Why do dogs chew their nails? Find out why your dogs do this.

Okay, so I’ve noticed something weird with my dog, Buster, lately. He’s been chewing on his nails a lot, and I mean A LOT. It’s not just a little nibble here and there; he really goes at it. Naturally, I got a little worried. First thing I did was get down on the floor with him to take a closer look.

I checked his paws for anything obvious like something stuck between his pads or a cut, but everything looked fine. His nails weren’t overly long either, so it wasn’t like he was trying to give himself a pedicure. This was a head-scratcher. Since I couldn’t figure it out myself, I decided to hit up the internet. I typed “why do dogs chew their nails” into the search bar and started reading.

Turns out, there are a bunch of reasons why dogs might do this. Some articles talked about boredom and anxiety. Buster’s a pretty chill dog, but we had just moved to a new house, so I thought maybe that could be it. He’s always been a bit of a nervous nelly, to be honest. Other articles mentioned allergies or even infections, and that made me even more concerned, as he has not had this issue before, I noticed it happened recently, at least I haven’t noticed it before.

What I Did Next

• I made an appointment with the vet, just to be safe. I didn’t want to mess around if it was something medical.
• In the meantime, I tried to keep him busy. We went for longer walks, played more fetch, and I even bought him a new chew toy. Anything to distract him from his paws, you know?
• I also started paying more attention to when he was doing it. Was it after I left for work? When he was alone? This was tricky because I’m not always home, but I did my best to observe him.

At the vet, they did a thorough check-up. They examined his paws, looked for any signs of irritation, and even took a little skin sample to rule out anything nasty. Thankfully, the vet said everything looked normal. She suggested that it might indeed be stress or boredom related to the move.

So, what’s the takeaway? Well, I’m still not 100% sure why Buster started this nail-chewing habit. But I’m keeping an eye on him, providing him with plenty of exercise and attention, and trying to make our new place feel like home. Hopefully, he’ll kick the habit soon. It’s tough seeing your furry friend doing something that seems so out of character, right? Anyway, that’s my story about Buster and his nail-chewing adventure. Anyone else ever deal with something like this? It’s so strange!