How To Trim Your Dog’s Nails

Knowing how to trim your dog’s nails is an important skill for any dog owner, or knowing that you can afford to take your dog to a groomer or a vet to have them trimmed every four to six weeks which can avoid them from becoming ingrown or grow too long.

In case you’re not familiar with the mechanics of trimming a dog’s nails, it is very important that you only trim off the tips as just like a human fingernail, if you trim too much off, you cut the “quick” which in a dog, just like a human, hurts, and can bleed. When a dog’s nails are white, you can usually see the pink quick inside, and know how much you can safely trim off. Black nails though, you have to make an educated guess and the best way is to just remove the tips.

Almost all dogs nails need to be trimmed on a regular basis which requires about once a month. It does depend on how fast your dog’s nails grow, and how much walking and running they are doing on rough surfaces like asphalt. Nails that aren’t trimmed regularly will keep growing, even to the point of growing around in a circle and into the pads of their feet. Even nails that are only trimmed occasionally, if too long can cause a dog’s feet and joints to take unnatural stress when they walk, causing pain both short and long-term. 

Many dogs don’t like their feet to be touched at all, often because someone at one point painfully trimmed their nails too short and hit the quick. It is a good idea as a puppy to play with their feet and toes to get them used to the feel of their feet. Pick a time when your dog is most relaxed, like at the end of a day, after lots of exercise, when they are lying down for a nap. Gently touch your dog’s front paw and reward with treats and verbal praise. Repeat daily until you can touch all their paws without any pullback or having them upset.

If it is the first time ever trimming your dog’s nails, I suggest at first having a professional groomer, or an experienced vet or vet tech, show you how the first time. If you have a nervous, big, or energetic dog, having someone help you can make the task easier if they can hold the dog still, or even just feed them treats as you trim their nails. If your dog has very long nails, you still only want to take off the very tip. (You can trim them every other week so the quick will recede to make the nails shorter over time).

Lots of praise treats, and patience will make the trimming of your dog’s nail a pleasant one instead of a fearful one.

Written by Gill Peters