How do I know if my dog's nails are too long?

Get down at floor level while your dog stands square on a hard surface. A nail that ends level with or below the paw pad is too long; a well trimmed nail sits just above the ground and does not touch when weight is on the paw.

Clicking on kitchen tile or wood flooring is the most obvious daily giveaway. Some dogs also start splaying their toes outward or leaning back onto their hindquarters slightly when standing, small adjustments they make to reduce pressure on nails that are digging into the pad with every step.

Severely overgrown nails, especially on dewclaws that never touch the ground, can curl and grow into the pad over months of neglect. If a nail has already curled into the skin or your dog is limping because of it, this needs a vet or experienced groomer rather than a home trim, since the surrounding tissue is often tender and infected.

If you are unsure what counts as too long, compare your dog's nails to a freshly trimmed set from a groomer visit or vet checkup, since seeing the target length once makes it far easier to judge on your own afterward. Photographing the paw right after a professional trim gives you a reference to check against every few weeks, which is especially useful for a first time owner still learning to judge length by eye alone.

Watching your dog walk across a hard floor from behind can also reveal length issues that are harder to see from the side, since a hind foot with overly long nails sometimes turns slightly outward with each step to compensate for the extra length pressing back into the toe.