Trimming your dog's nails may be among the more stressful grooming jobs a dog owner faces (or a cat owner for that matter). But it is an important job. Untrimmed nails can lead to many problems: ingrown nails, broken nails, aching feet, slipping, splaying and more.

Even dogs with black nails can be easily trimmed. The key is to look closely at your dogs nails for clues as to what can be trimmed. Usually there is an obvious "fleshy" part and an obvious "tip." Trim the tip. When in doubt, simply clip a small amount. It's better to clip off some nail than none at all.

If you are very nervous, we offer professional nail trimming for $7. Simply come in any time or with your dog's bath. We are also happy to coach you through it for free.

When trimming a long nail, the above advice goes double, because it will take a little while to get the nail back to where it should be.

If your dog is one of those that cannot stand having their nails trimmed, or if you have a puppy and you'd like to get them used to having it done you can follow this advice:

When teaching a dog anything new, it helps to take things slow and one "paw" at a time. You'll need to proceed more slowly than you ever thought necessary. Frequent handling of a dog's feet will help - do this when the dog is most relaxed at first - when their sleeping, napping or just tired after a long play session. Here's a day-by-day breakdown of how to introduce nail clipping into your dog's life. If your dog won't stand for any of these, just repeat until he's more comfortable with each step. Patience will be your reward!

Day 1: Let your dog sniff the nail clipers. Give a treat and praise.

Day 2: Touch the nail clippers to each paw. Just touch. Give a treat and praise.

Day 3: Touch the nail clippers to each paw and squeeze them so the dog can hear the sound they make. Don't actually cut a nail. Give a treat and praise.

Day 4: Touch the nail clippers to your dog's nail. Give a treat and praise.

Day 5: Try trimming off just the very tiniest tip from one front paw nail. Only do one. Offer lots of happy praise and treat if your dog lets you do this. Even if he lets you, just do one nail. Repeat every day until he lets you do this and doesn't seem to mind.

Day 6: Try trimming off just the tip off two nails. Give praise and a treat.

Day 7: Keep working your way up, trimming additional nails each day, until you've got them all and your dog doesn't mind. Keep practicing, even when you don't need to clip a nail. Even pretending you are clipping, going through the motions, will have an impact.

If you are completely uncomfortable doing any of this yourself, and you plan on having someone else clip your dog's nails, let them (a groomer or friend or veterinarian) do these steps.

 

We're happy to acclimate dogs to nail trimming at no cost until they're happy with the process.