Clipping dog nails should be a regular part of dog grooming as it indirectly helps maintain good dog health. Trimming dog nails help decrease the chances of broken nails that bleed profusely or curling of nails that grow into the dog's feet.

When you hear click-click on the floor, it means it's time to clip your dog's nails. Do not put off trimming dog nails till your next visit to the vet. You can observe the vet while he clips the nails and understand how to do it yourself.

How to Trim Dog Nails

You need to buy clippers that are specially designed for dogs. You should bring a strong claw cutter for bigger dog breeds. You should keep a small file handy to file down jagged edges. Also keep a styptic pen around, just in case you clip into the dog's nerves.

The Dog Nail Anatomy
It is very important to understand the structure of a dog's nail. The dog's nail is made of a hard outer covering and an inner soft part. The hard part protects the inner soft part as it contains blood vessels and nerve endings. You can see faint pink colored nerves in light colored dog nails. If your dog has a black or dark-colored nail, the pink part will be almost invisible. This makes it very difficult while trimming dog nails. You need to just clip off the nibbles instead of the nail as you cannot see the delicate nerve endings.

While clipping keep checking for a dark spot in the middle of the clipped nail. This is the start of the nerve endings and if you clip further you may hurt the dog. In case of dark nails, look out for a pale third inner circle. This means you need to stop clipping here. You also need to clip the dew claws that are inside the legs and these may curl in leading to lot of pain. You need to trim them too.

Guide
You need to help the dog relaxed and make him lie down on a table. Make sure you place a rubber mat over the table to avoid slipping of the dog while sleeping or standing. You need to call in some help if your dog is too big or fidgety, to hold him in place. If the dog is used to clipping from puppyhood or is as calm as an angel, you can carry out the process single-handedly.

Now, make sure the clipping tool is sharp enough to avoid any kind of pain to the animal. You should begin clipping dog nail from under the dog's claw upwards. Do not clip the nails downward. Place the tool in the right place and once your dog is steady enough, squeeze firmly and the nail will come off.

You should position the clippers just a little above the pink tissue. If needed, file the remaining nail to a shorter length. You need to do this very gently and slowly to avoid cutting off blood vessels and nerves.

If you have cut off the nerve ends by accident, quickly apply pressure with styptic powder or pad. If you do not have styptic powder, baby powder and cotton ball will do. Do not wipe off the tip of the nail after the bleeding stops. Do not allow the dog to lick the wound as it will cause infections. Also, the dog may be a bit hyper due to the pain and you need to help him relax. If the bleeding continues for more than 5 or 7 minutes, it's time to call in the vet immediately.

You need to carry out trimming of dog nails once or twice a month. Trimming dog nails is very important to maintain proper health and hygiene of the dog's feet. Long nails may get stuck in the carpet or sofas and break. This will cause a lot of pain, bleeding and may lead to infections. Also, ingrown nails do not paint a healthy dog picture. A little attention on your side will help save you and your dog a lot of trouble.