Cutting Dachshund’s nails is another challenging task. They always fight back and run away whenever you go near their nails with a nail clipper. It is an important part of grooming.
Leaving your doxies’ nails untrimmed for a long time can irritate them, making clicking sounds on hard surfaces, destroying carpets, beds, and carriers, and causing pain and discomfort if the nail breaks.
Trimming dachshund nails can be tricky sometimes but with proper knowledge and practice you can easily do this task with positive results.
Here we have listed various methods and equipment we have used to cut our dachshund’s nails.
Why It is Important To Trim Your Dachshunds Nails
Dachshunds have pretty hard nails even after regular walking on hard surfaces nails dont wear off on some dachshunds.
Long nails will cause discomfort, difficulty in walking, pain, and inflammation while scratching on the surfaces or digging on the ground.
Overgrown nails are most likely prone to breaking, which further leads to painful experiences for your doxie.
Should you cut Your Dachshund’s nails Yourself?
Clipping your puppy’s nails yourself can be challenging sometimes. In our case we struggled a lot, the first time when we tried to trim our doxies nails she screamed like someone trying to kill her.
The right way to approach your dachshund is by choosing the right tools, creating a calm environment, and confidently clipping the nails.
With the right strategy and approach the fear of cutting your puppy’s nails could become a positive experience for both of you.
What are The Essential Tools to Cut Dachshund’s Nails?
Selecting the perfect instrument for the trim is crucial, to make sure your puppy dont feel any discomfort. Below we have listed different types of clippers and grinders you can choose from.
Scissor Clippers
These give more control to the user for a cleaner cut, best suited for those who prefer a slow and gentle approach.
Guillotine Clippers
These work best for soft nails when your doxie is still a puppy, because hard nails could get crushed by these rather them cutting them, and it could become a traumatic experience for the puppy.
Rotary Clippers
These are to be used by experienced owners, they are quick but you need to be careful while using them, to avoid any accidents.
Dremel
These electric-powered trimmers are also a great choice for dachshunds who have hard-to-cut black nails where the quick is not easily visible.
Styptic Powder
While cutting your puppy’s nails styptic powder is a must because accidents can happen anytime. If you accidentally cut the nail “quick” the powder will help you clot the bleeding.
What’s The Best Time To Cut Dachshunds Nails
The time when your dachshund is calm and relaxed, not making sudden movements, and try to avoid cutting nails when it’s their playtime, as they are a hyperactive dog breed full of energy.
What to do if your Dachshund is Nervous
A lot of times we have seen dachshunds show anxious behavior when you try to trim their nails, especially when we tried Dremel, and she got terrified by its sound.
In this case, you need to approach your puppy by gently holding their paws, and positively rewarding them with their favorite treats.
Slowly introduce him to all the types of equipment, while letting him sniff the tools to build trust. If you are using an electric grinder or trimmer, make him get used to its sound so that the puppy dont feel scared when you use it.
How To Cut Dachshund’s Nails
Dachshunds have dark brown and black nails, but generally, doxies have black colored nails, even our puppy has black nails.
In comparison to dark brown nails the “quick” is not easily visible in the Black ones. The quick is a very sensitive part, found in the center of the nail which is filled with blood vessels & veins.
You have to be very careful to avoid accidentally clipping the quick. Don’t rush, cut the nails in small pieces, and examine the nail each time you trim and make sure you are not going too deep.
Once you see a small white dot in the center, you need to stop right there because it’s the starting point of the quick.
Conclusion
Cutting dachshund’s nails is a challenging task but not impossible, with patience, practice, and the right tools you will easily cut their nails.
After cutting the nails always watch your puppy’s behavior, is he showing any signs of unease or discomfort, licking the paws, limping, and feeling irritated?
“Please seek professional help if you notice any of these signs in your dachshund.”
If you are afraid of cutting your puppy’s nails by yourself then you approach any nearby dog grooming center or veterinarian where the trained experts will do all the trimming.