You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Many owners have problems clipping their dogs nails. Here are some tips.

Dogs nails should wear down naturally when a dog exercises - particularly if regular exercise is on hard surfaces such as pavements. Dogs that cannot exercise enough - or which exercise mainly on grass and soft ground may not wear them sufficiently leading to overgrowth. In the worst cases the nails will grow in a circle and eventually dig into the pads - which is very painful indeed. Dew claws do not wear down during normal exercise and so these  do need to be clipped regularly, or kept short by filing down regularly with a file or sandpaper. 

Several types of clipper are available - some have a guillotine action , others have a scissor action. They are all good for the job, but nail clippers should be selected that are :

• Easy to handle by the owner
• The right size for the breed of dog
• Strong - particularly for large dogs
• The blade can easily be removed to be changed or re-sharpened.

Sometimes blades on guillotine clippers work loose and well designed clippers have a mechanism (a screw) which can be tightened if necessary. All clippers should be looked after. The blades need to be kept sharp and clean, and they should be lubricated with oil or other mechanical lubricant regularly.

White nails are relatively easy to clip because the blood vessel which runs down the middle can be easily seen (it appears pink). The nail should be clipped 4-5mm below the visible end of the blood vessel. If the nails are black identifying the blood vessel may be impossible. Estimate the point to cut the nail by comparing with white nails. If all the nails are black look at the arc of the nail...sometimes it changes angle at the point where it is overgrowing - so clip below this point. 

If the point at which the nail is overgrown can not be recognised it is best to have the nails clipped by a veterinarian. If you cut them too short the nail quick will bleed, and it will hurt the dog. Hemostatic strips are available from Chemists and these can help stop the bleeding, but your veterinarian has an array of materials which can be used should they bleed a lot. Although the blood loss from a nail that has been cut too short can seem a lot - it is not usually serious, unless the dog has a clotting defect such as hemophilia.

If the dog does not like having it's feet touched and it's nails clipped it is best to have them done by a veterinarian so that the dog does not "blame" the owner for the unpleasant experience. It is a good idea to give a treat, take the dog for a walk or do something else that the dog likes immediately after clipping nails so that it gets to associate the nail clipping experience with something "good".

Updated October 2013