Trimming Your Dog’s Nails
When trimming a dog’s nail, you want to trim the portion of nail without the quick. With frequent nail trims (twice weekly), nail quicks will recede, moving back toward your dog’s paws, as the quick doesn’t have to extend further to feed the nail.
White Dog Nails
With your dog standing next to you, take a peek at her nails. For white nails, you’ll notice a pink quick extending from your dog’s paw to about ¾ of the nail. The last ¼ of the nail is white and looks hollow. When viewing from the side or underneath, this is the part you’ll trim off.
VIDEO: Clipping Dog Nails – Trimming White Dog Nails
Dark-Colored Nails
Dark-colored nails can be a challenge so to view your dog’s nail quicks, flip over your dog’s paw and look at the nails from underneath. Look under one nail, you’ll notice gummy gray matter extending from your dog’s paw to about ¾ of the nail. This is the quick. The last ¼ of the nail will probably look hollow with no gummy gray matter present. This is the portion to trim off.
VIDEO: Clipping Dog Nails – Trimming Dark Nails
How to Trim Dog Nails
In the beginning, trim off the tip of your dog’s nail. As you gain confidence, you’ll place the clippers before the quick and trim off the hollow nail. When in doubt, slip the clippers away from the quick and trim. You can always go back and buff with a dremel or shape the nail with clippers.
When trimming a dog’s nail, do it quickly. Squeezing and then releasing the nail because you’re unsure causes pain.
- Look at nail and find quick.
- Place clippers.
- Squeeze handles quickly.
VIDEO: How to Use Clippers to Trim Your Dog’s Nail
READ ALSO: Why Dogs Dislike Nail Trims