Sometimes I trim the nails of dogs belonging to friends of mine. This includes Griffin and Gretel, owned by Jennifer Fry. It is inevitable that occasionally a nail will be cut a bit short and bleed. I have never found a styptic product that was of any real use in stopping a bleeding nail. This includes 'home remedies' such as flour and cornstarch. Often, all that stuff did was turn a little bit of a mess into a bigger mess.
A couple of years ago when I visited Jennifer and prepared to cut the dogs' nails, Jennifer handed me a small container of a styptic powder that I had not tried before. For that matter, it was a brand I had never seen before. I was skeptical but figured it might be better than nothing.
It was, paws down, the best thing I have ever found to stop nail bleeding. After everything else that I have tried, this powder seemed nearly miraculous. "Hey, THIS stuff works!" I marveled so much that Jennifer gave it to me and, when necessary, I have used it and appreciated it ever since.
It is 21st Century Styptic Powder and it comes in a 0.5 oz plastic jar. (Don't ask me why the link goes to a page that says "great taste, dog approved" because I don't know why!) I found that the easiest way to use it is if I cut a nail a bit too much (doesn't happen often), I moisten the tip of my little finger by touching it to my tongue and touch my finger to the powder in the container, which I open before I begin clipping, just in case. Then I use my little finger to dab the powder on the nail. One dab is usually enough though every once in awhile it takes two. Voila! It works every time!
I was a bit concerned that if I ever run out of the stuff (though I'm nowhere close to it) I would not be able to find it again. Jennifer could not remember where she'd bought it. So I went online and found, lo and behold, that 21st Century is "the exclusive pet wellness brand of PetSmart."
I also saw this powder touted on the Sick Dog Blog as "really effective in stopping the bleeding from a broken or over-clipped nail, along with minor cuts." That blog, too, mentions that, unlike cheaper products, the 21st Century powder does not clump due to moisture in the air and eventually morph into a rock. This is true.
It is nice to have something that works so well!