Nail polish for dogs – how to keep them safe

Nail polish for dogs is a growing trend, so it is important to know how to keep your dog safe whilst you’re glamming up their paw.

First and foremost it is vital that you use a non-toxic pet-friendly nail polish 

Just like humans, many pooches are happy to be pampered by their owner and may be very comfortable with sporting a bright and trendy set of painted toe nails.   

But before you run to your nail polish collection and pick out your favourite colour, think about how many times a day your dog licks around it’s paw and toes and the myriad of chemicals your pooch can potentially digest if using a regular nail polish on your dog. 

Human nail polish is designed, not surprisingly, for humans.  We are much bigger and generally much stronger than our dogs, so we tend to be able to tolerate a bit more exposure to chemicals and toxins than they can (however saying that, using non-toxic nail polish for yourself is probably a good idea as well!).

Fortunately, someone recognised that there could be a health issue associated with this trend of painting our pet’s nails and so came up with the brilliant idea of creating a toxic-free nail polish specifically for dogs. 

If you’re wondering where you can buy a safe, non-toxic nail polis for dogs you can check out PETstock’s Buddy & Belle Nail Polish range.   It’s  water-based, odourless, non- toxic and quick drying.

Only one layer application is required so your pooch can look a million dollars in minutes, that’s if they stay still!

Some handy tips for painting your pooches nails:

1. Inspect your pooches nails:
   Before you begin make sure the dog nails are healthy. It’s important to only paint healthy nails – brittle, cracked or badly split nails will only be aggravated by applying polish. Don’t paint their nails if they aren’t in good condition.
2. Trim your pooches nails if necessary (See article on how to do this)
3. Gently trim the fur around their nails.
4. Paint while they are tired or relaxed and not likely to move around a lot.
   Some dogs do not like their paws being touched but this can be reversed if you slowly introduce some paw touching with rewards. Try touching your pooches’ paw for a few seconds and reward them, and build up the amount of time your pooch allows you to touch their paws slowly over time. 
5. Allow some time to dry
6. And…Viola!

Had a change of heart and you and your pooch don’t like the polish?   The best option really is to allow your dog’s nail polish chip off naturally within 2-3 weeks to avoid having to use any kind of nail polish remover. 

If you absolutely can’t wait for some reason and insist on using nail polish remover then make sure it is a  non-acetone polish remover.

Even though this is gentler than nail polish remover with acetone and non-acetone removers use less aggressive solvents like ethyl acetate, isopropyl alcohol and propylene carbonate, it’s important to note that even this and other polish removers labeled as “natural” or “organic” still use a solvent, they just don’t use acetone so your dog may still have an adverse reaction to them so ensure you wash their paw immediately after use.    Also never leave your dog unattended with nail polish remover around.

Painting your pooches nails can be fun, but be sure to do so safely and with the right products to help keep your dog safe.

About the Author: Peta O’Brien is a member of the Pooches at Play marketing team. Having just graduated in Marketing at RMIT, Peta is loving working in an industry that she’s passionate about! She has two Jack Russells and loves taking them on adventures with her.