If your dog cries when you cut their nails, it's likely you're cutting into the quick, which contains blood vessels and nerves and will be painful when cut into.
So if your dog begins crying when you cut their nails and are in pain you should stop and watch for any signs of bleeding.
Cutting the quick which contains the blood vessels and nerves can result in bleeding and while most cases of cutting of a dog's quick can be fixed and treated at home, more severe cases of bleeding from cutting the dog's quick require a vet visit.
Or if there is a nail split to the base or signs of infection the dog should see a vet.
Older dogs also can develop more brittle nails which are more prone to break easily which can also cause bleeding.
And even snagging the nail on carpet, furniture, grass, fences etc can result in a fracture or split of the dog's nail and cause bleeding.
If you clip a dog's nail and it bleeds, you can apply some cornstarch or flour to the bleeding and apply pressure and it should eventually stop bleeding and clot up.
If the bleeding persists, then you should take the dog to the vet for treatment.
If you cut the vein in a dog's nail which is called the "quick" the dog's nail will bleed and it will also cause severe pain for a few minutes for the dog.
If you cut the dog's vein or quick, when cutting or trimming the dog's nails you can often stop the bleeding by using some cornstarch or flour and apply pressure and if it doesn't stop bleeding you should take the dog to the vet.
You can prevent cutting the quick when trimming your dog's nails by looking for and locating the quick before you begin cutting the dog's nails.
To find the quick on dog nails, shine a bright light through the dog's nail and look for any dark mass.
If you see any dark mass, then that is the quick, you can also trim small amounts of the nail at a time until you see a small black dot appear in the center of the cut surface.
Once you see the small black dot appear in the center of the cut surface, you should stop cutting the nail.
You can also examine the underside of the dog's nail for a change in color or texture where it transitions from the straight part to the curved hook shape.
Hold a flashlight or phone light below the dog's nail to help you see inside and look for a shadowy or a dark area, which is the quick and you can also hold the dog's nail up to a light to spot the transition to the hook shape on the underside.
If you cut your dog's nail too short and cut the quick, it takes a few days to a few weeks for the dog's nail to heal.
Minor cuts of the dog's quick may only remain sore for a day or two, but more severe cuts to the dog's quick that are deep can take up to 2 weeks or sometimes longer to fully heal.
If you cut your dog's nails too short and cut into the quick and it bleeds you can use some cornstarch or flour to help stop the bleeding and apply some pressure.
If the bleeding of the dog's quick persists or won't stop you should take the dog to the vet.
Monitor the dog for any signs of infection like pus, pain, swelling or redness and if the dog has any of the signs of infection you should take the dog to the vet if possible.
The pain should only last for a few minutes or so if you cut the dog's quick.
If a dog's nail is cut too deep, you will cut into the dog's quick which contains blood vessels and nerves and so cutting into the quick when cutting the dog's nails too deep, will result in pain and even bleeding.
It hurts a dog pretty bad when you cut the quick, although the pain from cutting the dog's quick is temporary and often goes away within a few minutes.
Cutting a dog's quick can be a traumatic experience for the dog and lead to a fear of future nail trimming.
The dog's quick has nerves, so cutting the quick hurts the dog and causes pain, and is similar a human accidentally their own fingernail too short and it will also lead to some bleeding.
Dogs have a sensitive area inside their nails that is called and known as the "quick".
The "quick" in a dogs nails contain nerves and blood vessels.
And cutting into the dogs "quick" when cutting the dogs nails can cause bleeding and pain.
So it's important to trim the dogs nails very carefully to avoid cutting the "quick".
And if you're unsure of how to cut the dogs nails correctly to avoid the "quick" or you're nervous you may cut into their "quick" and cause bleeding and pain you should have a vet or a dog groomer or someone else that knows how to cut the dogs nails properly instead.
I'm pretty confident myself in cutting nails and could do it, but I prefer to pay a dog groomer to cut my dogs nails to be safe.
If you do cut a dog's "quick" it will bleed and cause pain as the "quick" contains blood vessels and nerves.
To stop any bleeding if you accidentally cut the dog's "quick", apply some cornstarch, flour or styptic powder directly to the dog's nail with pressure.
And keep the area clean and monitor it for any signs of infection, such as redness or swelling and if the bleeding persists or an infection is occurring, you should contact the vet.