Bull Terrier nails: when to clip and what changes mean
Nails are easy to forget until they click on the kitchen floor. They are also one of the few parts of a dog you can check in seconds, and a change in them can be the first sign of something worth knowing about. This is when to trim, and how to read what you see.
- Trim every three to four weeks as a starting point. If you can hear his nails clicking on a hard floor as he trots, they are too long.
- Colour on its own tells you little. A change in colour, shape or texture tells you a lot.
- One bad nail usually means injury or infection. Several going wrong at once points to something wider and needs a vet.
- Rusty pink fur around the nails means licking, not a nail problem. The stain comes from saliva.
- Lethal acrodermatitis is the breed-specific one. A puppy with misshapen nails, thick footpads and poor growth needs a vet promptly. A DNA test exists.
When to clip
VCA's guidance is that most dogs need a trim every three to four weeks, and some need it weekly. How quickly his nails get too long depends on how much he walks on hard ground, which wears them down, so treat the calendar as a starting point and the nails themselves as the real guide.
The simplest test: if you can hear his nails clicking on a hard floor when he trots, they are too long.
Regular trims matter for a reason beyond tidiness. The quick, the living part of the nail with its blood vessels and nerves, grows as the nail grows. Trim regularly and the quick stays short. Leave it, and the quick grows out with the nail, so every future trim has less room to work with.
Dewclaws, if he has them, never touch the ground and never wear down, so check them at every trim. For the trimming itself, including clippers versus a grinder and building his tolerance, see Bull Terrier nail trimming.
Black nails, white nails and the quick
Many Bull Terriers have a mix of white and dark nails. The colour itself is not the point. What it changes is how easy the nail is to trim.
- In a white or clear nail the quick shows as a pink or red area inside. The PDSA advises cutting a few millimetres short of it.
- In a black nail you cannot see the quick at all. Take thin slivers rather than one cut, and ask your vet or vet nurse to show you where to stop on his nails specifically.
- If you nick the quick, the PDSA suggests dipping the nail in cornflour to help stop the bleeding.
What a change can mean
A useful rule from veterinary dermatology: problems affecting one or a few nails tend to be injury, infection or, less often, a growth. Problems affecting several nails on all four feet tend to point to something affecting the whole body.
| What you see | Most likely | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rusty pink or brown fur around the nails and between the toes | Saliva staining from licking | Find out why he is licking. Allergy is the usual reason in this breed |
| One nail split, cracked or hanging | Injury | Vet if the quick is exposed, it is bleeding, or he is limping |
| Redness, swelling or pus where one nail meets the toe | Infection of the nail fold | Vet |
| Several nails loosening, splitting or coming away over a few weeks | Often SLO (below), or an underlying disease | Vet |
| Regrowing nails that are short, soft, brittle or misshapen | Often SLO (below) | Vet |
| A young puppy with misshapen nails, thickened footpads and poor growth | Possibly LAD (below) | Vet promptly |
Pink or rusty fur around the nails
This is the one that looks like a nail problem and is not. Saliva contains porphyrins, which come from the breakdown of red blood cells, and the iron in them stains white fur. The AKC explains that when a dog licks his paws a lot, the fur around them turns pink or rusty red.
On a white Bull Terrier it is very visible, and it is a useful clue: the stain tells you he has been licking, often for weeks. In this breed the usual reason is itchy skin. See paw licking explained and allergies and skin problems.
Several nails at once
When nails start coming loose on more than one foot, the most common cause in dogs is symmetric lupoid onychodystrophy, usually shortened to SLO. It is thought to be immune-mediated: the dog's own immune system attacks the area the nail grows from. It typically starts with one nail and spreads to others within a couple of weeks, and the nails that grow back tend to be short, soft, brittle and misshapen.
Bull Terriers are not among the breeds VCA lists as predisposed, but it can still turn up. Treatment includes fatty acids, vitamin E and a combination of an antibiotic with niacinamide, and some dogs need treatment for life.
Several nails going wrong together can also be the first visible sign of an underlying disease. Veterinary dermatologists list hypothyroidism, Cushing's disease, diabetes, allergies and other immune-mediated diseases among the causes. This is why several nails at once is always a vet visit rather than something to watch.
Lethal acrodermatitis: the breed-specific one
Lethal acrodermatitis, or LAD, is an inherited disease of Bull Terriers and Miniature Bull Terriers. It shows up early, with the first signs in the first weeks of life.
- What it looks like. Skin lesions mainly on the feet, lower legs, elbows, hocks and muzzle. Later, the footpads thicken and the nails become deformed.
- Growth. Affected dogs are typically about half the weight and size of an unaffected dog at a year old.
- Immunity. Affected dogs have a weakened immune system.
- Outlook. Poor. Affected puppies typically die before they are two.
LAD is sometimes confused with zinc-responsive dermatosis, a condition seen mainly in Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes. LAD is not a zinc problem: in the genetic study, zinc supplementation did not improve the lesions, and the MSD Veterinary Manual notes that affected dogs do not respond to oral zinc. See zinc-responsive dermatosis for the condition that does respond.
LAD is recessive. A puppy has to inherit the faulty gene from both parents, and carriers look completely healthy, which is why it can appear in a litter from two healthy dogs. The 2018 study that found the gene made a DNA test possible, and laboratories now offer one for both breeds. In the US, the AKC lists the LAD DNA test among the parent club's recommended tests for the Miniature Bull Terrier. It is not on the list for the standard Bull Terrier, so if you are buying a puppy of either breed, ask the breeder directly. See Bull Terrier health testing.
When to see a vet
Frequently asked questions
How often should I clip my Bull Terrier's nails?
Every three to four weeks is a good starting point, and some dogs need it weekly. Dogs who walk a lot on hard ground wear their nails down and may need it less often. The clicking test is a better guide than the calendar.
How do I know if my dog's nails are too long?
If you can hear them clicking on a hard floor when he trots, they are too long. Regular trims also keep the quick short, so leaving nails to grow makes every later trim harder.
Why is the fur around my Bull Terrier's nails turning pink?
It is almost always saliva staining from licking. Saliva contains porphyrins whose iron stains white fur pink or rusty red. The stain tells you he has been licking his paws, and in this breed the usual reason is itchy skin.
Why is my dog losing several nails?
The most common cause of nails coming loose on several feet is symmetric lupoid onychodystrophy, an immune-mediated condition that attacks the area the nail grows from. Several nails going wrong at once can also be a sign of an underlying disease, so it needs a vet rather than waiting to see.
What is lethal acrodermatitis in Bull Terriers?
An inherited disease of Bull Terriers and Miniature Bull Terriers that appears in young puppies, with skin lesions on the feet and face, thickened footpads, deformed nails, poor growth and a weak immune system. It is recessive, carriers look healthy, and a DNA test is available.
Sources
- Lindell E, Feyrecilde M, Horwitz D, Landsberg G. "Successful Nail Trims: Training for Happy Handling." VCA Animal Hospitals. vcahospitals.com
- PDSA. How to clip your dog's nails. www.pdsa.org.uk
- Hillier A. "Claw Diseases." WSAVA World Congress proceedings, 2014. www.vin.com
- Hensel P. "Nail diseases (Proceedings)." dvm360, 2010. www.dvm360.com
- Williams K. "Symmetric Lupoid Onychodystrophy in Dogs." VCA Animal Hospitals. vcahospitals.com
- Johnstone G, reviewed by Klein J. "Why Does My Dog's Fur Turn Pink or Brown?" American Kennel Club. www.akc.org
- Bauer A, Jagannathan V, Hogler S, et al. "MKLN1 splicing defect in dogs with lethal acrodermatitis." PLOS Genetics. 2018;14(3):e1007264. journals.plos.org
- Laboklin. Lethal acrodermatitis (LAD) genetic test. laboklin.com
- American Kennel Club. Terrier group health testing requirements (the tests each parent club recommends). www.akc.org
- Moriello KA. Cutaneous manifestations of multisystemic and metabolic defects in animals (zinc-responsive dermatosis and lethal acrodermatitis). MSD Veterinary Manual. www.msdvetmanual.com
This is general information, not veterinary advice. It cannot account for your individual dog, and nothing here replaces an examination by a vet who can see him. Anything that looks urgent needs a vet now rather than a web page.
Related guides
- Bull Terrier nail trimming
- Grooming a Bull Terrier
- Paw licking explained
- Zinc-responsive dermatosis
- Bull Terrier health testing
The Bull Terrier Buddy app
Never lose track of the last trim
Bull Terrier Buddy puts grooming into a care schedule with reminders, so the next trim does not slide by a month. The skin log covers paws too, so a split nail or a foot he keeps licking goes on the record with a date.
Free to download, with a 7-day free trial of Premium. See everything it does