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Nail care

Q: How often do I need to trim my dog’s nails? My Sheltie has one nail that often splits and sometimes even bleeds. It doesn’t appear to cause her much pain, but she’s pretty stoic. Would trimming it shorter help or make it worse? Should I invest in a Dremel tool to keep the nail short?

A: For most dogs, nail trimming needs to be done about as often as you have your horse’s hooves trimmed, so a good way to remember is to do it right after each farrier visit.

However, there can be a huge amount of variability in how fast an individual dog’s nails grow and how fast they wear down. Factors that influence the need for trimming include how much exercise the dog gets, the surfaces he moves on and the texture of the nails themselves. As with horses’ hooves, some dogs have harder, thicker nails