by Stacy Kaaki

Created on: June 16, 2008   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

Grooming is an important task to ensure the health of your dog, and trimming the dog's nails should be part of your regular grooming routine. Nails that have been left too long can cause irreversible damage to the structure of the dog's foot and cause a lifetime of pain as the toes are forced into an unnatural position to accommodate the pressure from the floor on the bottom of the nails. To ensure that your dog's feet are kept in good condition, clipping the nails once a month would be a good rule of thumb. If you hear the dog's toenails clicking on a hard floor when the dog walks, it is a good sign that the dog's nails are too long.

When beginning to trim your dog's nails, it is best to start with the front left foot, and work toe by toe until you have completed that foot. Starting from left to right (or vice versa) will help you remember which ones you have cut, and which ones still need to be cut.

Firmly but gently hold the foot with the underside facing up in order to expose the underside of the nails. By looking from underneath, you can see the underside of the nail and this will help you determine where to cut. On the front legs, that will entail gently pulling the dog's leg back and turning the paw so that you can see the underside. On the back legs, you can simply pick the foot up from behind to see the underside.

The nail grows around a "quick," which is the living part of the nail. It is important to cut down close to the quick for the shortest length, without cutting into the quick. A good way to determine where the quick begins is to look at the nail from the underside, and if you see that the nail looks hollow, you can safely cut down to the solid middle part. The quick will look like a dark spot in the center of the nail when viewed from the bottom. If you do not see a hollow middle, take little slivers off, rather than larger cuts until you get close to the quick. The quick will bleed if it is cut into. For this reason, have some styptic powder within reach in case of an accidental cut into the quick. Flour or ashes from the fireplace can work to help stop bleeding if styptic powder is not available.

It is best to start handling the feet of a puppy when they are very young so that they will become accustomed to having their feet touched. This will make nail trimming much easier as the puppy grows older.

Taking over your dog's grooming can be very rewarding. It not only saves you money, but more importantly provides another means for bonding with your pet and helps to keep your pet healthy.

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