# Does anyone find cement/rough floor makes dog's nails too short?



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I've recently found that by running Nia on cement floor, it rubs her nails down really badly to the point where it will start to bleed because it's rubbed to the quick.

I clip her front nails because they don't rub down, but I never clip her back ones because they're usually short.

Recently since it's rained, I started playing with and letting her do her running on hard rough cement floor and today her nail was rubbed all the way down to the quick and it started to bleed. How can I exercise her on hard floor?

The grass areas don't allow off leash to run, fetch, etc. so I would like to stick to the hard floor...


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Wow, I've never had that happen! Basil isn't too keen on running, and our sidewalks where we walk Basil aren't very rough. That definitely sounds very dangerous and painful, though!

Why not buy her a set of dog boots to protect her paws?


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I've tried boots but she really really hates them. She rips them off with her mouth no matter how well I put them on...

I've actually never heard of or seen it either before! All our other dogs are fine running on rough floors but then they don't run 1 hr at the highest speed possible everyday...

Now what I'm trying to figure out is if her short nails were caused by the cement floor in our yard area or the tennis court floor. I'm hoping it's not the tennis court so that I can still play fetch with her in there but I'm really not that sure...

All I know is that it started bleeding today on the cement floor but she's ran before on both cement and tennis court with no problems....I guess all the rubbing is adding up.



Nargle said:


> That definitely sounds very dangerous and painful, though!


I would think it's painful too since it's bleeding..but Nia doesn't care at all! She keeps running and using her foot. I only noticed when I picked her up to go home today that her foot was bleeding. She didn't whine, lick or even stop. Maybe it doesn't hurt as much as I thought?? I have no idea...


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

Maybe there's something you could put on her claws, like some sort of tough clear nail polish, that would protect her claws a little better?


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## Kayota (Aug 14, 2009)

I think they sell those claw covers for dogs as well as cats... perhaps that would help.


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## RubyLove (May 4, 2009)

Is the quick on your dogs nails quite long? Because when my dogs nails are cut short they don't really reach the floor, although I guess that will change with paw size on different dogs. But I have never had that problem with any of my dogs, even when they were taken for runs on the roads almost daily.

Isn't the quick supposed to recede slowly if you keep them short also? Perhaps yours will get to that point.


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## Adustgerm (Jul 29, 2009)

Let your dog's nails grow out a little. If a dog runs on concrete or pavement, they shouldn't be cut too short due to the wear on the pavement.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

RubyLove said:


> Is the quick on your dogs nails quite long? Because when my dogs nails are cut short they don't really reach the floor, although I guess that will change with paw size on different dogs. But I have never had that problem with any of my dogs, even when they were taken for runs on the roads almost daily.


The quick isn't long. It doesn't touch the floor when she walks regularly either. It only touches the floor when she's running at high speeds and changing directions. Just running in one direction with me is fine for her but when she's chasing balls and other dogs, they do a lot of turns and weird movements that make her use her nails too much. I let her walk and run on cement today but not with other dogs or with balls and she was fine.

I never actually clip the back feet nails because they are always rubbed so short by themselves. They don't touch the floor at all when she walks. 

I guess I'll just keep her from running with turns and chasing for a few days. She should be fine.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Has this happened before? It sounds like a bit of a fluke thing to me, so perhaps it won't happen again.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

FilleBelle said:


> Has this happened before? It sounds like a bit of a fluke thing to me, so perhaps it won't happen again.


It's never ever happened before and she used to play on the pavement floor all the time. I'm not sure, it probably was a fluke. Just today she was playing on the pavement and she was fine, no nail bleed.

She might have just turned too fast or something and got her nail caught on a rough spot.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!


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## Los4lopez (Dec 30, 2015)

I found your thread because I google my dog's problem to see if anyone had the same issue. My dog Taz is 15 years old and we've had four instances where we come back from work and he is bleeding from his nails. Once he worn down all four paws. We got him boots but he hates them and takes them off. Have you found a solution?


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## Kingfisher (Jan 2, 2015)

Zombie thread!

But we also had a dog that had this problem. He was a terminally ill young border collie, and his condition led to his nails being super soft. We never quite found the solution before he passed away, but the general consensus was that we needed to order Soft Paws. They're glue-on rubber nail caps. They last for several weeks, and provide both a layer over the fragile nails as well as some traction for older dogs. That's definitely the route I would take with an older dog wearing their nails down. 

On a younger dog, though, nails bleeding after running outside usually tells me that the nails are too long. A properly trimmed nail won't touch the ground at all in light motion, and will only provide some traction at higher speeds.


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## JohnnyBandit (Sep 19, 2008)

Needing to trim the front nails but not the rear.... Speaks of the dog's gait being unbalanced. Dog has more drive than reach....

Nothing to do about it.... Just the way the dog is put together...


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I did read somewhere that tennis courts were hard on a dog's nails. Something about the way the concrete is made so it is not slippery. Maybe look it up. I have a cement walkway from my door to my gate that I put in last summer and have not noticed any difference in Kris' nails and she is up and down it a lot. That is the only cement she comes in contact with.

Susie, my Bernese cross has never needed her nails trimmed and she is almost 12 years old. She has black nails but they just never seemed to grow long enough to cut.


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## Los4lopez (Dec 30, 2015)

Thank you for the advice! I also learned from a person that creates dog areas in backyards that cement is not a good surface to keep dogs because in the long run it wears the dog's paw pads and creates callouses etc. My dog has been in this area for most of the day while we go to work. That's for 15 years! I wonder if the paw pads might be worn down to the point that the nails now touch the cement while walking on it? 
For now we are adapting his area with fake grass to cover the cement. Hopefully this works.


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