How To Cut Dachshund Nails
Something we have found over the last 4 and a half years as dachshund owners, is that it doesn’t seem to matter how much walking we do on hard surfaces, we still struggle to contain his nail growth. His nails always need a regular trim to keep them at a good length. Below we have compiled answers to some of the most common questions we had when we first looked into cutting our boy’s nails ourselves. If unsure, do speak to your vet or vet nurse as this is based on personal experience only.
Do you need to cut your dachshund’s nails?
Typically, you need to cut your dachshund’s nails when you can hear them tapping on a hard floor or surface when they walk, or you can see the nails visibly touch the ground. If a dachshund’s nails get too long, this can cause significant pain, joint and mobility issues as it can interfere with how they walk. Long dachshund nails are also prone to catching on things causing injury, or tearing off completely which can be very painful for your dog. Although some dog nails do wear down when walked on hard surfaces, we have found that not to be the case with our dachshund. Even with daily walking, his nails are particularly tough and growth several millimetres every month. With this in mind, they need a regular trim to keep them at a safe and healthy length.
What colour are dachshund nails and does this affect how you cut their nails?
Most dachshunds have black nails, with some coat colours having dark brown nails. Dark nail colours are trickier to cut as it is much harder to see the quick, the soft cuticle inside the nail that contains all of the nerves and blood supply to the nail. On dogs with clear or light nails, you can see the quick inside the nail from the top which makes trimming easy, however this is not possible to see on dark dog nails.
The best approach for dark dog nails is to go slowly and trim a little at a time to avoid accidentally cutting into the quick. Although it is difficult to see the quick in black nails compared to clear or light coloured nails, if you look at the end of the nail when you have trimmed off a little bit you can see a dark circle in the middle: when this dark circle fills the end of the nail (usually with a small white section) you have likely gone as far as you can go before you hit the quick and make the nail bleed so should stop at that point.
What should you do if you accidentally cut the nail quick?
Even the most careful among us can sometimes accidentally trim a bit too much off our dachshund’s nails. While this is usually not serious, it can be painful for the dog (and messy!) so is best avoided where possible. If you do accidentally cut into the quick, you can use a tissue to slow the bleeding and it’s also a good idea to have some styptic powder handy as it’s and anti-hemorrhagic agent that is really good at stopping the quick from bleeding. If you don’t have any styptic powder, cornflour also does the trick and is safe to use.
Should you cut your dachshund’s nails yourself?
A big question we asked ourselves when it came to needing our dachshund’s nails trimming was were we actually brave enough to do this ourselves, given that he has black nails (and we’ve discussed above the reasons why that can be challenging). From what we have heard, dachshunds generally tend to really hate the process of having their nails trimmed, so this is also a consideration and you may want to leave it to the professionals - most vets offer it as a service, and you can also use a dog groomer to cut your dog’s nails too. We have had our boy’s nails trimmed at the vets on previous occasions (including one embarrassing visit where he bit the nurse) so now we try to do this ourselves in our home where he is less stressed and we can bribe him with treats, as we have found it much easier when he is relaxed and comfortable.
How often should you cut your dachshund’s nails?
We have found anything from once a month to as frequently as once a fortnight for our boy is a good benchmark for when his nails need cutting, depending on how much walking we have done on hard surfaces during that time.
What tools do you need to cut dachshund nails?
If you are going to attempt to cut your dachshund’s nails yourself, the best idea is to invest in some good tools to help you make the process as easy and painless as possible. When the dog is still a puppy, you can likely use a good pair of nail scissors to trim back the nails.
As the dog grows you will want to invest in a strong, good quality nail clipper. We have tried a few different clippers, but my favourite so far is one purchased from Amazon, the DakPets Dog Nail Clipper which has a built in safety guard. This is a scissor style clipper, which we have found much better than guillotine style clippers we have tried that tend to crush the nail rather than cut it cleanly, which our boy found especially traumatic. The scissor style of clipper cuts the nail much more cleanly, avoiding as much discomfort for the dog, with less chance of the nail splitting. Sometimes we also use a basic nail file after trimming the nails to remove any splits or sharp edges.
You can also buy motorised or electric nail files, grinders and dremels for trimming back dog nails. We tried an electric file, however our dachshund was terrified of the loud sound it made, and even on multiple attempts we couldn’t get it remotely close enough to touch his nails, however it may be worth a try if your dog really hates having their nails trimmed with clippers.
Whatever tool you choose to trim your dachshund’s nails with, you will probably need to spend some time desensitising the dog to the unfamiliar tool (especially if you are using an electric grinder or noisy dremel). Familiarising your dog from an early age is ideal, getting them used to having their paws touched and nails trimmed with scissors will make the process much easier as they grow older. We always have a handful of treats at the ready too when we trim our boy’s nails.
