Nail Clipping

At what point would a Cavs nails need clipping? How long is too long? My cavs nails are about 8 or 9mm long at present and dont look too long to me, but what do you think? How long should they be? My male cav is 13 months old right now.....

Thanks Tony

Your dog's nails should be trimmed regularly, unless you're walking him/her on pavement daily to wear them down.

At this point, I would take the cav to the vet or groomer, and have the nails checked for length, as well as trimmed. Then you can watch how it is done and find out what kind of clipper tool to buy.

It's much easier to trim white/clear nails than black nails, but I have been doing both. I just trim a little off every 2 weeks.

Here is a link on nail clipping:
http://board.cavaliertalk.com/showthread.php?t=11004

I do my dogs' nails about every 2 weeks too. It is important to keep them down, becuase if you let them grow long, the quick (the blood & nerve supply) starts to grow longer & longer and over time it becomes difficult to keep the nails short. You can actually end up with a dog that has such long painful toenails but is impossible to clip without causing pain because that quick has just gotten so long.

Don't forget to do the dew claws that are part way up the front legs. People often forget them, especially in long haired dogs and then they can hook over & dig into the dogs legs.

Nail Length

So how many millimetres would you say your dogs nails are?

Thanks Everyone

I too have this problem with my Millie. She does go out for walks, but mainly on the soft grassed areas but i find that her claws are quite long. I do trim them occasionally and sometimes i have found one on the carpet that has broken off. The thing that confuses me though is the fact that most of her claws are black. I cant see the quick so i tend to only snip the tip off.

mmm , I think my boss at the grooming shop told me their nails should not touch the floor when the dog is standing