The first consequence of long toenails is painful feet. When a dog’s toenails contact hard ground, like a sidewalk or your kitchen floor, the hard surface pushes the nail back up into the nail bed. This either puts pressure on all the toe joints or forces the toe to twist to the side.
~Dr. Karen Gellman
The nails pictured in this photo look quite long to me, but there is hope! It is absolutely possible to retrain a dog and handler team to love ‘nail trim time’, or at least tolerate it so the procedure becomes safer and more enjoyable -for both parties.