How to trim your dog's nails

To cut your dog’s nails you can do it yourself or you can leave the job to the groomer. In either case, you should know how to trim your dog’s nails correctly. However, there are certain implements that you should have on hand for the moment you decide to undertake the task. Read on and find out all about it.

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Trimming your dog’s nails

In general, you should have some simple tools on hand for the moment you decide to trim your dog’s nails. That is, a special nail clipper for dogs and some of their favorite treats to motivate your pet. Let’s start as follows:

Lift your dog’s paws to see how his nails are doing
Sit on the floor so that you neither force nor twist its legs.
With one of the paws in your hand, look under its fingernail to see the flesh.
If you do not see the flesh, place the nail clipper on the edge of the nail.
Place the nail clipper at a 45-degree angle.
Start by trimming only the tip of the nail.
Stop the cut and examine well before continuing with the cut.
Hold your dog’s paw and nail up to the light and look toward the center of the nail. This will allow you to see the meat. To identify it, you may notice a darker circle in the center of the nail.

How to have a quiet pedicure

The reality is that trimming your dog’s nails can bring some stress to both of you. To avoid this, the most important thing is to be calm and transmit confidence to your dog. Let’s take a look at some other tips to make it a good time.

Having a few treats on hand is always great to keep your dog motivated.
Choose a room with good natural light so that you can see everything well.
You can keep a blanket or towel handy that belongs to you or your dog. The idea is to have a soothing smell for your pet. That is, that smells like you
It is important that you have special nail clippers for dogs.
In case there are some rough edges left after the manicure, you could have a special nail file for dogs at hand.
You may also need small scissors to trim the hair around the nail.
In case bleeding occurs, it is convenient to have some powders on hand to stop it. This can be benzocaine, sodium bicarbonate, hemostatic powder or even corn starch.

Light nails and dark nails

When cutting the nails, you should check where the inner flesh of the nail ends and avoid cutting it. When you look at your dog’s nails in the light, you may notice that you can see through the nail and it looks like a nail inside the nail. You should avoid cutting it because it may hurt and start bleeding. If the nail is light, you will see the pink tissue in the center: do not cut this part. If the nail is dark, it will have a small dark circle in the center indicating the beginning of the flesh and if you cut it it will bleed. If you can cut the smaller edge of the nail at 45 degrees and when you see the circle stop the cut.

If it should bleed, you can dip the nail in hemostatic powder or cornstarch and keep your dog still with some treats.