How To Clip Dogs' Toenails
An important part of dog care is clipping your dog's toe nails. There are a couple reasons why you will want to clip your dog's toe nails. First of all, your dog is more prone to scratch people accidentally when he has long toe nails – this can make it difficult for you to cuddle with your pet too! Secondly, your dog can also damage carpet and upholstery in your house with long toe nails. In addition, long, uncared toe nails can lead to discomfort and infection for your dog as well. There are a couple of different ways that you can clip a dog's toenails. Here are some of the ways:
1)Use toe nail clippers that have a "slot:� Many people are worried that they will cut their dog's toe nails too short on accident. There are dog toe nail clippers available that can help you to not cut your dog's nails too deep. These toe nail clippers are available at local pet stores. These toe nail clippers are the type where you stick your dog's nails into a type of slot – this slot is a type of guide, because you are only able to stick the dog's nail into the slot as far as is the "safe clipping distance.� These slot nail clippers come in different sizes, generally for small dogs, medium dogs, and large dogs. These nail clippers usually cost around $10.
2)Use standard dog toe nail clippers: There are also standard dog clippers available that you can use to clip your dog's nails. These nail clippers are kind of shaped like pliers. When cutting your dog's toe nails, you will want to make sure that you only cut off a little bit – generally you will not cut off much more than the whole head of the pointed toe nail edge. Do not clip more than 1/8 to ¼ of the way into the nail, and even ¼ of the way into the nail can be too much (depending on how long the nails are to begin with).
3)Go to a groomer: Another way that you can get your dog's toe nails clipped are by going to a professional groomer. Sometimes it can be difficult to get your dog to sit down so that you can clip their toe nails (particularly because their long toe nails could scratch you as they wriggle around). If this is the case, you can take your dog to a groomer. Groomers will be able to tell how long your dog's nails are – and they will know exactly how much should be cut off. They also will be able to keep your dog secure and still so that they do not make an accident while clipping the toe nail. Generally the price for getting your dog's toe nails clipped will be anywhere from $10 to about $15.
These are the three options for clipping your dog's toe nails. Most people prefer to purchase dog nail clippers which have a slot, so they can make sure that they never cut the dog's nails too far. This is especially a good option for people who have never cut their dog's nails before. Then, once you get comfortable cutting your dog's nails and know exactly where to cut, you can move onto getting standard dog toe nail clippers. Now the only challenge that you really will need to face is getting your dog to stand still while you clip away! At least you now know that there is the option of going to the groomer, if your dog won't stand still long enough for you to clip their toe nails by yourself.
More Learn About Dogs
« Durabed Dog Bed by Petmate | Only Dog Beds | Choosing The Right Dog For Your Lifestyle »