How to Trim a Dog's Toenails

Dark-colored dogs have black nails which are much more difficult to clip.

All dogs should have their nails trimmed on a regular basis, especially if they are "indoor dogs," to keep their nails from growing too long and damaging their feet. The trick is to not cut through the "quick," which causes a lot of bleeding and pain to the dog. It is a little more difficult to trim the nails of a dog with black nails than it is for dogs with white or pink nails because you cannot see the quick, or vein. If your dog has black nails you may need to have his nails professionally clipped; or have a vet tech show you how to do it yourself.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Nail trimmers
• Scissors
• Treats

1. Trim away excess hair around the toes/pads of the dog's feet if necessary. Holding the dog's paw firmly in one hand, use your dominant hand to trim any fur away from the toenails.

2. Feel the "hook" on the underside of the nail, there will be a slight indentation where the extra nail has grown out of the "quick." You can feel this indentation by running your fingernail just on the undersides of the dog's toenails. There is a slight "bump" you will hit, beyond the "bump" is the excess toenail where there is no "quick." ("Quick" is the term for where there is a blood supply to the toenail.)

3. Feel each nail before you make the cut. It is likely that each nail will have approximately the same amount of excess nail to be trimmed. Using the nail clippers, make a straight across snip of the nail just on the outside edge of the "hook." You will be cutting the excess nail only, and not through the "quick."

4. Give the dog praise and a "cookie" or treat for the successful trimming of each nail. In the end you will have a dog that will not be so unwilling to have it's nails trimmed.

5. Continue on and trim each nail in the same manner. If your dog is really difficult, do one nail and then aftrer while, do the next, and so on. Let the dog get used to this process gradually.

6. If your dog is a small breed or a puppy, you can use the human toe nail clippers rather than dog nail clippers.

Tips & Warnings

• If your dog has pink toenails, then it is easy to see where to trim, the excess part of the nail will be white, (there will be no blood supply to it)

• If you should trim into the "quick" by accident, it will bleed profusely. This can be stopped by simply dipping the nail into cornstarch briefly and then pressing hard with your finger directly on the nail.

• Read the instructions for the nail clippers that you are using, different nail clippers have different instructions as to which way the clippers should be held for clipping the nails.

References

• Vet Md: Clipping a Dog's Toenails