Using Your Dog Nail Clippers for Your Dogs Trimming

By now you have a pair of dog nail clippers in your dog grooming tools. This is an important tool in dog grooming and in your dogs health care.

There are a couple of different ways you can trim your dogs nail trim. I prefer a way that seems safest for the dog and for myself.

With your dog on the dog grooming table and the dog grooming noose around his neck I face in the opposite direction of my dog with my dog on the left because I am right handed. This way I can reach over my dog and grab a hold of any of his legs trimming his nails with my right hand. This way if your dog gets a bit antsy you can keep him in place by locking him between your arm and your body.

I usually start with the rear legs, but that is just personal choice. Taking a hold of the leg, cupping his leg and paw in my hand, I bring it back towards the rear of the dog so the pads of his feet are facing up. A gentle pressure on the toe will cause the nail to extend.

If the dogs nails are white you will be able to see the vein inside it. A red line running the length of the nail. Cut the nail in front of this vein.

If the nail is black and you can’t see the vein then you can take a little bit of nail off at a time. When you are getting close to the vein you will see a small black dot start to appear in the area of the nail where you’ve cut it. This is a beginning of a nerve, a lot like the quick in our own nails, and it’s the place to stop.

Some people prefer facing the same way as their dog, bringing the leg and foot forward. To me this gives you less visibility of what you are doing, more chance to make a mistake, and more chance of getting bitten if you do make a mistake. Your dog will react if you cut into a vein with your dog nail clippers.

The other option is using a nail grinder. This is also a good option just remember whether it’s a nail trimmer or a grinder that you don’t want to go to deep. First it’s the nerve and next is the vein.

Be sure to have some styptic powder in your dog grooming equipment as a precaution incase a mistake happens.

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