Making Nail Clipping Less Stressful

Making Nail Clipping Less Stressful

While a vet can and will clip your dog's nails for you, many times you will want to save the
cost and trip by doing it yourself. Below are a couple of suggestions to make this session less
stressful for both you and your dog.

To clip your dog's nails you will need some basic equipment that you can pick up at any good
pet supply store. Special dog nail clippers have a different shape and are specially designed to
make the clipping as fast and painless as possible. There are other items you can buy to make
it easier to trim your dog's nails too - various products that encourage the blood clotting
process are very useful in case of messy clipping accidents. .

When clipping your dogs nails for the first time its important to ask someone who knows how
to do it to show you. If your dog has dark nails (as many do) you will want to watch to get an
idea of where your dogs "quick" is located. Most veterinarians will clip your dogs nails for you
and this is the best way to learn. Don't clip your dogs nails until you are completely sure what
you are doing. Not only will your dog pick up on your anxiousness but he will most probably
make things difficult for you.

Many people find that one of the best ways to ensure a calm and easy nail clipping session is
by walking the dog before you start with the clipping. Tire your dog out well and he might not
be able to make as much of a fuss as he'd like. Even the simple act of massaging your dogs
paws for a few minutes every day to desensitize your dog to being touched there.