Baby, by Margaret Leora Workman; Warponie Art

I wonder if my big dog, Baby, feels left out. I knew that I had waited too long to trim her toenails! I couldn’t find my old nail trimmers. I use the ones that act like scissors. Baby does not put up a lot of fuss about, she will just lay there and try and pull her leg away but that’s it. I had a dog named Mudge and she would attack me if I tried to even try to cut one! I had to wrap her in a blanket and make sure that all of the corners were there tied up because she would wiggle out! I would have to pull one paw out and sit on her while she was in the blanket! It took a long time.

So I waited too long to trim Baby’s nails and the quick had grown longer because of that . That is the part that if you cut it, her nails will bleed. So I cut all of them too long on purpose and they were fine. Then I recut some and a couple of them started to bleed slightly. When that happens I take a thin towel or napkin and I hold that pad and nail tightly with one hand and then tap the nail where it’s bleeding with that napkin or towel with the other hand. Do this gently but firmly and keep tapping it until after it stops bleeding. This really works. If it’s an emergency then call a vet of course! I hate when people say that sometimes, because don’t we all know that!? Plus I can’t give you veterinarian advice but I can tell you that it works for me. With smaller dogs I have used flour before. Just get a bag of flour ready in a ziploc bag and have it there before starting. I had a miniature pincer for a very long time. Just pack in the flour where it’s bleeding at the toenail and it will help. The blood will eventually coagulate.