Nail care is an important part of the dog grooming process, it also happens to be one of things your dog absolutely hates. If you start trimming your dogs’ nails when they are young and never clip into the quick then the process is much more relaxed. However, some dogs just never seem to get use to the idea and wiggle and squirm making it easy to clip into the quick.

Some dogs are lucky enough to never have to have their nails trimmed. If you take your dog on long regular walks where your dogs nails come in contact with concrete they will wear down naturally with the exception of the dew claw; the small claw that hangs off to the side and never comes in contact with the ground. When you begin to notice a tapping sound when your dog walks on the floor then it is time to trim their nails.

There are two types of non-powered dog nail clippers on the market today, the guillotine and scissor clippers.  The most difficult to use for the novice dog owner is the guillotine type of dog nail trimmer as they can be awkward to use and should your dog be a wiggler it is easy to cut into the quick.

The Scissor type of dog nail trimmers are much simpler to use and some come with a safety guard to prevent you from cutting to short. If you are the dog owner, whose dog has white nails it is easy to see the pink area or quick but if your dog has black nails it is almost impossible to see the quick.

When your dog has black nails, trim off a little at time to avoid cutting into the quick. If you do clip your dogs nails to short and they start to bleed, apply a styptic gel or powder to stop the bleeding. There is another type of nail trimmer that has had some success with trimming your dogs’ nails to the proper length.

Dermal type dog nail grinders are a nail trimmer with sandpaper that wears the nail down. Most come with a plastic cover with a hole where your dogs nail fits through and only trims to the edge of the pad. This will take some time for dog to get use to the sound and feeling but they do work very well.

There are some all-natural homeopathic relaxants available to help calm your dog when it comes time to trim their nails such as HomeoPet® Anxiety Relief.  This anxiety relief can be used regularly or given a few hours before dog grooming and nail care.

Proper nail care for your dog is an essential part of the dog grooming procedure. Not doing so will cause the nails to curl and embed themselves into your dogs’ skin and pads, quite possibly leading to surgery for corrections. Use the right dog nail clippers, provide some anxiety relief and you can safely and calmly trim your dog’s nails.