In today's issue:

-Meet our adoptable dog of the day

-Enjoy a laugh with our dog meme of the day

-Get great information in our featured article

-Take our action of the week

-Check out our family photo of the day

Join our Facebook group - Post Your Pooch!

Real Food Without the Hassle

Fresh dog food sounds great — until you’re thawing it in the sink every morning. Sundays skips all of that. It’s gently air-dried in the US, which locks in nutrition and flavor without needing a freezer, prep, or cleanup. Just scoop it straight from the bag into the bowl. It’s shelf-stable, mess-free, and easy to take on trips — built for real life with a dog, not a lab schedule. I Love Every Dog readers: your dog’s next meal is one scoop away — and it’s 30% off your first order with Sundays For Dogs.

Try Sundays Today — 30% Off Your First Order

Why Dogs Have Black, White, or Clear Nails

If you’ve ever caught yourself admiring your dog’s paws during a cozy belly-rub session, you might have noticed a curious detail: no two sets of canine claws look exactly alike. Some dogs walk around on sleek, charcoal-black nails, while others sport delicate white or translucent ones. You might even see a single pup rocking a mixed manicure, featuring a stylish combination of dark and light nails on the very same paw!

So what's the deal? Are nails as unique as dog fur?

It All Comes Down to Melanin

At the heart of every nail color is a microscopic pigment called melanin. Produced by specialized cells known as melanocytes, melanin is the body’s natural paint—the same pigment responsible for the shade of your dog’s fur, their nose, their eyes, and even the speckles on their tongue.

• Black and Dark Nails: When melanocytes drop a generous dose of melanin into the nail bed as the keratin grows, the result is a solid black, dark brown, or charcoal-colored nail.
• White or Clear Nails: When melanin is absent or present in very small amounts, the keratin shell remains translucent or cloudy white.

Because the nail itself is clear without pigment, a light-colored nail reveals what’s underneath: a soft, cloudy white shell with a hint of pink running down the center. That pink center is the quick—a delicate nerve and blood supply that nourishes the claw.

Look at the Coat (and the Toes!)

A dog's nail color usually takes its cues directly from the fur and skin surrounding the paw.

If a dog has a deep black or dark brown coat, like a black Labrador Retriever, a German Shepherd, or a Rottweiler, their body is already producing high levels of melanin, giving them matching dark nails. Conversely, dogs with white, cream, or light-colored fur on their feet, like Samoyeds or West Highland White Terriers, tend to grow pale or clear nails.

What about multi-colored nails? If you have a dog with spotted, piebald, or merle coat patterns (like a Beagle, Australian Shepherd, or Boxer), you’ve likely seen mixed nails. If a patch of white fur covers one toe while a patch of dark fur sits on the toe right next to it, the nail growing out of the white toe will often be clear, while its neighbor grows dark!

Can a Dog’s Nails Change Color?

While nail color is primarily set by genetics, it isn't always permanent. It is quite common for a dog's nail tone to shift over the course of their life:

1. Growing Up: Puppies are frequently born with softer, lighter-colored nails that gradually darken as they mature and their melanin production fully kicks in.
2. Growing Golden: Senior dogs sometimes experience age-related pigment changes. Just as human hair goes gray, aging dogs may see their once pitch-black nails fade into charcoal or develop pale streaks.
3. Staining and Buildup: Sometimes, a clear nail turns brownish or rusty red near the base. This is often surface staining caused by porphyrins—natural pigments found in a dog’s saliva—when they frequently lick their paws.

The Great Paw-Pedi Challenge

Whether clear or dark, nail color plays a practical role in daily pet care, specifically when it’s time for a trim!

Owners of dogs with white or clear nails have a distinct advantage: the quick is clearly visible as a pink line running through the center. Trimming is as simple as clipping a few millimeters past where the pink ends.

Dark nails require a gentler touch. Because the dark pigment masks the quick inside, trimming black nails takes a careful, step-by-step approach—nipping off tiny slices at a time and looking for a small gray or white dot at the center of the cross-section, which signals that you’re approaching the quick.

Embracing Every Paw-sonality

Whether your companion sports sleek ebony claws, pearly white nails, or a mismatched set, those variations are just one more unique quirk that makes them who they are. They are a living canvas of canine genetics.

Dog Food and Supplement Recalls

Here are the recent recalls and advisories:

• FI - Pet Supplements: Potential Salmonella Contamination
• Northwest Naturals - Chicken Recipe: Potential Salmonella and/or Listeria Monocytogenes Contamination
• Fromm - Wet Canned Dog Food: Potential Metal Contamination
• Oma's Pride - Canine Food: Contaminated with Salmonella
• Pedigree - High Protein Chopped Chicken & Duck Flavor Wet Dog Food: Potential Plastic Contaminants

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We want to feature your pup!

We want to share your pup with our pack. Email us your favorite doggy pic or video with your pup’s name, and we'll try to feature it as a family photo in one of our upcoming newsletters or on our Facebook page.