How do I know if I cut my dogs quick?

Last updated on October 27, 2022 By

Do you need a way to stop your dog’s nail from bleeding? Cutting your dog’s nail too short is a common issue when trimming your dogs nails, but luckily there are a few solutions to make the bleeding stop.

While it might take awhile to regain your dogs trust when it comes to trimming his nails again, the wound itself can be easily treated at home. From using styptic powder to creating your own DIY solution, here’s 5 easy ways to stop your dogs nail from bleeding.

First Step: Stay Calm After You Cut Your Dogs Nail Too Short

The first thing you need to remember after you cut your dogs nail too short is to remain calm. You’ll know you’ve cut too far immediately, your dog will likely pull away from you and let out a yelp. If you panic you’ll make your dogs fear worse, so try your best to remain calm. The bleeding is going to look much worse than it actually is. The calmer you remain the calmer you can keep your dog, and the easier it will be to treat the bleeding.

If you do trim your dog’s nail too short and cut the quick, which contains live blood vessels, the nail will bleed and your dog will likely yelp and pull away. The bleeding can be profuse and long lasting. Stay calm, talk in a soothing voice and immediately feed your dog a bunch of tasty treats. – ASPCA

Most nail trimming accidents are minor and can be treated at home. If you have another person available enlist their help; another set of hands will make the process much easier.

Nail trimming accidents happen, and they’re very common among dogs with dark colored nails where the quick isn’t easily visible.

The Quickest Way to Stop Bleeding is by Using Styptic Powder

Styptic powder is the most common and efficient way to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding. It’s what veterinarians and groomers use to treat minor cuts and to stop bleeding. It contains Benzocaine which works as a topical anesthetic to help ease pain, and ferric subsulfate which helps to stop bleeding.

To use styptic powder you can either dip your dogs nail directly into the powder or use an applicator. When using an applicator such as a swab or q-tip be sure to apply moderate pressure to your dogs nail for a few minutes, or until the bleeding has stopped.

Styptic powders or styptic pencils are antihemorrhagic agents that work by contracting blood vessels. Styptic powder helps to clot the blood and can help prevent bacteria from entering the bloodstream.

If you don’t have any styptic powder on hand it’s not a bad idea to pick some up next time you’re at the pharmacy or pet store, and most of the time you can find  some for less than $10. Styptic pencils are commonly available near the shaving section in pharmacies since they’re also used to treat shaving injuries and minor cuts.

Your veterinarian will use a product like styptic sticks or Kwik Stop to stop the bleeding quickly. You can find these at most pet supply stores, and it might be a good idea to stock some in your pet’s first aid kit if this happens often in your house. – Princeton Veterinary Hospital

The Quickest Way to Stop a Dogs Nail From Bleeding is With Styptic Powder

If you want to stop your dogs nail from bleeding styptic powder is your best bet. It’s the quickest and most efficient method. Styptic powder works as both a topical anesthetic and antihemorrhagic agent. It helps ease pain and stop bleeding. It’s what professional groomers & veterinarians use, and it stops minor bleeding in 30 seconds or less.

How to stop your dogs nail from bleeding with styptic powder:

• After grabbing your dog’s paw, apply the styptic powder directly to your dogs bleeding nail with a moistened cotton applicator
• Keep moderate pressure on the cut for at least 30 seconds
• If the bleeding continues reapply the powder

If your dog is calm you can dip your dogs nail directly into the powder. That will cause the bleeding to stop almost immediately. If your dog won’t let you handle his nails after a trimming accident you can use the application method mentioned above. Just be sure to keep moderate pressure applied to the nail for at least 30 seconds when using an applicator.

How to Use a Styptic Pencil to Stop a Bleeding Nail

Styptic pencils are available at most pharmacies, and they’re usually located in the shaving aisle. They’re nice to have on hand for treating minor cuts and stopping your dog’s nail from bleeding.

How to stop your dogs bleeding nail with a styptic pencil:

• Dip the tip of the styptic pencil in clean water or put a drop of water on the tip to get it moistened
• Take the styptic pencil and rotate it across your the cut on your dogs nail
• The silver nitrate in these pencils causes coagulation very quickly which will seal the injured blood vessels

A word of caution when using styptic pencils: many contain silver nitrate which will sting on contact. Expect your dog to show discomfort when it’s first applied to their nail. And remember that silver nitrate is messy stuff. It will stain your skin, carpet, and counter tops so use with caution.

4 Homemade Remedies to Stop Your Dogs Nail From Bleeding

If you don’t have any styptic powder at home don’t worry, there’s a few common household items you can use to stop your dog’s nail from bleeding. Any of the following items can be used:

• Cornstarch
• Flour
• Baking Soda
• Bar of Soap

With any of these methods the most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep solid pressure on your dogs nail while applying the solution. These methods work, but they don’t stop bleeding instantly like styptic powder. For them to be effective you’ll need to apply moderate pressure for a few minutes.

Most coagulant failures are caused by being too shy about pressing the stuff into the blood. You can’t just sprinkle the stuff on like fairy dust; you need to hold and press it on so it absorbs the blood at the end of the quick and helps it clot. – St. James Animal Hospital

How to Use Flour, Baking Soda, or Cornstarch to Stop the Bleeding

One home remedy to stop your dogs nail from bleeding is to use flour, baking soda, or cornstarch. You’ll need to thoroughly cover your dog’s nail with it, and then gently compress their nail with a towel or cloth for a few minutes until the bleeding stops.

How to Stop Your Dogs Nail from Bleeding with Flour, Baking Soda or Cornstarch:

• Pour some flour, baking soda or cornstarch into your palm
• Gently dip your dog’s nail into the flour, baking soda or cornstarch
• If the bleeding doesn’t stop dip their nail once again (don’t wipe off your dog’s nail before dipping again)
• Gently compress your dog’s nail with a cloth or towel for a few minutes until the bleeding stops

If your dog isn’t a fan of having their nail dipped you can use a cotton applicator to apply the flour, baking soda or cornstarch onto their nail. If the bleeding doesn’t stop right away put some more on their nail. Don’t wipe off your dog’s nail between applications; the flour, cornstarch or baking soda that is on there will help aid in coagulation. Gently compress your dog’s nail with a paper towel or cloth until the bleeding stops.

How to Use Soap to Stop a Dogs Nail From Bleeding

To get your dogs nail to stop bleeding with a bar of soap you’ll want to first soften it up by getting it wet. After the soap is a little mushy you’re going to place the soap directly onto your dog’s bleeding nail apply firm pressure for a a couple minutes.

How to Stop a Dogs Nail From Bleeding With a Bar of Soap:

• When using a bar of soap dampen it until it gets mushy
• Push your dogs affected nail directly into the bar of soap
• Keep the nail in the soap as you apply firm pressure for 3-5 minutes

If you don’t want to push your dogs paw directly into the soap you can break off a piece and wrap it in a towel before applying. Be sure to keep firm pressure for at least 3 minutes to make the bleeding stop. When you suspect that the bleeding has stopped take a quick peak first to ensure that it’s worked.

If the bleeding is minor, try rubbing a bar of clean, scent-free soap over it. If the bleeding is steady, wrapping ice within the compressed cloth or paper towel will help lessen the blood flow. – Wahl

Clipping your dogs nails should be part of their normal grooming routine. If you’re not comfortable using guillotine style clippers try using a dremel tool to sand your dogs nails down.

Keep Your Dog Rested After Applying Treatment

After the initial bleeding has stopped it’s important to keep your dog off his feet for at least 30 minutes. Keeping him off his feet will keep him from re-injuring the nail, and if you have bandages on hand it’s a good idea to wrap your dogs paw to help prevent further injury. And if you’re looking for a relatively easy way to keep your dog still for awhile give him a stuffed Kong to keep him occupied.

If Your Dogs Nail Doesn’t Stop Bleeding After 20 Minutes

Most nail injuries are minor and will stop bleeding within 20 minutes with these home remedies. The blood loss, although it looks terrible, is usually minimal and there’s little risk of your dog losing too much blood.

The above solutions work for minor nail cuts. If your dogs nail continues to bleed for more than 20 minutes it’s time to call your veterinarian.

How to Identify the Quick in Your Dogs Nails Before Trimming

Nail bleeding occurs when you cut your dog’s quick, so if you want to avoid accidents when trimming your dog’s nails it’s important to know how to identify it.

The quick in your dogs nail is the cuticle-like part in the center that’s rich in nerves and blood vessels. Since it’s filled with blood vessels it bleeds a lot if you cut into it, and your dog will likely let out a yelp.

The quick can be hard to identify in dogs with dark nails. You can avoid accidents by trimming small pieces off at a time and stopping as soon as you start to see a whitish-grey circle (the quick).

Identifying the quick in dogs that have white nails is usually easy because the pink is easy to see, but with the black nails finding the quick can be quite a challenge. If you take a look at a white nail on a dog or cat you’ll see a dark smaller part on the inside — that’s the quick. That’s the part you want to avoid trimming. But if you have a dog with black nails you’re probably not going to see any of the quick until you actually start clipping.

To help avoid cutting your dogs quick start with small cuts and examine your dogs nails. Once you start to see a whitish or grey circle in the middle that means you’re getting close to the quick.

If you’re not comfortable with trimming your dogs nails you can try using a dremel rather than a guillotine style clipper. The dremel has different speeds and lets you trim nails without worrying about clipping off too much.

As you cut the nail deeper, you will see a homogeneous gray to pink oval (3) starting to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick. – Clipping a Dog’s Claws College of Veterinarian Medicine, Washington State University

Keeping your dogs nails trimmed is an important part of grooming. Long or overgrown nails can lead to discomfort and posture problems for your dog.

Your Dog Might be Nervous After You’ve Cut Their Quick

It might take awhile for your pup to get comfortable having his nails trimmed again if you’ve cut into their quick, but they will forgive you. Be sure to give him lots of treats and praise every time you get out the nail clippers; that will help make the experience more positive.

My dog was very nervous with nail trimmings when we first got her, so I made desensitizing her to the process a priority. Three times a week I’d get out a bunch of treats (carrots or apple slices) and slowly get her used to having her nails trimmed while handing out treats. Eventually she started to associate the nail clippers & dremel with yummy treats.

Here’s a video that demonstrates how useful clicker training & positive reinforcement are for getting your dog used to having their nails trimmed.

Nail Trimming Is An Important Part of Your Dogs Grooming Routine

Although trimming your dogs nails is never fun it is part of a healthy grooming routine. There’s no set rule for how often to trim your dogs nails. Trim them as often as it takes to prevent their nails from touching the floor when they’re standing. Long nails can be painful for your dog, and they can make it harder for your get a grip when walking.

Some dogs are more challenging than others when it comes to getting their nails clipped. If you’re uncomfortable trimming your dogs nails or it becomes too much of a challenge you can have it done at your veterinarian’s office or the groomer.

If you want to do your dogs nails on your own but hate using clippers try a dremel tool. They grind nails down rather than clipping, making it much easier to avoid any accidents.

I am not a veterinarian. This advice is for the treatment of the minor bleeding accompanying cutting your dogs nail too short. If you have any concerns or if your dogs nail bleeds for more than 20 minutes please consult your veterinarian.

Please share with your friends

Recommended Reading:

What happens if I accidentally cut my dog's quick?

Can a dog bleed out if you cut the quick?