Can a dog clean his feet and nails on his own?
A dog’s feet should be examined daily for the presence of thorns or sometimes small pieces of grit. This applies especially to hairy breeds like spaniels. Thorns, grit and hard-packed mud under the pads may contribute towards inter digital cysts, cuts, wounds or boils on the feet which would need veterinary attention. Thorns between the pads, which may be indicated by limping, should be removed. It is desirable to keep the hair between the toes trimmed short. Further, if the dog goes into muddy water, the feet should be washed and dried with a towel.
Normal exercise, especially on hard ground, will wear down the toe nails to a comfortable length, as happens with the wild animals in the course of their daily activities. If pet dogs are sufficiently exercised daily on hard ground, instead of spending most of their time indoors and that too, often on carpets, their nails will wear out comfortably too. Grass lawns do not help to shorten nails. It is important to know that there is fleshy area inside the nail, which contains nerves and blood supply; this is called the quick. For dogs living mostly indoors, regular trimming of nails is required. The job may need the help of your veterinarian. The fleshy area inside the nail is very sensitive and may cause bleeding if proper care is not taken to cut the nail a little at a time, especially when we cannot see the line of the quick in the case of dogs with dark-colored nails.
Generally, on the inside of the front legs and, sometimes, on the hind legs, just above the feet, there is an extra claw on each side called a dew-claw. Special attention is required to attend to these claws as they continue to grow because they do not touch the ground. If not attended to while growing, these curl around to pierce the flesh and cause infection. Such a condition needs the immediate help of the veterinarian.