How shall I clip my small dog's nails? I want too do them myself.?

Answer 1

I have 3 dogs myself and i clip all their nails, the best way is to purchase a dog nail clipper at a pet store, get them to sit or laydown, but make sure you dont clip them too short, right before the white in their nail is where you stop, if he has any black nails i dont suggest clipping those you never know how long their cuticle is i would file it down.

Answer 2

Ok this is easy, I take a grooming class so I clip a lot of nails. Get a pair of guillotene clippers, and a small container of Quick Stop. if the nails are black it will be a little harder. If they are white, look at them and see the pink in the middle, that is the quick if that is cut it will bleed. just nicking it will bleed but not too much, when you clip them clip very little at a time. If you get some minor bleeding apply the quick stop powder it will stop the bleeding, keep the powder there it will come off it self. Here is a good page that will show you what I am talking about.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1643&articleid=818
It has a diagram to show you how and information on how to do it. Good luck.

Answer 3

Youre going to want to get special dog nail clippers from petsmart or your vet (i prefer the guillotine style ones), if your dogs nails are clear, you should be able to see the pink part of the nail, the qwik perfectly, you can cut right down to the edge of that and you should be good to go. Now black nails are a lot harder, its pretty much a guestimation, whenever i do it at work i try to line it up with the bottom of the pad usually, and then i go from there, if you qwik your dog, it will bleed, either a little bit, or profusely depending on how bad you do it, DONT WORRY, everyone does it, even me, even the other techs, even the vets, it happens, its just like trimming your nail too short or having a piece of it break off, youll probably want to invest in either some quick stop powder or some silver nitrate sticks to stop the bleeding, theyre pretty much a necessity, youre gonna qwik your dog, everyone does. If you have trouble keeping your dog still or under control id recommend taking it to your vet and spending the measly 8 bucks ( thats what we charge at our clinic) to have it done by someone whose been doing it a while and has experience, hope that helps and good luck
P.s it helps if you have someone hold your dogs head and body while youre doing it, keeps them relatively still

Answer 4

You can buy a pair of clippers to do this from a good pet shop. I used to show dogs and clipped their claws myself If your dog has clear nails you will be able to see the dark portion of the nail through the claw....NEVER cut throutgh or close to this area as profuse bleeding and great pain will result. Cut a little way below the dark area. If in doubt trim only a very small amount off. If your dog has black claws you cant see the area Im talking about....so it is better left to a vet as any mis-cuting will result in a vet bill anyway! A tip..... If you regularly walk your dog on a hard surface claws will stay trimmed without cutting.

Answer 5

White nails are easy - black nails can be a little trickier.

If your dogs nails are white - only cut (with dog nail clippers) to just before where it turns pink. (The pink is a vein - called a qwik - if cut, your dog will bleed)

Black nails, just cut the hook off and no more.

I would also recommend buying a product called Qwik-Stop. If you do qwik your dog, its not a big deal - dont panic! You just take a pinch of the qwik-stop and apply pressure for about ten seconds and the bleeding will stop. Qwik-stop also contains lidocaine for pain relief.

If all of this is still too much for you (or your dog gets bratty while your clipping the nails - which is common) take it to a groomer, not a vet. LOTS CHEAPER!

Answer 6

It depends on just how small your dog is. I have a teacup shipoo who weighs just over a pound. His nails are much too tiny and thin for a regular nail trimmer for pooches, so I use one of those big toenail clippers (for people). Just make sure you dont cut them flat across. angle it a little so that it cuts diagnolly towards the bottom of his foot a little, but not much.
If he has light colored toe nails you should be able to see the blood vein that runs inside his nails. (dark spot that grows up from the base of his nail) Cut above that, or you'll end up with a real bleeder.
If your pups nails are dark colored just don't cut off too much, or you will cut into it.
keep some cotton balls on hand just in case you do cut too short and get his nail bleeding. If his nails are too strong, or big enough for regular clippers, they are a good investment they are a good investment.

Answer 7

Go to a pet store and buy a special clipper for dogs. They have a safety thing on them that keeps you from getting to close to the "moon" of the nail. They also have some styptic(sp?) stuff to help stop bleeding if you clip to close. Just be careful not to cut into or too near that moon area.

Answer 8

Requires dog, not people nail trimmers. If is too easy to cut too short and hurt the dog. Have someone show you the proper way to cut and how short. Maybe a neighbor with a dog? Or have the vet show you the next time you are in.

Answer 9

When you clip the nails only cut the dark part of the nails because if you cut the light part you're cutting the vain and it's going to bleed.

Answer 10

Be careful. It is real easy to cut too close and cause pain and bleeding. NEVER cut more than 1/3 of the nail.