How To Trim Your Dog’s Nails

My Boston Terrier’s nails grow really fast … and they can really hurt when she gets excited and jumps all over me! So I wanted to learn how to trim her nails myself since I don’t have time to run to the groomer every time they need to be trimmed. Trimming your dog’s nails is not that hard, once you get the hang of it. If you’ve never done it before, you should ask your veterinarian or dog groomer to show you how, or watch the video at the end of this post. Steps To Trim Your Dog’s Nails 1. First you need to buy a nail trimmer. You can get one from just about any pet store. 2. The nail should be cut from underneath … not from the top downward. 3. Look for the area of the nail that is close to the pink part, but not on the pink part. The pink area of the nail is the “live” part. It contains blood vessels, and if cut, will produce a lot of bleeding. Plus, you’ll have a very unhappy pup! 4. When you’re ready to cut, you should do a decisive, quick squeeze and hold the handle of the trimmer steady. Don’t worry about popping the end off, it should fall away on its own. 5. If your dog hasn’t freaked out on you yet, you can also use a nail file to smooth the edges. In Case You Cut The Nail Too Short! You should keep some Cornstarch or Quickstop Powder handy, just in case you cut the nail too short and bleeding occurs. This should help prevent the nail from bleeding. If you don’t have either of these things, take a piece of tissue paper or a cloth you don’t mind getting messy and wrap it around the toe nail, applying pressure. If the bleeding doesn’t stop in 5-7 minutes, you may have a problem and you should call your vet right away. Good luck, hope you get the hang of it!

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