Toenail Clipping- Because Your Dog Doesn't Want to Walk on Stilts

Why is it important to clip your dog's toenails? Long nails could easily lead to uncomfortable walking, so kinda like walking on stilts. Would YOU want to walk like that? Most people dread toenail clipping their dog or cat because they experience the torment of having to put a death grip on their pet in order to clip his nails. In addition, having a great nail clipper that suites your dog's size is important as well. I've had a $6 nail trimmer from Walmart for the past three years. It's treated me well, but I'd like to expand to other areas of professional clippers to see if it makes a difference. This link is from a blog written by Dogs by Nina and she lists some clippers and describes the different types:

http://www.dogsbynina.com/best-nail-clippers-for-your-dog/

I bought the Safari Professional Clipper from Amazon so I'll come back to review that once I've tried it.

Once you've chosen your clipper, the next challenge is to make sure your dog enjoys getting his nails clipped instead of running away from your everytime you take the tool out. First of all, make sure you know the anatomy of the nail. When you look at each nail, you will see that there is a "quick," which is the blood supply that runs through their nails. If your dog has black or opaque nails, rub some baby oil on it and it will become more transparent. BUT DON'T CUT THAT QUICK!! Just trim to where the quick abruptly ends. If your dog's nails are ultra long, you can cut/file the nails few days apart, and the quick will start to recede, thus allowing the nail to become short again.

When your dog is comfortable lying on his side, you can start trimming one nail at a time, rewarding him with treats everytime you make a cut. For dogs with black nails, you can use a flashlight to shine over the nail to assure that you do not cut the quick. In case you do cut the quick accidentally, there are home remedies such as putting flour or rubbing bar soap (soap stings though) to stop the bleeding. There are other products out there such as Kwik Stop to help stop the bleeding fast. 

NOTE: If you are trying to introduce nail cutting to your dog for the very first time, these procedures must be done gradually over the course of days. Do not attempt to do all introductions in one day. They will not learn anything and will not learn to enjoy nail trims.

Below is another video from Dr. Sophia Yin's website on how to condition an aggressive dog who growls and tries to bite anyone coming close to his paws. See how short amount of time it takes to condition the dog to like nail trims with food rewards.

Good luck with your nail trim with your dog!