Trimming Your Puppy’s/Dog’s Toenails 

You may shy away from trimming your dog’s nails because perhaps you are afraid you will cause your dog pain or cause the nail to bleed. This is possible, but in the absence of proper care the nails overgrow and can painfully break or split and even curl back into the foot. Nail trimming is easy if done on a regular basis. Look at your own hands and understand that you are only cutting away the excess. The same is true in pets. You only need to know how to recognize that portion in their nails. You may feel this is harder to do in dogs with black or pigmented nails, but the same simple rules apply. In the diagram below a line is drawn across that portion that can be safely trimmed. Use the bottom of the pad and extend angled line out across the nail. (See A) If you always cut on the “far side” of this line you cause no problems. If the nail starts to bleed, it is not serious and you can use one of the styptic powders to quickly stop it. Remember, it’s better to trim a small amount on a regular basis than try to remove large portions.