How to Stop Bleeding Dog Nail? – Itsaboutdog

How to Stop Bleeding Dog Nail

Summary

Dog nails bleed primarily from accidentally cutting into the quick or the dog struggling during trimming. Trimming prevents discomfort and damage. Minor bleeding lasts 2-3 minutes, heavier bleeding 5-10. To stop bleeding, stay calm and reassure your dog. The most effective method is applying styptic powder. Alternatives include baking soda, cornstarch, flour, pressing the nail into a softened bar of soap, or applying wrapped ice to constrict blood vessels and numb the area. Keep styptic powder on hand. Consult a vet if bleeding doesn’t stop or the nail appears infected. Proper trimming techniques prevent future incidents.

What is the Reason Behind the Bleeding of Your Dog’s Nails?

Almost all dog owners trim the nails of their canine friends to keep them small in size, and this process primarily causes the nails of the dogs to bleed. The factors that are responsible for the bleeding of your dog’s nails are discussed below.

Shake of the Dog’s Body

We all know that most of us used to hold the paw of our canine friends while cutting their nails.

This can sometimes be irritating for the pet as they can’t bear their paw getting stuck in a position for a long time, due to which they often shake their body to get released from the tight grab of the owner, causing a disturbance to the cutting process which leads to particular bleeding of nails.

Lack of Proper Training to Trim Nails

It’s not always the pet’s fault whenever it suffers from a dog’s bleeding. Sometimes, the dog’s bleeding can also be caused by the owner’s mistakes.

If the owner doesn’t have proper training or proper knowledge of how to trim the nails of their canine friend, it can often lead to the bleeding of the nails of the canine friend.

The above discussed are the most common reasons why the nails of dogs bleed, so a dog owner can take care of the above-discussed steps to prevent the bleeding of their dog’s nails.

Why Do Dog Owners Trim the Nails of Their Dogs?

The nails of the dogs possess some materials, so keep them growing and get sharp if they aren’t trimmed.

The dog’s strong nails can often make the dog scratch himself, causing the canine friend various discomforts. This is the reason why all dog owners trim their dogs’ nails.

The toes of dogs are usually supported by some living tissues, which contain a type of cell named keratinocytes that is mainly responsible for the hard material called keratin found in nails that makes your pet’s nails grow and sharper in appearance.

The living tissues that contain the cell keratinocytes are paired with a type of blood vessels and specific nerve cells together, known as the quick, severe damage to this short while trimming the nails of the dog causes the nails to bleed.

Hence, as the keratin produced by the keratinocytes makes the nails grow and get sharper, the dog owners trim their pet’s nails to limit the growth.

How Much Time Does the Bleeding Dog Nail Take to Get Cured?

Sometimes, the blood loss from your dog’s nail seems terrible, but it’s a minor issue, and following some proper steps and tricks for its curing process can heal it quickly.

If the cut is not severe and the bleeding is minor, it will take almost two to three minutes to stop after proper treatment.

In contrast, if the bleeding is significant, it can take nearly five to ten minutes for the blood vessels to contract again for the clotting.

How to Stop Bleeding Dog Nails?

As we have already discussed, a mistake while cutting your dog’s nails can make the nails bleed.

So, it becomes essential for the dog owner to proceed with the process with utmost accuracy to prevent their dog from discomfort.

The steps a dog owner should follow to stop the bleeding of the nails are discussed below.

Stay Calm and Composed

If you accidentally cut your dog’s nails, staying calm and composed is the first thing you must take care of.

This is because the dog might also get anxious by seeing the blood flow from his toes and can try to run away to get some help.

If you also panic in this condition, the condition might even worsen for your dog. So, the owner is advised to stay calm to tackle this critical situation.

Use the Styptic Powder

When it comes to stopping the bleeding of your dog’s nails, using styptic powder is the most preferred option by almost all dog owners.

Veterinarians and groomers also use styptic powder to prevent certain bleeding situations with dogs.

The active ingredient present in the powder, benzocaine, functions as a topical anesthetic and is used to ease the pain caused by the cut on the toes.

Another active ingredient, ferric subsulfate, helps the cells develop in the place of the cut to stop the bleeding.

To use the styptic powder on the cut of your dog’s nails, you have to take your dog’s paw and dip it in the powder or use your hands to take some powder and apply it over the place of the cut. Applying this powder will help stop the bleeding of your dog’s nails.

Use of Baking Soda, Corn Starch, or Any Other Flour

We all know that home remedies also work wonders when we don’t have access to our needy medications. The other best option to stop the bleeding of dog nails is baking soda, corn starch, or any different kind of flour.

The sodium and potassium bicarbonate in the baking soda possesses anticoagulant properties, which promote the prothrombin and thrombin to interfere with the clotting process faster to stop the bleeding of the dog nail abruptly.

The process of applying baking soda or any flour to the dog’s nails is similar to that of styptic powder.

All you have to do is dip the dog’s nails in the baking soda, and if the bleeding doesn’t stop after baking soda, then apply flour or cornstarch over it.

Always remember baking soda is a secondary process. If you have easy access to the styptic powder, then the use of styptic powder is the best in this case.

Use of a Cleansing Soap

The other best method to stop the bleeding of the dog’s nails is using cleansing soap. Yes, it might sound not very clear, but the cleansing soap for dogs possesses some anticoagulant properties, which can be very beneficial for stopping the nails of the dog.

When using a cleansing soap to stop the blood on your dog’s nails, you must make it wet by applying water and then letting it rest until it softens. The more the soap gets softer, the more it will be beneficial for treating your suffering dog.

Once the soap gets softened, use your fingers to take a pinch of the soap and apply it over the bleeding dog nails with a bit of pressure, and then let it rest until the bleeding stops.

This remedy also gives perfect results, so a dog owner can use it to treat their suffering canine friend.

Use of Ice Over the Cut

The use of ice over the cut of the dog’s toenails is also a convenient option. The cool temperature of the ice cubes makes the blood vessels contract again, resulting in minor bleeding. It numbs the pain as the excessively cool temperature of the ice also possesses some anesthetic properties.

Sometimes, the dog might refuse to take the direct application of the ice cube over the skin. To tackle this situation, you can use a piece of cloth to wrap it up and then apply it over the cut of the nails of your canine friend.

All the above-discussed steps are based on the experiments done by veterinarians to treat a bleeding dog nail. So, if a dog owner is looking for measures to cure their dog’s nail bleeding, they can entirely rely upon these steps.

So, here we are, done with the entire article. We hope the information discussed above in the article has helped you complete your search and cleared all your doubts regarding how to stop bleeding dog nails. Thanks for staying till the end with us and reading the whole article.

Picture of Aapt Dubey
Aapt Dubey

Aapt Dubey, a devoted canine enthusiast and experienced dog Owner, brings boundless passion to our team. With a heart full of love for our four-legged friends, Aapt is dedicated to sharing insights on dog care, behavior, and training to make every pup's life happier and healthier at ItsAboutDog.com.

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