As part of your dog’s grooming, it is very important that you learn how to trim your dog’s nails properly. There are a number of reasons why you need to do this. First, when a dog’s nails become too long, they can affect your dog’s movement and posture and as a result walking will become awkward and painful for him.  In worst cases, if the nails of your dog are left to grow very long, they can split and bleed or cut into the pad of your dog’s foot. Are you familiar with dewclaws? The dewclaws grow on the inside of a dog’s paw and do not touch the ground as your dog walks. If this is left untrimmed, they can curl up and pierce the footpad, causing pain and infection for your dog. So failing to trim your dog’s nail at least twice a month can make him become uncomfortable and sometimes sick because of the pain it can cause him.

But trimming your dog’s nail is actually not very easy especially if your precious pooch is not used to it. That is why it is very advisable that you start introducing this dog grooming activity with him as early as possible. This way, he will believe that this process is something that is essential for him which shouldn’t make him feel awkward or scared when he is undergoing it. Just make sure that you know how to properly trim your dog’s nails so that every “trimming” session is not traumatic for him.

Here are some helpful tips on how to properly trim your dog’s nail:

1. Use sharp and sanitized scissors when trimming your dog’s nail.

2. Place your dog on a table or your lap. If you place him on a table, stand on the side of the table opposite to the claws you are trimming.

3. Spread your arms and upper body over your dog. When trimming the front claws, keep your left forearm over the neck to keep the dog from lifting its head. Hold the paw in your left hand and hold the trimmer in your right hand.

4. If the dog tries to stand, lean your upper body over his shoulders to prevent him from rising.

5. Use your right arm and upper body to keep the dog on the table and hold the trimmer on your right hand.

6. Use your left arm to keep the head on the table and use the left hand to hold the paw.

7. Always remember to trim the dew claws that are located on the inner surface of the paw.

8. The cutting blade of the scissors should be facing you and not your dog. Instead, the screws on the handle of the trimmer should be facing your dog.

9. As you cut the nail deeper, you will see a homogeneous gray to pink oval starting to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail, when you see this, stop trimming the nails because cutting further will cause bleeding.

Follow these simple steps and you can be sure to have a hassle-free “nail-cutting” session with your dog.