Quick (Nail)

The quick is the living tissue inside a dog's nail that contains blood vessels and nerves. In dogs with light-colored nails, the quick is visible as a pinkish area inside the nail. In dogs with dark nails, the quick is invisible, which makes nail trimming more challenging and increases the risk of cutting too short. Understanding the quick — where it is, how to avoid it, and what to do when you hit it — is fundamental knowledge for every professional groomer.

When a nail is trimmed too short and the quick is cut, the nail bleeds and the dog experiences a sharp pain similar to a human snagging a hangnail deep. While not medically dangerous, quicking a nail is distressing for the dog, alarming for the owner, and can make future nail trims more difficult as the dog develops anxiety around the process. Professional groomers use styptic powder (such as Kwik Stop) to immediately stop the bleeding when a quick is nicked.

Experienced groomers develop techniques to minimize quicking, especially on dark-nailed dogs. They trim in small increments, watching for the appearance of a chalky white ring in the nail cross-section, which indicates the quick is nearby. They also know that the quick recedes when nails are trimmed regularly — so a dog whose nails have been neglected will have longer quicks that gradually shorten with consistent trims every 2-3 weeks.