[Hunterwayit]

I have decided I'm going to get brave and cut my pups nails myself. I have nail clippers for my cat and pet rats and do them myself and going to purchase some bigger ones for the pup. But Chip has long (really long we call him Kanga as a nick name, Kangaroo hehe) nails but I feel that the vet nurses that trim him are a bit weary to really cut them back as they may bleed. Whats the best way to cut black nails is there some way of checking? Should I attempt to do them or carry on paying to get them done? Any advice would be greatly apperiated.

[Hunterwayit]

Yeah I do often wonder if I need to worry about cutting them. But he gets walked every day not always on concrete but is also busy running around the house and they never get shorter nor much longer. But also he is very gumby and always scratching people by accident so if I could get them more under control I'm sure all of us human members of the house would appreciate that more when we have our morning wake up calls by him or play with him :-P

[BestBuddies]

Gretta has black nails and I too worried at first about clipping her nails. Now I do it all the time. I started just taking the tips off once a week (about an 1/8 of an inch at a time) until they were to the length I wanted. The quick moves back a few days after a clipping so doing them once a week worked really well. Now I only have to clip them every other week to keep them at the length I want. I don't like her to click on the floors as I feel that if she clicks when she walks, then her toes may become misaligned as happened with my mom's little dog who never had her nails clipped. Be sure to get the right size clippers for your size dog as using the wrong size can make it a difficult task and uncomfortable for your dog. Big dog-big clippers. They should be able to help you with they size you need for your dog when you purchase them.

[PawPersuasion]

If you look carefully you can find a little line on each nail slightly lighter than the rest of the nail. This is the quick. Can't find it? Ask the vet to show you before you try it alone.

[shelley023]

Cutting them weekly keeps the quick awat from the tip of the nail. If you do it once, you'll find there's nothing to it. Be very careful not to cut too much the first time so as not to quick your dog, he will remember and be harder to do next time.

[Hunterwayit]

Thanks Guys I think I will be brave enough to do it I can do tiny rats I'm sure my big dog shouldn't be too hard :-)

[Hunterwayit]

Just a quick update on my "nail" situation. I did them the other day and they look pretty good already, will keep on top of them from now on. Armed with my new clippers no dog is safe even clipped my friends dog! hehe