and density of a dog's claw. The buyer is offered a choice of nail clippers:
Guillotine An instrument with the same name as an execution weapon. The design consists of a fixed axis with a hole, and a movable axis with a crescent-shaped pointed cutter. The guillotine mechanism cuts off the claw inserted into the hole by squeezing the handles of the tool. Disadvantage: the blade often becomes dull, complex and flimsy design.
Cost in stores: from 200 rubles.
Nippers (secateurs) They are scissors with two sickle-shaped blades. The strong and reliable design allows you to easily trim your Chihuahua's large and dense nails. The blades become dull less often, and it is easier to control the cutting distance. Some models are equipped with a blade opening limiter. I didn't find any shortcomings.
Cost in stores: from 500 rubles.
Electric scratching post (grinder) Visually resembles a Dremel with an emery roller as an attachment. More often used as an auxiliary tool for polishing claws. Specialized dog files do an excellent job of this task, so purchasing a tool is at your discretion.
Cost in stores: from 600 rubles.
I made a choice in favor of wire cutters, and I recommend them to you too
! In fact, you can use any of the presented tools. The main thing is that it is made of hard metal with high-quality sharpening.
How to trim claws correctly?
Claws should not touch the floor. If this happens, then it’s definitely time to trim them. Ideally, they should be trimmed every 2 weeks, but, as a rule, the owner finds excuses not to do this.
Depending on pigmentation, claws are divided into 3 types:
- dark;
- light;
- mixed.
The pigment of the cornea depends on the color of the animal's coat. The paw may have dark and light claws at the same time, i.e. mixed type.
The nail should be cut at an angle of 40-50 degrees. Be careful not to touch the pulp with the adjacent blood vessels (capillaries) and nerve endings that run along each claw. With regular trimming, the pulp will gradually go deeper into the claw, reducing the distance.
On a light-colored claw, the highly sensitive area is colored pink, so it is visible to the naked eye. Step back 2-3 mm from it and cut it off.
What if your Chihuahua has dark nails? Cut in small pieces of 1-2 mm until a dark point with a diameter of about 1 mm appears in the center of the section. File sharp edges with a nail file.
Do I need to trim my nails and at what age?
Due to their small weight, the claws of representatives of the Chihuahua breed wear down very poorly, even if you walk with your pet on the asphalt for a long time. Therefore, almost all Chihuahua owners sooner or later have to think about shortening their pet’s claws.
Why do they need to be trimmed?:
- Overgrown nails tend to curl inward and can eventually grow into the pads of the paws, causing extreme pain to your pet. And in the most severe cases, claws that have grown into the pads even become the reason that the dog cannot walk on its own.
- Overgrown nails may become cracked. Often because of this, when a Chihuahua clings to something with such a claw, it breaks at the crack, which also causes pain to the dog. And if the claw breaks at the base, this can cause severe bleeding or even suppuration.
- If the claws are not shortened in time, the animal will not be able to place its paw straight: the toes will begin to turn out, causing the joints and ligaments to become deformed.
- Long claws cause a shift in the center of gravity: the Chihuahua may not maintain balance and fall, resulting in serious injury.
- If your pet's nails are overgrown, he can get seriously injured by them or injure his owner. And if we are talking about suckling puppies, then scratch the mother with them.
- Having caught its long claws on the upholstery of furniture or the owner's clothing, a playful Chihuahua can tear them or, at a minimum, make puffs in the fabric.
CAUTION! Ungroomed overgrown claws are a serious fault and are severely penalized at shows.
Based on this, it should be recognized that shortening the claws is a very important procedure for caring for a Chihuahua. The first time Chihuahua puppies get their hair cut is at the breeder's house when the babies start scratching the bitch with it while feeding.
Also read about mating Chihuahuas.
Subsequently, this procedure is repeated approximately once every two weeks until the puppies are completely weaned from their mother.
In a new home, the baby's claws are trimmed for the first time when he begins to click with them when walking on the floor..
Considering that few responsible breeders sell puppies with overgrown claws, approximately this will be about a week or two after acquiring a friend.
Expert opinion Semyon Kirillovich Kozhevin Expert dog handler. “The frequency of trimming Chihuahua’s claws depends on the age of the dog. Puppies need to trim their nails twice a month, but for adult animals it is enough to do this once every 3-4 weeks. The speed at which claws grow, which varies for all animals, also matters. Therefore, if your pet’s claws grow slowly, then the frequency of trimming them should be 5-6 weeks.”
Also read about whether you need to brush your Chihuahua's teeth.
Trimming process step by step
- prepare the nail clipper, disinfect it with alcohol or cologne;
- provide a calm environment in the room so that the dog does not feel anxious;
- sit comfortably on the sofa, floor, mattress, or chair, legs slightly apart;
- place the Chihuahua on its back, head to knees;
- fix the dog in this position by moving its legs;
- take the paw with one hand and lightly press on the pad so that the toes move apart and the claws extend as far as possible;
- with the other hand, cut off the claw to a distance safe for the pulp;
- repeat the steps with each toe on the paw;
- if necessary, take a break, treat the “sufferer” with a treat, and praise;
- after the break, continue trimming the remaining paws;
- at the end, treat him with a treat and praise him;
- repeat every 2 weeks.
