Save Money by Cutting Your Dog’s Nails Yourself Following My Guide

Since the economy is in such a rut, the idea of taking your dog to the Vet for a simple nail trimming can put your wallet in a rut all its own. To help combat the growing nails, and keep your pocket costs to a minimum, this guide will help you learn to trim dog nails at home. This will help you save the minute cost of the office visit, and will help you to have a more trusting relationship with your pet.

When you are going to clip a nail, it is important that you use the right instruments. If your dog has small brittle nails, you can use human nail clippers. If you have a large breed dog, the nail trimmers you will need can be purchased at any dollar store. These have a guard on the end, and appear to resemble a set of small hedge clippers. The guard keeps you from inserting the nail in too far and clipping into the vein inside the nail. Causing it to bleed means that you have cut too deep into the length, and in turn your pup will be in pain for a few minutes. Many clipper sets come with a styptic pen that has a powder inside. This powder when placed on the bleeding toe will cause the blood to clot and help it to heal faster.

If this is the first time you have attempted to clip the nails, you will want to sit with your dog in a quiet room with no distractions. This will give her or him the opportunity to be close with you and time to calm down. Now get your dog to sit with you and take one paw into your hand. You will want to pull one toe at a time away from the foot and hold it between your index finger and thumb. If your dog has light colored nails, you can look on the side of the nail and see where the pink coloring ends, which is the quick and vein. Give yourself an eighth of an inch after the end, and you will want to being clipping here. If your dog has dark nails, you will need to look under the nail at the hollow that runs the entire length of the nail. Once you see the hollowed area, look to the end of it, and you will see there is nothing but a hollow nail. This is where you want to clip the end of the nail off.

Hold the clippers to the dog’s face so that he or she can see them and not be afraid. Give him or her a moment to smell or lick them so they are not scared when you get the clippers close to the paw. Now take the clippers and insert the edge of the nail in between the blades. Apply just enough pressure to clip the end of the nail off, and then release the nail. Check the nail to be sure you did not clip too close, and if there is no bleeding, you have done the job right. Continue through all the remaining nails in the same manner.