Do you clip your dogs nails?

We've had our dog since May. Since then, I've had several people tell me how easy it is to cut my dogs nails. They suggested I go to Petco and get a really nice dog nail clipper because it would be cheaper in the long run to cut his nails myself than to bring him somewhere to have it done every few months. I'm afraid of cutting too short and cutting into the quick. I have brought him to a groomer to have his nails clipped a few times. He does very well there. He stands still and lets her do it. So, I'm not worried about him moving around a lot while I'm doing it. I guess I just don't trust myself. The groomer charges $6 and I can bring him in whenever she is open without an appointment. Maybe I should just get over my fear and learn to do it. Do you cut your dogs nails yourself? Have you ever cut into the quick by accident? What type of nail clipper do you use?

Hey Jaimie, I personally don't do it as I am afraid I may cut into the quick & if so, I would feel so bad. I have seen groomers cut too close, so if they can make mistakes, I most certainly could. I know a few folks who cut their dog's nails, & they are none the worse for it.

I think it's a lot about confidence, but I lack it in this area!

Whatever you decide, I wish you well!

I use one of those little nail grinder things, because I don't want to cut the quick, and hurt my pups. The noise of the grinder scared them a little, at first. But, if you train them a little, and don't be so direct, and in a hurry to do it, they'll calm down.

I realized, when I'd go to trim their nails, I grab the grinder, and tell them to come to me. Then grab their foot and go right into it, and they'd panic. Now, I get the grinder, and sit down with it. I'll hang out for 15 minutes or so, just watching TV, and the dogs forget about it. Then, I play with them, but set the grinder to where they can see it. Next, I get them to lay down, and start touching their feet. Eventually, I pick the grinder up, and work into using it.

It took all that, to make them calm, but now they don't mind it much.

You definitely have to learn to cut your dog's nails. If they're white, it's a lot easier. If they're black, then you'll have to watch this Youtube video to get some basic tips.





If you're concerned that he might get too fidgety, then make sure you prepare lots of treats so that whenever you clip a nail, his reward ( a treat) is ready. The trick is to associate the experience with something good.

One more thing, when cutting dog nails, it's best to do it quickly because I've noticed that dogs get annoyed quicker when the cutting is done slowly.

The first time I cut through the quick, my dog's nail bled profusely. I panicked when I shouldn't have. So one more tip to remember is to purchase styptic powder just in case an accident happens. If you don't have any, corn starch will do in the mean time.

I thought about using one of the grinding tools instead of clipper. It seemed like it would be easier to take it slow. But, then someone told me they heard the grinders weren't good for a pets nails. I would feel a lot more confident about it if his nails were all white. But, he has a mix of white and black. He does have more white nails than black ones though so maybe if I got used to doing the white ones, then do the black ones last after I get a feel for it. How often do you usually clip your dogs nails? We have only done it twice in the 6 months we've had him. But, I was taking him on daily walks during that time which helped grind them down some. We're supposed to get a blizzard here tomorrow, so I doubt we'll be out walking for awhile.

It's so much cheaper when you do it yourself! But of course, you need to train your dog to let you do it. One of our dogs, hates it. He gets growly and then that's no fun. But if he has a really long walk and he's tired and you distract him with treats, he lets you do it. It's a two person job!

My dog: you pin him to the ground, give him hug, then he gives you his paw. Easy-peasy.

Make sure your tools are the right size for your dog's nails and that they are sharp. Dull tools are the worst and can cause the dog some pain.

As mentioned, I'm scared I will make a mistake as well. From what I am told, you just don't want to cut them too short. For $6 though, I would just have it professionally done. You never know if he will move at the wrong time. I leave dog care to the professionals. Sometimes the bill you end up getting is outrageous. It is worth it in the end. With my luck, I would accidentally leave a really sharp edge that would utterly destroy me.

I agree with the above posts. I was too afraid to clip my dogs nails. I didn't want to hurt her or make her feel uncomfortable. Thankfully for me, my dogs nails didn't grow as long as other dogs. I thought that was strange and should have taken her to the clinic to inquire about that. If her nails were to have grown extremely long then I would have had someone cut her nails for me.

I have a clipper and a grinder. One dog is nervous but lets me do it. The other small dog likes to bite. I am always nervous about clipping too far and hurting my dogs. Not to say that this has not happened before. We had an older German Pointer that had black nails and I would hit the quick now and then. Poor girl, I hated when that happened.

We will have to try a treat for each paw or nail. I'll try this today after bath time. I also think I will just clip a tiny bit then grind. The only problem is me not taking time every few weeks. Their nails end up getting long because I don't do it often enough.

I have heard that the quick grows out farther when the nails grow long. Is this true?

I do not clip my dog's nails. When he was still a puppy he used to scratch my skin because his nails were sharp. Every time I go near him I just wear pants and taught him not to go near me when I am wearing shorts. I guess my dog is smart that he understand what I say to him.

I have my dog groomed once every 6 weeks so they clip her nails. Although I bathe my dog twice a week cutting her nails is something I'm too scared to try. I've heard a dog cry because the groomer in a certain pet store clipped it too close and it just made the hair on my skin rise.

I certainly understand the fear. I've trimmed a little too close before and drawn a little blood and it broke my heart to make my dog bleed. I have a small chihuahua who hates having her nails trimmed. I started with a normal pair of fingernail clippers, I figured since she was so small they'd be fine. However, I discovered when I used larger trimmers (like the ones you're probably talking about from PetCo) they seemed to not put pressure on her nail as much while I was trimming. Consequently, she tolerates her nail trimming much better now. I also use the grinder on her nails afterwards to smooth off the sharp edges, and she doesn't seem to mind that part of it much at all.

As an extra tip, keep a bar of soap handy while you're trimming. If you do trim too far, you can rub the end of the nail on the soap which will stop the bleeding. This doesn't hurt the dog either. Good luck!

One tolerates nail clipping. Two try to bite me.

Please remember that two of the three of my dogs are craigslist rescues, so we tolerate their idiosyncrasies, including snapping at me when I'm attempting to clip their nails. The tolerant one is also the one that I found as a puppy. He's a very sweet, gentle and loving little dog -- even though he's a wire-haired terrier mix of some kind.

I do manage to clip one or two nails at a time. Then I give them a break for a few days, sneak up on them and clip one or two more nails. I figure they've been traumatized enough, I don't need to take them to a stranger and scare them more than they already are.

I only clip my dogs nails when it is absolutely necessary. Not long ago, my dog had it done because it seemed to be affecting the way she was walking. I think it can cause them some pain if they are overgrown and not tended to. I think it's best just to clip them when it is necessary, as they take a few years typically to grow to the point where it becomes a problem.

@Kyama3 Do you walk your dog on like sideway/concrete frequently enough that it keeps your dog's nails short? It was my understanding it's actually better to regularly trim your dog's nails so that the inner part doesn't grow too long. The "toe" part of whatever you call it, that's inside the nail, the more you let their nails grow the longer that part can get I think, which I think in turn is uncomfortable for the dog as well. But if you walk your dog on rough surfaces a lot, it can take care of itself. Mine is pretty much only ever walks on carpet or grass, and I'm not the best at keeping a set schedule to trim hers. My dog hates having her nails trimmed so I probably tend to let her go a little longer than I should, I'm trying to get on a more set schedule for it though.

My family and I were actually referred for this by a family friend and was told to buy special nail clippers online. And when I actually used to cut my dogs nails on my own, it was honestly quite daunting to start off with... After a little practice and a few attempts I manage to cut them after a while and the easier it got! It all comes in time though, I actually once cut my little one too close that it bled It was one of the worst things I've ever experienced due to the fact that I was still in my teenage years! You should however do it yourself, it will save you a lot and is much more convenient.

-Paul

No i do not clip my dogs nails, for some odd reason im afraid to. It seems like it would hurt them for some reason. I would rather take them to the groom to get it done because i was told dont know how true it may be but if you cut their nails too low it would cause them to bleed. So i leave it in the professionals hands to do all the work.

I don't cut my dogs nails myself because I am like you and most others, too afraid in case I cut the quick but my boyfriend does them on a regular basis.
We also try to walk him on the pavement for some of his daily walks to try and wear down the nails naturally. I am sure you could cut them yourself, especially if your dog doesn't seem to mind having them done, just go slowly and cut a little off at a time

It is important to clip your dogs toenails when they start getting too long, or they may start growing into a circle and back into their leg, especially the dewclaw, if it has not bend removed when they were a puppy.
Two of my dogs are fine with this, and could care less, but my Chipper just goes into a panic, and he yells and screams even before I touch him with the clippers. He is only 5-6 lbs, but my husband has to hold him while I clip each of his toes, as he squirms and squalls. The problem with this, is when he squirms, then I am more apt to slip and trim the nail too short, so I usually try to just get a bit of the end of the nail, and not cut it as short as it should be.
It is always a huge job to get him clipped, but necessary, and he is glad to have his treats afterward.

I really have no choice but to cut my dog's nails myself. He's a good boy but even touching his nails sends him into a panic. He'll fidget and scream anytime the clipper gets close to his nails, but if I can distract him with food, he won't even notice when I cut them!

I have no idea why he acts this way, since neither I nor the vet (who used to cut his nails before) has ever cut too close to the quick. My theory is that either his previous owners accidentally cut his nails too short when he was a puppy and he never forgot it, or he's just making a big deal out of nothing I've heard similar stories from other chihuahua owners: misbehaving at nail clipping despite no previous injuries.

The vet used to cut his toenails whenever he went in for an appointment, but he just got more and more hysterical every time. I felt the stress was too much for him—not to mention my poor vet as well—, so I decided to do it at home.

What I do now is catch him when he's relaxed or sleeping and clip one or two nails a day, depending on how much he's willing to put up with. Then I always give him a treat and praise him, hoping he'll start associating nail clipping with a reward.

As for worrying about cutting into the quick.... I certainly do, every time. Maybe he catches my own stress! But I clip only the tip off each time, and if the nail is very long, I'll cut it over a period of days. It's easier for both of us to have very short grooming sessions than battle through one long one.

We used to clip our dog's nails ourselves - when he was a puppy. But it only took a couple of times of hurting him that we quit. We would feel so awful about hurting him that we and he were very gun-shy after that.

I am much more comfortable letting the groomer do it. She has the equipment and is much more experienced than we are! We just have her do it when she grooms him. He doesn't seem to need it more often than that.

We already have to give him insulin for diabetes so it is nice to not have to worry about trimming his nails too! (he is a mini schnauzer)

We usually get our dogs nail trimmed for free at the vet . I have bought those as seen on tv battery operated nail clippers with a rotary sander head inside and a guard so you can only put the dogs nails so far into the machine where it safely grinds down the dogs nail without hurting it. We have also been to a pet expo and saw people clipping dogs nails with a dremel. I think I will pick up a dremel from Home Depot so I can use it as a tool and a nail clipper.

I never clip my dogs nails myself. I always let the dog groomer do it. I wouldn't want to accidentaly hurt my dog. This post has made me think if cutting nails are really essential at all. If our dogs lived on their own, their nails would be long and this would be ok right? I guess cutting their nails are more for us rather than our dogs. If you want your dog's nails "short" then perhaps you should learn to cut them yourself. Learning how to do it will save you much money.

I've been venturing into the idea of doing this for my dog. I'm worried I'll hurt her, but some people have assured me that she'll be fine because she has white nails and yea, they seem to be pretty easy to see where the nail is versus the pulp. Has anyone tried any grinding mechanisms? I don't want these jagged little things running around my wood floor

I don't think I could do it myself, since my dog absolutely loathes getting her nails trimmed and I don't want her to associate that misery with me! I already know that she is pretty grumpy when she figures out that it's about time for a clipping - that sulking look just drives me nuts. I don't want that kind of bad mojo on my head, better to leave it to the folks at the groomers hehe.

That being said, my place has hardwood floors, so it's basically mandatory that her nails be kept in good shape so she doesn't tear up the floors any more than she already has!