How To Find The Quick On Black Dog Nails? 7 Clear Facts

Finding the quick on black dog nails can be quite challenging. Yet if you are to trim dog nails safely, it is essential to locate the quick accurately. In this article, you will find information on how exactly you can go about finding the quick on the black dog nails.

This is how to find the quick on black dog nails: by following the nail’s pulp. Once you locate the pulp, you know that the quick is nearby. So you stop trimming at that point. Pressing various locations on the dog’s nail slightly, and watching the dog’s reaction, can also help in locating the quick.

In dogs that have white nails, finding the quick tends to be quite easy. That is because in white dog nails quick is very conspicuous. It is pinkish.

But in a black dog nail, the quick is not so conspicuous.

That is why you find so many people asking, what does the quick look like on black dog nails? Or exactly where is the quick on black dog nails?

A dog with black nails may look very cute. But a challenge arises when grooming the dog – specifically with regard to the question of how to cut your dog’s black nails safely.

Trimming dog nails safely is almost impossible, if you can’t locate the quick. Yet also where you have dog black nails quick is so hard to locate.

In fact, it is due to these sorts of challenges that some people simply opt to engage professional groomers for tasks like those of dog nail clipping.

But before proceeding any further with this discussion on how to find the quick on black dog nails, we first need to acquaint ourselves with the ‘quick’ in question.

What Is The Quick On A Dog Nail?

On a dog nail, the ‘quick’ is simply the blood vessel that serves the nail.

It is important to remember that a dog nail is a living part. It needs nourishment, like all other parts of the dog’s body.

The nourishment that a dog’s nail requires comes through the vessel that we refer to as the ‘quick’.

And while trimming a dog’s nail, it is essential to know where exactly the quick starts. That is the basis for many people wanting to know how to find the quick on black nails.

Dog nails can be white, or dark (otherwise called ‘black’). There are certain genetic factors that make dog nails black in some cases, and white in some cases.

In the white dog nails, the quick is very easy to locate: because it always has a pinkish hue. And this pink hue is visible from above.

But with dark dog nails, things are different. Finding quick on black nail is quite a challenge. The black dog nail quick is not conspicuous at all.

All the black nails dog has are served by ‘quick’ blood vessels. But the challenge is on how to see the quick in dark nails, since the pinkish hue we find in white nails is not there.

All in all, the key point to note here is that the quick is the blood vessel which serves the dog’s nail.

Why Is It Necessary To Find The Quick On Dog Nails?

Before proceeding with a discussion on how to find the quick on black dog nails, it is critical for us to first find out why it is necessary.

So the question here is why it is necessary to take all this trouble, in finding the quick on dog nails.

Earlier, we said that the quick is the vessel that supplies the nail with blood. Now as is the case with any other blood vessel, if you cut the quick, there can be lots of bleeding.

If you cut any blood vessel, there will be bleeding. The quick is no exception.

Moreover, cutting a blood vessel can cause considerable pain.

Thus this need to find the quick on dog nails occurs within the context of dog grooming. It is specifically while trimming nails that this question on how to find the quick on black dog nails arises.

While trimming the nails, you want to ensure that you don’t cut the quick. Otherwise the dog will bleed badly. Furthermore, the dog will experience pain. And cutting the quick opens the dog to infections.

It is for those reasons then that it is necessary to find the quick on dog nails. In other words, finding the quick is essential to tell you where and when to stop cutting dog’s nails.

Before embarking on dog nail trimming, you need to know how to spot the quick in dog nails.

If you don’t know how to see the quick in dog nails, you may end up inadvertently cutting it. That will cause bleeding, pain and possibly infections.

It is on account of these reasons then that it is that one needs to know how to tell where a dog’s quick is.

How To Find The Quick On Black Dog Nails?

You have to start by asking yourself, where is the quick in black dog nails? So that has to be starting point, when trying to learn how to find the quick on black dog nails.

This is the answer: that in black dog nails, the quick is somewhere inside the dog’s nail – below the shell, but above the bone. As noted earlier, it is a blood vessel.

While undertaking dog grooming, you are supposed to take every care so that you don’t quip dog nail quick blood vessel accidentally.

In dogs with white nails, the quick has a pinkish appearance and locating it is so easy under light.

The quick on black nails dog is still at the same location where you would find it in a white nails dog. The challenge is how to locate it, within the dog nail cross section.

By the way, this challenge can also arise – to some extent – while learning how to trim brown dog nails.

But our focus here is on how to find the quick in black dog nails specifically.

Remember, the quick in black nails is not conspicuous.

Yet one way or the other, you need to figure out how to see quick on black dog nails, so that you don’t accidentally cut it while trimming the nails.

In practical terms, how to see a dog quick with black nails boils down to locating the dog nail pulp.

Once you locate the pulp on black dog nails, you know that the quick is nearby. So you stop cutting.

There is also the option of applying a little pressure, and watching the dog’s reaction. This may sometimes help in locating the quick.

Let’s look at each of those approaches in turn.

How To Find The Quick On Black Dog Nails Through The Pulp?

In a dog’s nail, the pulp always comes just before the quick. Thus while trying to learn how to find quick in dog nails, knowing how to locate the pulp can be useful.

Actually, it may be impossible to learn how to find the quick on dog nails if you can’t locate the pulp.

When you study basic black dog nail anatomy, you see that the pulp always comes just before the quick.

Thus locating the pulp can help you, if you are endeavoring to learn how to tell where the quick is on a dog nail.

While cutting dog nail trim in a manner that gives a clean cut.

Cut in small bits.

Then examine the nail you cut, especially the center of it. If the center is whitish, it means that you haven’t reached the pulp.

Keep on cutting. But when you find that the center has now become black, know that you have reached the pulp. So the quick is nearby. And therefore you need to stop cutting at that point.

So that is the best way to cut black dog nails. It helps you locate the pulp, and by extension the quick.

Any proper trimming black dog nails with pictures guide will usually revolve around this approach.

Finding The Quick By Examining The Dog Nail’s Underside

Another approach you can use is that of checking the underside of dog nails.

There, on the underside, you will see a groove. In that groove, there is a transition from the hard nail bit to the soft (fleshy) nail section. The location where the hard meets the soft is where the pulp is.

This means that while cutting the nail, you need to stop where the hard bit meets the soft bit: because that is where the pulp is, and the quick is nearby.

How To Find The Quick On Black Dog Nails By Applying Slight Pressure?

In this approach, you apply slight pressure on the dog’s nail. All the while, you are observing how the dog is reacting. When you reach the point where the quick starts, the dog squirms when you apply the slight pressure.

That can give you a hint on where the quick is – and therefore where you need to stop cutting.

Thus while learning how to find quick on black nails, this approach too can be useful.

More specifically, if you were wondering, how do I know where to clip my dog’s nails if they are black, you can use this method.

Or generally while trying to learn how to identify the quick in dark nails, this is one approach to use.

You can also combine it with the approach of checking the dog’s nails’ undersides we discussed earlier.

Both approaches can help in identifying the quick in dog nails accurately.

What To Do After Finding The Quick On Black Dog Nails?

So far, we have been trying to learn how to find the quick on black dog nails.

We have already explored questions like where is a dogs quick, what does the quick look like on black dog nails, how to see quick in dog nails.. and so on.

But one may ask, what is the point of it all? What should you do, after finding the quick on black dog nails?

The answer is this: after finding the quick on black dog nails, you should only cut the nail up to close to where the quick starts.

In other words, the whole thing is about how to know when to stop cutting dog’s nails.

Remember, the black nail quick is not as conspicuous as the white nail quick. Indeed, if you ever find a picture of dog nail quick, it will usually be against the background of a white nail.

The dark dog nail quick is not easy to locate. But locating it is essential with the context of how to know where to cut black dog nails.

Even when grinding black dog nails, the quick’s location helps you in knowing when/where to stop.

Thus after locating the black dog nails quick, you can start trimming the nails.

You first need to learn how to see the quick on black nails. Or otherwise learn how to find the quick in a dog’s nail.

Once you get the dog nail quick black location, start trimming the nail. Then stop just before the quick: ideally in the pulp region.

Even in answering the how do you cut overgrown black dog nails question, the first point is still to locate the quick. Then cut the nail.

What To Do If You Happen To Cut A Dog Nail’s Quick

Before concluding a discussion on how to find the quick on black dog nails, we need to say something on what to do if you happen to cut a dog’s nail’s quick.

Earlier, in exploring how to find the quick on black dog nails, we saw that it is not an exact science.

Remember, in learning how to find the quick on black dog nails, we said that you can follow the pulp. Or you can check the underside of the nail. An alternative method is to apply slight pressure to the nail, and watch the dog’s reaction.

None of these methods is foolproof.

Given these difficulties when it comes to how to identify the quick in dog’s nails, sometimes accidents may happen.

The black nail quick dog has may be closer than you reckon.

That is how people end up accidentally cutting dog nail quick black nails.

Even with the utmost attention, there may be incidences of dog quick black nails being cut accidentally.

When a nail quick is cut, there is bleeding, pain and potential for infection.

The most important thing to do, if you happen to cut a dog’s nail quick is to apply styptic powder. This will stop the bleeding, and can also alleviate the pain.

So what to do, if you accidentally cut dog nail quick is apply the styptic powder. The quick (vessel) usually regrows with nail thereafter.

Final Verdict – How To Find The Quick On Black Dog Nails

Finding the quick on dog nails is essential, especially if you want to know where and when to stop cutting dog nails.

The quick is the blood vessel that serves a nail. While trimming a dog’s nail, if you cut the quick, there may be considerable bleeding and pain.

That is why it is essential to know where the quick is. Then ensure that you don’t trim the nail that far.

In a dog with black nails, you can cut the nail in small bits, while examining the midsection of each bit you cut. If you find that the midsection is white, you know that you haven’t reached the pulp – and therefore the quick is still far away.

But once you see that the midsection has become black, you know that you have reached the pulp. Therefore the quick is nearby. So you stop cutting at that point.

The other approach you can use is that of examining the dog nails’ undersides. The region  where the hard bit meets the soft fleshy section is the pulp. The quick is nearby. So while trimming the nail, that is where you should stop.

Applying slight pressure to the nail may also help tell you where the quick is. The point where the dog starts flinching when you apply the slight pressure on the nail is the point where the quick starts. So you avoid cutting that far.

If you happen to accidentally cut the quick while trimming a dog’s nails, you need to apply styptic powder fast. That will stop the bleeding and somewhat alleviate the pain.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet dog a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️