Trimming claws
A key part in Chihuahua grooming is trimming the claws. Claws in general grow fast, but in the case of big dogs frequent trimming isn’t required, as they wore their nails short during the walks (especially over the hard ground).
Due to their small sizes and sensitivity to low temperatures, Chihuahuas, usually spend too little time outside to wear short their claws by themselves. Hence, it is extremely important to take care of your dog's claws. First of all, observe how fast they grow. When they become too long, especially, if they begin to tuck under they must be trimmed. You can go to the vet or dog grooming salon in order to do that. However, we might as well trim the claws ourselves.
We can find a claw-clippers in each shop providing dog’s accessories. They are not expensive and are sufficient for several years. Therefore, a small guillotine-type dog nail clippers is a good investment.
Trimming the claws is very simple. The first time it would be recommended to do it with the assistance of another person, who will entertain the dog. The dog will probably not even notice that we are doing something with its paws. The most important, is not to cut the claws too short, because they will bleed and make the dog phobic about having his feet touched.
We cut only the white part, thus the not innervated part. If you aren’t sure, it is better to shorten the claws just a tiny bit (1-2 mm), but more often. Then we do not risk your dog experiencing an unpleasant feeling. The quick is an area of live tissue extending along the center of each nail. The quick can be seen as a pink line running through the center of white nails, but you must estimate its location in black nails, which makes them more challenging to trim. If your Chihuahua has a few of each, do the light-colored nails first and use that length as a guide. If his nails are all black, trim just a tiny bit off at a time.
The guillotine-type dog nail clippers works like a nail clipper dedicated for humans. You should cut the claws on each paw, remembering about the elbow claws (lateral).
It is important to accustom your dog to trimming. Allow him to sniff the clippers, stoke him during the cutting and make sure that your Chi will not jerk the paws. After a few treatments the dog will become familiar with their claws being trimmed and will calmly give up to it. The most important thing is to avoid bleeding. But if it happens to us, immediately rinse the bleeding paw with cold water in order to shrink the blood vessels. Then, press a sterile gauze to stop the bleeding.
