Clipping the nails

Dogs´ nails should be clipped by using nail clippers, which are particularly made for them. If you let the nails grow too much, the dog will not be able to stand and walk correctly. This makes it more difficult for the dog to move himself. Long nails also slip more easily.

Inside the light colored toenails you can easily see the pink vein, which also contains blood vessels and nerve endings. If you hit this area, the dog will bleed profusely. If the dog has darker nails, in which case you are not able to see the vein, you can compare them with a fair nail and clip the dark nail about the same length. If the nails have grown too long, also the vein is longer than normally. In this case you have to be patient and clip only a tiny bit at a time. After a while the vein will recede and you are able to clip again. Make sure you also clip the dewclaws on the inner side of the front paws. Dewclaws do not touch the ground so they are not worn down as the dog walks. In this case the dewclaw may grow so long that it is curling in a circle. In addition, it may start growing inside the skin. A comb or when the dog is running in the bushes etc may also easily damage it. Many breeders tend to extract the dewclaws at the first day of the puppy. In this case all potential harms, such as dewclaw infections, are avoided.

Dental care and teeth cleaning
Tartar can - and should be - prevented in several ways. There are different toothbrushes made for dogs, which you should make your dog accept already when he is a puppy. You should pay extra attention to the tooth surface facing the cheeks, because this is where tartar begins to gather most easily. If the dog gets tartar very easily, his teeth should be brushed daily. Another easy and quite an effective alternative to prevent tartar, is to regularly give your dog bones and hard toys to chew.

If there is tartar accumulation, the tooth will no longer be glossy and level near the gum. Instead, it will be covered with yellowish tartar. In the worst case the whole tooth may be bumpy and covered with tartar. Tartar is most commonly found in the back teeth. If there is not very much tartar, you may try to scratch it off by yourself with a special subginival curettes. If there is much tartar, you should call the vet who can clean teeth ultasonicly.

How to express the anal glands (sacs)
Dogs once used the pungent smelling anal glands secretion to mark their territories in the wild. Nowadays these glands are quite useless. In other words, they are vestigial organs (like your appendix) from the times dogs were wild animals. Anal glands are two sack-like structures located just under the skin near the anus. The size of the anal glands varies between 7 to 15 mm. Normally anal gland secretion is fluid and has the color of light yellow or golden brown. Secretion has a pungent and foul smell. Under normal circumstances a small amount of this secretion is expelled from the gland each time the dog defecates, that is to “go to the bathroom” or “produce stool”. Also, dogs may occasionally express (to squeeze secretion out) their anal glands when they are frightened. However, it is quite common nowadays that the anal glands have impaction. This is “plugging-up” or “stopping-up” of the anal glands with normal secretion. Sometimes the outlet of he anal gland becomes stopped-up and the gland fails to empty properly. This usually leads to discomfort (from the accumulating pressure) and will sometimes lead to inflection.

Dogs once used the pungent smelling anal glands secretion to mark their territories in the wild. Nowadays these glands are quite useless. In other words, they are vestigial organs (like your appendix) from the times dogs were wild animals. Anal glands are two sack-like structures located just under the skin near the anus. The size of the anal glands varies between 7 to 15 mm. Normally anal gland secretion is fluid and has the color of light yellow or golden brown. Secretion has a pungent and foul smell. Under normal circumstances a small amount of this secretion is expelled from the gland each time the dog defecates, that is to “go to the bathroom” or “produce stool”. Also, dogs may occasionally express (to squeeze secretion out) their anal glands when they are frightened. However, it is quite common nowadays that the anal glands have impaction. This is “plugging-up” or “stopping-up” of the anal glands with normal secretion. Sometimes the outlet of he anal gland becomes stopped-up and the gland fails to empty properly. This usually leads to discomfort (from the accumulating pressure) and will sometimes lead to inflection.

Common signs of impaction of the anal glands are, for example, licking and biting the region around the anal glands, reluctance to sit, problems with defecating, running after his own tail, limping (hind legs), and a change in his temper. In chronic impaction there may occur rupture in armpits, loins, rump, and/or between the toes.

In order to prevent impaction and other problems in the anal glands it is good to express them regularly, for example when you are bathing your dog. You can express them either internally or externally. With the internal method you squeeze the gland with your index finger (which is inside the anus) and your thumb (which is outside the anus). With the external method (which I do not myself recommend), you hold the tail with your one hand and place your thumb and index finger of the other hand underneath the anal glands and press slightly inwards, after which you carefully push the glands with your fingers towards the anus. 
 

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