How To Cut Dog Nails That Are Too Long

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if trimming your dog’s nails were a breeze? Pet owners would be much more likely to keep up with trimming their dog's nails if the process were easier!

Well, you can teach your dog that clipping their nails isn’t the end of the world. In fact, with a little work, your dog will be relaxed and calm during the entire process.

This article will go into how to get your dog used to the process and hence calm and relaxed when you do it as well as showing you how to do it.

• Some dogs are naturally more laid back, so if your dog doesn’t mind having their nails done, but you just need a refresher on how to cut their nails, you can find the steps below.
• If your dog is young and hasn’t become scared of the process yet, training will be much easier. So for pet owners with a new puppy, you should be working on showing their dog that nail trimming isn’t scary.
• If your dog is older, and is terrified of the clippers, your training will be slightly more difficult.

Starting Young

If you have a new puppy, don’t wait for a single second to begin training. Starting your training early will prevent many different behavioral problems in the future. Once a behavior has become ingrained it is much more difficult to change! Teach your pup good habits, before they ever develop bad ones.

Introducing your puppy to nail clipping early on will make the activity second nature to them. The biggest mistake that I see new pet owners make is confusing desensitization with exposure.

Desensitization is the process of taking a potentially scary thing and making it less scary by pairing it with something that will encourage and reinforce the behaviour you want.

A good example of this is giving yummy treats to a new puppy that seems a little scared of you. In most cases, the puppy will be your best friend in no time! Desensitization is the proper route to teach a dog that scary things are ok.

Exposure, however, can be detrimental to your training. Exposure is exactly what it sounds like, exposing a dog to a potentially scary thing multiple times. In most cases, owners believe that simple exposure can force the puppy to get used to the scary thing. Unfortunately, using only exposure can cause a dog to become more fearful.

If your new puppy seems a little scared of you, so you pick it up and hold it for long periods of time, the puppy may just become more scared. Instead, always ensure that the dog is comfortable, and you are pairing the scary stimulus with a yummy reinforcement.

Baby Steps for Scaredy-Cats

If your dog is already scared of having their nails trimmed, the process of desensitizing them to the clippers or Dremel may be more difficult. To overcome this, the steps that you will take in teaching your dog to tolerate having their nails clipped will have to be much smaller.

Dogs who are already fearful of having their nails clipped will only become more scared if we force them into uncomfortable situations. To begin training, you should first determine what step in nail clipping your dog is comfortable doing.

Five Easy Steps to Desensitization

At any point during these steps, your dog may begin to become uncomfortable. Make note of which step this is, and begin to desensitize a step below that. Don't forget the most important thing - reinforce heavily, all the time!

1. Start from the very beginning, and begin by simply handling your dog’s paws.
2. Next, hold the paw still and inspect the nails, then touch the nails using your hands.
3. Bring out the clippers and place them nearby, then handle your pup’s paws again.
4. While holding your dog’s paw, pick up the clippers.
5. Place the clippers against the nail, and gently slice a sliver off of the end of the nail.

Some dogs will be fearful immediately when you handle their paws, and some dogs will be fine until the clippers touch their nails.

Find the step that your dog dislikes, and go to the step before this. For example, if your dog is comfortable until you take out the clippers, simply practice handling their paw and touching their nails.

After every time you touch their nails, give them a treat. Practice this a few times per training session, and then end the session without pushing past your dog’s comfort level.

Tools of the Trade

To get your dog comfortable with nail clipping or filing, you will need to have nail clippers or a Dremel! You will also obviously need these to trim your dog’s nails. When choosing a nail-clipping tool, you have the option of guillotine style nail clippers or a nail Dremel that files down the nail.

Nail Dremel

Because nail Dremels are electric-powered tools, they do make a small to moderate amount of noise. This can be scary for a dog and may require additional time to desensitize.

While you can still grind the nail down to the quick, it is much safer than using nail clippers to avoid discomfort. The Dremel can be used to grind down the entire nail or to smooth the surface after clipping.

When purchasing a Dremel it is a good idea to find a model that has a protective cover around the file. This cover will prevent your dog from accidentally coming in contact with the nail file and injuring themselves. You can purchase a covered Dremel here and here.

Nail Clippers

Nail clippers can be a quick and easy way to trim down your dog’s nails. However, nail clippers can also be a quick and easy way to cut the nail too short, which is painful for your dog a liable to traumatize your dog.

Whenever using any nail trimming equipment always leave plenty of space before the quick of the nail. Even if the nail doesn’t bleed, when trimmed too short it can be sensitive or painful.

When choosing a clipper, you will need a style made for dogs. You cannot use human nail clippers for dog nails. A guillotine-style nail trimmer is shaped to trim a dog’s nail.

You can purchase nail clippers with safety guards to prevent over clipping. As an example, we found the Thunderpaws clippers to be of great quality and value.

Styptic Powder

If you accidentally cut the nail too short, it will bleed. The nail will likely bleed a lot, which can be a little scary for you and your dog!

Styptic powder is made to stop the bleeding on small cuts. So just in case you do cut too short, it is a good idea to have styptic powder on hand.

We like the Petsol stypic powder, and the FourPaws gel with a pain relieving ingredient.

How to Cut Your Dog’s Nails

You can cut your dog’s nails using a Dremel or using clippers. Before beginning the process you should have begun prior training to alleviate your dog’s stress. Bear in mind that every traumatizing nail trimming will make the training process even harder.

Once your dog is ready, collect your nail trimming equipment and have your styptic powder on hand. You can even give your dog a treat or chew to work on, like a KONG filled with peanut butter, to keep them busy while you trim.

How to clip dog nails

1. Get your dog in a comfortable position. You can have your dog stand, or they may be easier to keep still if they are lying on the floor or in a dog bed.
2. Hold your dog’s paw firmly but gently, so that they cannot pull away and injure themselves while trimming.
3. Place the very end of the nail in the clippers, and cut a small amount off the end of the nail. Repeat with each toe. Continue to cut small slivers off the ends of the nails until they are short, but not at the quick.
4. The dark part inside the nail is the blood vessel (quick) that you want to avoid. In dark nails you may have to guess the location of the quick. Lean on the safe side! When in doubt, leave the nail longer!
5. If the nail begins to bleed, stop clipping immediately and apply styptic powder. Do not continue clipping the nail!
6. When trimming, don’t forget to cut the dewclaw on the interior of your dog’s leg. This claw doesn’t touch the ground, and thus grows faster than the other nails.

If you are more of a visual learner, take a look at this video

Steps to Nail Grinding with Dremel

1. Get your dog in a comfortable position. Small dogs may lie upside down in your lap, and large dogs may lay on their side.
2. Hold your dog’s paw firmly but gently, so that they cannot pull away.
3. Hold any hair away from the nail to avoid tangling. It may be necessary to trim away hair if your dog’s paws are particularly fluffy.
4. Place the dremel against the nail surface for one second, and move to the next nail. Do not apply pressure, and do not leave the dremel on the nail for too long.
5. If the dremel is held against the nail for too long it will quickly heat up and become painful.
6. The goal is to slowly sand off small sections of each nail. You should not worry about completing all the paws at one time. You can always try again later or the next day.
7. The dark part inside the nail is the blood vessel (quick) that you want to avoid. In dark nails you may have to guess the location of the quick. Lean on the safe side! When in doubt, leave the nail longer!
8. If the nail begins to bleed, stop clipping immediately and apply styptic powder. Do not continue grinding the nail!
9. Don’t forget to file the dewclaw on the interior of your dog’s leg. This claw doesn’t touch the ground, and thus grows faster than the other nails.

If you are more of a visual learner, take a look at this video by Drs. Foster and Smith Pet Supplies. The demonstration begins at about 1:00 into the video.

Keeping it Easy

There is no reason to force yourself and your dog to rush through their nail trimming. Your dog will be uncomfortable and your stress will cause them more discomfort. Each time you have to do their nails, you will both be dreading the interaction.

Instead, take your time! Keep your dog and yourself stress-free! There’s no reason to rush through all the nails while your dog struggles against you. Make your dog comfortable. Practice with them and reinforce them for being calm.

Finally, have short trimming sessions and end them before it turns into a wrestling match. You can always try again in a few hours or work on them again tomorrow because you and your dog will both be happy and comfortable with nail trimming.