Is it necessary to clip your dog's nails, and do you do it or have a groomer clip them?

some dogs dont need their nails clipped...simply because they do so much exercise and walking outside, that the nails are naturally worn down. alot of inside dogs..that dont go out that much, need their nails clipped. if you notice they are getting long..(and even curling!) please go get them clipped by a groomer.

you have to be very careful if you are clipping your dogs nails. sometimes the 'cuttable' part is not apparent..and you can clip a vein by accident.

if you are not sure..or not experienced..bring it to a groomer.

Originally Posted by Ricardo

Is it necessary to clip your dog's nails, and do you do it or have a groomer clip them?

If the dog's nails continue to get long, then they need to be cut. You can do them yourself, you just have to get some special clippers from the vet or pet store and you have to be careful when you clip the nails. If your dog has black nails, don't cut them too short because the skin grows, to a certain length, into the nail. You can see this by holding the nail up to a flash light. If the dog has white nails, it is rather clear where the skin ends. Overall, if you cut this, there will be some bleeding, and your dog will be reluctanct to letting you cut the nails.

I forgot to mention that not cutting your dog's nails can cause arthritis.

If you are not sure, and the nails are long, get a clipper from a pet store and just clip the end. Do this every 5 to 7 days, and make sure that you have corn startch on hand. If.... you cut to short, you will need a paper towel with about a Tbls. or more in it,of cornstarch, and you will want to stick the bleeding end in the corn starch and hold it. It works better then any styptic powder, and you don't have to worry later, that they lick it off.

My vet told me it wasn't necessary to do it to dogs that get a lot of playful outside time. That will keep their nails filed down enough. If you have a strict house dog with not too much outside time, then I would definitely trim them up.

If and when we have to trim (which is very, very rare) we do it. We don't take them to a groomer for it. It is fairly simple as long as the dog isn't being jumpy. You just have to be very careful not to trim too much.

I trim my dogs nails myself all the time. It's really not that hard. They probably won't need cut all that often. I trim my dog's nails about every 2-3 weeks or so. As everyone else has already said, be careful not to trim too much. It will hurt the dog & it will bleed. But if you're careful, you'll have no problems.

Guess that kind of job really needs one to be careful and I don't think a groomer can do that because if the dog is not familiar with somebody, I don't think it is going to be submissive enough to be nail clipped.

My grandmother had a chihuahua and its toe nails would get long and clack on the tile floor of the kitchen.

She took her dog to the veterinarian for regular visits but she did not take the dog to a pet groomer to have his nails trimmed.

She bought a pair of dog nail trimmers and did the job herself as needed. She always did her own pet manicures at home without any assistance. She spoiled that dog almost too much

Great for grammy and that Chi was probably queen of her life, cool!