Trimming your dog’s nails is a vital part of pet grooming. When your pet’s nails are trim, your canine shows excellent hygiene and good health. It prevents your pet from dealing with needless pain.
If you are a squeamish pet owner, you can pay for a pet grooming service to handle the task for you.
However, many dog owners know that most canines don’t like getting their nails trimmed. Spoiled pups always do all they can to ensure you don’t clip their nails. And it can be a stressful activity for dogs that even allow you to touch their nails.
In this guide, you will learn seven tips you may adopt if you want to clip your dog’s nails successfully. And you will discover a few tricks that will minimize your pet’s stress, thereby preventing injury.
But if you can’t handle your pet or perform this activity, you can always google ‘dog grooming near me‘ or ‘pet grooming service‘ to get help.
Tools You Need for Trimming Your Dog’s Nails
If you are bold enough to trim your dog’s nails at home, you will need the following tools:
- Dog nail clippers, e.g., plier-style or spring-loaded scissor-style dog nail clippers
- Lots of treats (for positive reinforcement)
- Styptic powder
You will also need lots of patience and time. And so, if everything is in order, here are seven tips for cutting your dog’s nails safely:
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Bath Your Pet First
It helps to bathe your pet before you commence the nail-cutting activity. The bathe will soften your pet’s nails while making it faster and easier for you to clip your dog’s nails.
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Get Your Canine Used to Being Handled
Before now, you should have gotten your pet used to having the paws touched. But if you haven’t done it before, start by touching your furry friend’s paws several seconds at a time.
Give your pet some treats in-between as you touch the front and back paws intermittently. Start placing the dog nail clippers right next to your canine friend’s food bowl several days or even weeks before planning to clip your dog’s nails.
This is the perfect way to make your pup associate the dog nail clipper with something good. This will make your pet less fussy when you start trimming the nails.
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Get A Friend to Assist
Getting a friend to assist you in trimming your dog’s nails is an excellent idea. Nothing works better than teamwork. One person can hold and occupy your pet while another clips your dog’s nails.
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Get Down On The Floor
It will help a lot to get right down to your dog’s level, i.e., on the floor. Or you can bring your pooch halfway to your level by placing your furry friend on a table. But this second option can stress out your dog.
If you can get your dog to lie down on the floor, lie on the floor alongside your canine friend. Watch your dog; some dogs will allow you to touch their nails while in this position while others won’t.
So, read your dog and figure out your pet’s preferences before you start cutting the nails.
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Give Your Dog Lots of Treats In-Between
Give your dog lots of treats. This will keep your furry friend occupied much longer than single treats. It is left to you to decide where to put the dog treats: on a spoon, the bathtub wall, etc.
Your pet will be so engrossed licking up the treat that they won’t even pay heed to what is going on with their paws.
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Hold Your Pet’s Legs Close
Consider gently folding your pet’s legs close to their body. This will significantly limit your pup’s range of motion. And it will make it easier to keep your pet still, thereby lowering the risk of injuries for you and your canine friend.
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Clip The Nails in Small Bits
Start clipping your dog’s nails in small bits instead of a lot at once, especially if you have not cut the nails for a pretty long time.
Quicks grow out, sometimes to the tips of the nails. Therefore, be careful when trimming your dog’s nails. Cut the tips back and make sure you don’t cut back too far. Or else you will end up clipping those quicks, thereby causing bleeding and undue stress.
Conclusion
Keeping your dog’s nails trim contributes to your pet’s overall health. The seven tips shared here should help make the nail-trimming exercise less stressful for you and your pet.
But if you can’t handle the stress that comes with trimming your dog’s nails, a Professional pet grooming service can help you.
