Ways to Cut a Dog's Nails

Cutting a dog's nails is not the favorite activity of most pet owners. It can be difficult for the owner and potentially painful for the pet, especially if the dog's nails are black. This unpleasantness leads many pet owners to simply take their dogs to the vet to have the nails clipped, as opposed to performing the procedure themselves. However, with the proper calming techniques and tools, you can save some money and make cutting your dogs' nails a quick and painless process.

  1. Types of Clippers

    • Purchase a guillotine or scissors type of nail clipper for your dog. While the guillotine is easiest to use, the scissors-type is better for clipping nails that have become so long that they've begun to form a circle. It may be best for you to purchase one of each type, so that you can use the type that you, and your dog, are most comfortable with.

      Before involving your dog, orient yourself with your nail clippers and understand how each pair works. Observe how the guillotine type trimmers have a stationary ring which goes around the dog's nail and, when squeezed, a cutting blade moves up and through the dog's nail. Look at how the scissors type has two sharpened blades that, when squeezed together, cut through the dog's nail.

    Stabilizing your Dog

    • Place your dog in your lap, or on a soft and comfortable raised surface. Drape your right arm and upper body over the dog and gently pick up the dog's right front paw. Gently but firmly place your left forearm across the back of your dog's neck to help hold the dog in place as squirming can cause you to clip too close to the nail quick, and cause the dog pain and bleeding.

    Finding the Quick

    • With the dog's paw in one hand and the clippers in your dominant hand, begin clipping the nails, one at a time. Look closely at the dog's nail to locate the quick, which has a slight discoloration when compared to the rest of the nail. Understand that the quick is filled with blood and nerves, and if you cut into it, you'll cause your dog pain and bleeding. The nails will appear all black or all white, and sometimes the easiest way is to look at the bottom edge of the dog's nail to find where the color changes.

    Clipping Methods

    • Place the dog's nail in between the two sharpened edges of a scissor clipper or slide the stationary ring around the dog's nail if using a guillotine clipper. The guillotine clipper should be perpendicular to the nail, so that the blade cuts either top to bottom, or bottom to top. Hold a guillotine clipper with the screws on the handle facing the dog. Squeeze the clipper handles and cut the nail to within 2 mm of the quick on each nail.

      If cutting black nails, use multiple clips to get the nail to the necessary length. Keep a styptic pencil containing silver nitrate on hand, to stop blood flow if you accidentally cut a nail too short and cause bleeding. Simply hold the black tip of the pencil against the bleeding nail until the blood flow ceases.