Boone got quicked

When I first got Boone I was horribly afraid to cut his nails. They were black, my Lab mixes were black and we had a few bad experiences with cutting nails even by groomers. There was one groomer her cut his quick on every nail, didn't tell me, I put him in the car and left to go home when home my back seat had blood everywhere. The blood never came out fully and my poor dog was worse then ever before for his nails. This was before I was taught how to do them properly. Boone was also very touchy about his paws (still is) and was very quick to bite in fear. So I left them... horrible move on my part. I could have taken him to a groomer but he was such a nervous dog and after the whole thing with my previous dog I didn't want to. I did get them cut once in a blue moon by myself or with a groomer friend but not as often as I should have. Understandably they grew, the quicks grew and he had long nails, that no matter how often I cut them (once a week for two years) I couldn't get them to shorten to a healthy length.

Boone's new, healthy feet.

So I had them quicked. He was given a mild sedation, his nails were cut to a nice short length. There was some mild bleeding but nothing some quickstop didn't fix and a pain injections and was all over in a couple of minutes. He can now walk more comfortably, his nails aren't causing his toes to be splayed out or for him to stand unnaturally to compensate for his long nails and his nails aren't getting caught in things like the deck boards. Better yet, no more clicking! The first couple of days he walked a little funny, as if he was still compensating for his longer nails but a little over a week later we're all good now. He seems happier and more comfortable, even less touchy about his paws (although still not a big fan of it).

Overgrown nails

I once thought this procedure was cruel but in the case of a dog who is in discomfort and risking permanent injury this is a instant fix. I certainly recommend it, under sedation to anyone who's dog's nails and quicks are overgrown and then to stay on a frequent nail trimming schedule to prevent it from happening again. Overgrown nails can cause permanent damage to a dog's joints and structure. Tendons stretch, toes twist, arthritis sets in, the dog overcompensates and therefore shifts to using other parts of the body that aren't normally used to hold the majority of the weight and then they become affected. Every step the dog takes and those nails bounce off the ground it causes pain.