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Cutting your dog’s nails is an important part of its grooming routine.
Although often viewed as a beauty treatment, cutting your dog’s nails is essential to its health and wellbeing. Overgrown nails can negatively impact your dog’s life, causing unnecessary pain, potential posture problems, and limited mobility.
At Groomers, we understand that the thought of cutting your dog’s nails can be a daunting task. That’s why we’ve pulled together our top tips on how to cut your dog’s nails safely so you can be confident that when you pick up the nail clippers, you’ll know exactly what to do.
From why you should cut your dog’s nails to how to prepare it for the experience and tips on coping with uncooperative dogs, get ready to pamper your dog’s paws like a pro!
Table of contents:
How to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding
How to cut a dog’s nails when they’re black
How to cut a nervous dog’s nails
When to cut a dog’s nails
When a dog’s nails get too long, they can experience pain and other issues, so it’s important to add a regular nail trim into your dog’s grooming routine to prevent it from suffering. There are a few indicators as to when your dog’s nails are ready to be cut, such as the sound of them tapping on the floor and any noticeable difference in how your dog walks.
When your dog’s nails touch the ground, it’s time to bring out the nail clippers. A great way to check if your dog’s nails are too long is to position it standing in front of you with its front legs under its shoulders so you can visibly see its nails. Are the nails touching the ground or curling under? If yes, your dog’s nails are ready for a trim.
Similarly, if you notice your dog’s nails turning sideways, this could also be a sign that they are ready to be clipped.
How to cut a dog’s nails
Cutting your dog’s nails can be simple if you know what you’re doing. Here are some recommendations on the equipment you’ll need and some simple steps on how to easily trim your dog’s nails at home.
Things you’ll need:
- Dog nail clippers or a grinder
- Paw balm (recommended but not essential)
- A flashlight (good for black nails)
- Scissors for trimming the hair between the paws
How to cut your dog’s nails:
- Start by helping your dog get comfortable and relaxed by stroking and treating it for good behaviour. If your dog appears a little nervous, take time to calm it down.
- Determine how far to trim the nails. The main points to remember here are that the perfect range ends before the quick, the blood vessel that can bleed if you cut too far, so avoid taking too much nail off as you could catch it by doing so. Also, remember that front paws are generally more likely to have overgrown nails, so these may require more to be taken off (even if this is done in stages).
- Once the cutting range is defined, trim a small amount of your dog’s nail, cutting parallel to the bottom of the nail. Reward your dog for each successful trim for extra positive association.
- Once you’ve cut all the nails, if there’s no blood, and your dog has remained relaxed, you’ve done a great job!
- Tidy the paws by trimming the hair between the pads with your grooming scissors.
- Finally, rub some paw balm into your dog’s pads to soften and pamper its feet.
- Reward your dog for its good behaviour!
How often should I trim my dog’s nails?
How often you’ll need to trim your dog’s nails depends on several factors, such as how often it is walked and on what type of terrain. Dogs exercised on softer ground will generally have longer nails than those often exercised on concrete paths.
Other factors that play a part are the type of dog you have, what they eat and how active they are.
As a general rule, cutting your dog’s nails every two weeks will keep the nails healthy and encourage the quick to withdraw back into the nail so they are less likely to bleed when you cut them.
How to stop a dog’s nail from bleeding
If you’ve trimmed your dog’s nails following our steps, but one of the nails has started to bleed, don’t panic! It’s a common accident that comes from cutting your dog’s nails, and it’s easy to stop the bleeding quickly if you remain calm and follow these simple steps:
- Keep your dog calm - if you panic, your dog will panic, elevating his heart rate and blood pressure and making it harder to stop the blood flow.
- Try to stop the blood flow - take a clean cloth or a paper towel and apply pressure to the bleeding nail. Prevent dirt from getting into the wound, as this could lead to infection.
- Use a styptic powder - a clotting powder containing ferric subsulfate that stimulates the blood vessels to contract to stop the bleeding. When using styptic powder, dip the nail into it and allow it to work magic. Don’t wipe the nail, and prevent your dog from licking it or walking on it until the bleeding has had time to stop.
- Home remedies can be useful - if you don’t have any styptic powder, mix some baking powder, flour or cornstarch with a small amount of water to make a paste, then use a cotton swab to apply to the nail, applying pressure to stem the bleeding.
- Consult your vet if the bleeding hasn’t stopped after 30 minutes.
How to cut a dog’s nails when they are black
A dog’s nails comprise three parts:
- The quick, which is the main blood vessel in the nail.
- The horn, which is a white area underneath the nail that houses the quick.
- The nail itself.
If your dog has black nails, it can be difficult to identify the quick, which is why bleeding sometimes occurs. With white nails, the quick can easily be identified as its pink shade can be seen easily through the nail, making white or light nails much easier to cut.
Start cutting black nails by taking tiny amounts off the nail at a time. Where you have cut, you should see a white dot on the flat part of the dog’s nail; this is the horn, and it’s perfectly normal to see this. If you continue to work past the horn, a black dot will appear on the nail - this is the quick, and if you’ve come this far, it’s time to stop cutting, as one more trim could cause the quick to bleed.
Trim cautiously in small amounts and use the horn as a guide, trying to avoid trimming past it.
If you need extra help identifying the quick, shine a flashlight on your dog’s nail, which can help you locate the quick.
How to cut a nervous dog’s nails
So, now you know exactly how to cut your dog’s nails safely and successfully. But what happens if your dog is nervous? If your dog is fearful and resistant to nail clipping, it’s important to work with it to help it relax.
There could be several reasons why your dog is nervous about having its nails cut. Has it had a previous negative experience when having its nails cut? If this is the case, your dog may be associating pain and trauma with the process and, therefore, resisting out of fear. Or it could be that it’s naturally sensitive to new experiences.
If you still want to be able to cut your nervous dog’s nails, the only way is to work with it to overcome its fear.
Start by placing the nail clippers near its favourite toy or food and allowing your dog to sniff and touch them - this will start building positive associations with the clippers so they don’t seem as scary.
Next, work on allowing your dog to let you handle its paws. Offer treats as a reward, gradually increasing the amount of time you hold its paws in each session, and this should help to desensitise your dog to the situation. While holding your dog’s paws, introduce the clippers and continue treating your dog to enhance further that positive association.
Once your dog is at ease with the situation, try and trim one of its nails. Be cautious and gentle during the process, and reward your dog generously after each successful nail trim.
How to cut an uncooperative dog’s nails
If you’ve followed all of the steps to try to make nail trimming a positive experience for your dog, but it is still showing signs of stress or anxiety, it may be time to seek professional advice.
A vet or professional groomer will be able to assist you in cutting your dog’s nails and helping to put your dog’s anxiety at bay. They’ll also be more confident and experienced, which will help to put your dog at ease.
Find all of your dog’s essential nail care at Groomers
Now you know how to cut your dog’s nails safely, why not shop for all its nail care essentials at Groomers? From nail clippers to paw care products, we have everything you need to keep your dog’s paws happy and healthy. Or, for more of its wellbeing essentials, why not top up on its dental and eye care products?
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