How Old Before Clipping Their Nails?

My puppy is only 5 weeks old.. we picked her up on saturday. Her nails are very sharp and my boyfriend says we should clip her nails.. is she too young?

I think that's a bit too young. Jetts claws were really sharp too when I got him.He had his clipped at 8/9 weeks by the vet and then again at 11/12 weeks when he had his second set of injections.He hasn't had them clipped since.you'll find once you start walking her they wear down pretty quickly.

Hi & welcome.

I hope this doesn't sound rude, it isn't meant to be, but why on earth have you got her so young? They really shouldn't leave their mums until at least 7 weeks, preferably 8!

I wouldn't clip her nails at her age - puppies' claws will be slightly long until you start to walk her, but that isn't going to be for some time. If, once you've been walking her for a couple of weeks, they still seem a bit long/sharp, then by all means do them, but not yet.

No its fine.. she is very young we put a deposit down on her and was meant to collect her at 7 weeks but the family rung us early and said we needed to go and collect her.
thanks for the advice on the claws will see how they go and ask the vet when she goes for her injections

That is a bit young for adoption. I wouldn't clip her nails yet but I would advise to start touching her feet, teeth ears and every other part of her body so that she becomes used to it for when you do have to start grooming.

Welcome from us and Suki as well.

I agree with Jstaff i wouldn't cut her nails but i would get her used to you holding her feet etc

Ellie Pup wrote:No its fine.. she is very young we put a deposit down on her and was meant to collect her at 7 weeks but the family rung us early and said we needed to go and collect her.

Did they give a reason? Sorry to harp on about this, but it really is far too young to be leaving the litter.

Sorry ellie-pup but i have to agree with Caryll.. Your pup is far too young to be seperated from it's litter mates and it's mummy... I understand you were told to come and collect it earlier than expected but 5 weeks is still so young...the things your liitle puppy could of learned from the 5 weeks to 8 weeks are now lost.. It learns so muc from it's mother and socialising...

Don't get me wrong am not having a moan at you, it's aimed at the irresponsible owner of your pup's mum... What reason did they give you for having to collect it early... Sorry to harp on ...

Welcome and enjoy this FAB forum ...

they just phoned us and said she was eating and drinking on their own fine and the mother had turned her back on them.. i didnt agree with it or know wether to belive them.. luckily my boyfriends sister bought one aswell so we are keeping them together as much as we can

Hmmm sounds like the breeder wanted to get rid IMO, i would definitely try keeping the pups together as much as possible like you said, it could help.

Have to agree with what others have said, what a dumb * breeder to let the pup leave that early...

If you've never clipped nails let the vet do, you can hurt the dog if you do it wrong.

Good luck with it.

woah! what a clever breeder! :S not! .. i agree try and keep the pups seeing each other as much as possible poor thing.
I agree i wouldnt cut her nails yet, she will wear them down they are probs only sharp at the tip and not actually long (you have to be carefull of the qwik inside.
i cut my pups nails for the first time yesterday and shes 4months old now they wear them down the majority of the time .. vinnie had his cut by the vets after his 2nd set of jabs as he kept cutting himself but never needed them done ever since.

Hi everyone. We bought one of the other pups from the same litter as Ellie. Having done some further research we understand the reasons why the pups were probably a little young to leave their mother and siblings. We also understand the reasons why the socialisation skills would have been beneficial. We are keeping the pups together as much as possible and allowing them to rough and tumble as much as they need to when they are together.

Were a close family and we do a lot of things together, so Ellie and Baxter will spend a large amount of time with each other, most probably for the whole of their lives. From a Baxter point of view, he has joined a family with a nice home and 2 young boys. He is already integrating into our lives and has quickly become the "5th" family member. He is already registered with the village vet, booked in for his injections and booked in to be micro chipped. From and Ellie point of view, Leanne's partner (My future brother in law) is a butcher. So you can see how she is going to benefit!

I can confidently say that both Baxter and Ellie will lead quite charmed lives, in very loving families.

Jay (Baxters Dad - oh and Ellies Uncle!!!)

Hi Jay, welcome to the forum - I hope you'll post here regularly as well! We'd love to see the pups' progress.

It sounds as though both pups have found excellent homes & I'm sure we all wish you luck with them! If you have any concerns & you think we might be able to help, don't hesitate!

Thanks for the positive and warm reply. The support and help will be welcomed. I am sure we will make the odd mistake along the way, but thats part of the learning curve. Hopefully with the support and advice that more experienced owners can offer, we hope to minimise those mistakes.

Jay

Don't forget the pics!

I managed to get a quick pic up of him on my introduction!

carol spot on.what are you doing to young!!! and i would not cut nails. the person you bought of should of know better i hope its getting all the calcium it needs good luck

How's the pup getting on now?

Baxter is doing brilliant. He really is fantastic with our boys. He's enjoying car rides, he's understanding the "no" command means he has stop whatever he is doing. He is starting to find his voice but he isn't being unduly noisy when he has to be on his own.

We have asked people to completey ignor him for the first couple of minutes when they visit. He has quickly learned that if he doesn't jump at their feet, or bark, and just sits quietly near them (While staring those gorgeous puppy eyes up at them). He will be given a treat and lavished with plenty of attention. Hopefully that will stand him in good stead for when he's a bit bigger and bit more heavy!

He was being a bit of an idiot and getting too excited yesterday, so Kat (my partner) made everyone leave the room for 5 minutes to calm him down. I suppose its a reverse of the childrens "naughty step" Instead of sitting the kids on the "naughty step" to sort them out, she took everyone away from Baxter. The result was the same, a bit of crying for 2 minutes, followed by sorry eyes, before bringing everyone together again when the situation was resolved. He's clearly a very intelligent boy, because he seems to have got the message.

So he's learning the boundaries, and understanding that good behaviour gets reward, and naughty behaviour means he is deprived short-term of the things he enjoys. Tonight he is spending a few hours with Ellie so again will continue his socialisation with other dogs.

Someone on the forum mentioned Calcium. He has access to good quality puppy food and water, but we have also bought him some puppy milk formula as well. So his dietry requirements are being well catered for.