Grooming the Puppies

While the puppies are still in the nest is the time to begin keeping their nails cut. The nails of young puppies are needle-sharp, and if not kept trimmed are likely to cause eye injuries. At this stage a pair of ordinary manicure scissors is all that is necessary. Never cut down as far as the quick. Otherwise, pain and bleeding will result, for there are both nerves and blood vessels here just as there are in the pulp, or soft tissues in the center of a tooth.

Some breed standards call for the ears to be trimmed. Five to seven months used to be considered the best time for trimming to be done. However, research has shown that the puppies feel less pain, the tissues heal more quickly, and the cartilages assume the desired position when the ears are trimmed at about three months.

It sometimes happens that puppies are born deaf, and sometimes deafness is acquired after birth because of the closing of the passage to the outside with wax or foreign material. Occasionally it is the result of disease, such as distemper, paralyzing the auditory nerve. In cases where the deafness is congenital or the nerve has been paralyzed, the chances of favorable results from treatment are small. If the deafness is the result of foreign material in the passage, it may be treated by dropping a small amount of warm camphorated oil into the ear, and later sponging with absorbent cotton wound tightly around an applicator.

A word might be said here concerning cosmetic operations on puppies. Tatooing will alter the appearance of "butterfly noses" and eye membranes which are not the right color, but this only changes the individual and does not alter the strain. Dogs with butterfly noses and light eyes are best sold as pets and not retained as show or breeding stock, since these faults are very hard to breed out. The two faults seem to go hand in hand. However, in most breeds except the reds, the nose darkens as the dog grows older.

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