When I hear my dog's toenails clicking on the hardwood floors, I know it's time for a trimming. Keeping your dog's nails trimmed makes a healthy foot and also makes walking and running more comfortable for your dog pal. If the nails have grown out so much that they are curling under then you definitely need to have your dog's veterinarian trim them for you.
Start grooming your dog's nails when your dog is a puppy. If you adopted your dog as an adult or older pup and they are not used to having their nails done start very slowing. On one of my 1 year old dogs I had to start with just holding his paw for a minute. As he became more comfortable with having his feet touched I worked up to showing him the clippers, clipping one nail a day and using lots of treats. He enjoys treats a lot so he is willing to hold his paws up for the trimming.
Never cut too much at once. Even if the nails are very long use caution and just take the hook off the end of the nail. For white toenails it's very easy to see the pink quick, not so with black nails. I compare the quick on the white nails with the black ones and can usually get a nice safe trim. If you cut into the quick there will be a lot of blood and the dog might not trust you again for a very long time.
Some dogs have a toenail on the inside of their front and /or back leg called a dew claw. This small toenail needs special attention to keep it from painfully growing into the dog's skin on the leg.
I use a grinder for keeping one of my Sheltie's nails nice and short. This is a small Dremel type grinding tool. It doesn't hurt and the risk of cutting down to the quick is greatly reduced. It can cause a bit of heat on the dogs nails if you hold it on the nail too long or apply too much pressure. Even that bit of heat is better than a bleeding toenail from using sharp metal clippers. You must be patient with getting your dog used to the noise of a grinder. One of my Shelties has never accepted the grinder so I use the standard dog nail trimmers with him. My pick is the grinder as long as the dog can relax and let me use it.
Using a grinder does take a little more precaution. Such as covering the long coated breed dogs with a light sheet to keep from tangling their fur in the grinder. Never hold the grinder for too long or with too much pressure on the dogs nails. It's very easy and fast to trim and shape your dogs nails with a grinder if that is the tool you decide to use.
Don't stop with just a basic toenail trimming. Check for cuts on the pads, trim the hair around the foot and between the pads on the underside of the foot. For long coated breeds it's very important to keep the feet free of debris such as small rocks, salt if you live near icy sidewalks or even chewing gum if you walk your dog on city streets.
Your dog needs for you to keep his toenails trimmed so he can walk comfortably so get in the habit of checking his nails weekly. Decide what tools you will use, a grinder, guillotine type or a scissors type. Always have styptic pencil to stop a nail from bleeding. Even without any treatment the nail should stop bleeding in about 5 minutes or less.
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