Clipping a Dog's Claws (Toenails)
This information is not meant to be a substitute for veterinary care.
Always follow the instructions provided by your veterinarian.
In the photographs below, unless otherwise noted, the top if the paw is
facing up. The dog who was photographed has black pads on her toes. The
black pads on the bottom of her toes will help you orient yourself as you
view the photographs.
Variations on these instructions exist.
Most dogs do not like having their claws trimmed. Start trimming claws in
young animals so that they get used to the process. Some dogs will happily
sit in your lap or on a table while you trim their claws but many require
some form of restraint.
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One method to restrain the dog is
to place her/him on a table. Stand on the side of the table
opposite to the claws you are trimming. Drape your arms and
upper body over the dog. When trimming the front claws, keep
your left forearm over the neck to keep the dog from lifting its
head. Hold the paw in your left hand and hold the trimmer in
your right hand.
If the dog tries to stand, lean your upper body over his/her
shoulders to prevent him/her from rising.
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If your dog is too wiggly, try
laying him/her on his/her side. Use your right arm and upper
body to keep the dog laying on his/her side. Hold the trimmer in
your right hand.
Use your left arm to keep the head on the table and use the
left hand to hold the paw.
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It is easier to perform this procedure if you have a helper. See the
section on
restraining a dog for some additional
suggestions.
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There are several styles of nail
trimmers, including a guillotine type and a scissors type. The
guillotine type is the easiest to use in dogs. |
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The scissors-type is used to trim
a toenail that is so long that it is curling in a circle. Long
claws can grow into the toe-pad. This most often happens to dew
claws, the claw on the inner side of the paw. Dew claws do not
touch the ground so they are not worn down as the dog walks.
The dew claw is attached to the leg by loose skin. The dew claw
can usually be bent away from the leg so that you can fit a
guillotine type trimmer over the tip of the dew claw.
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The scissors-type cutter is placed
at a right angle to the toenail.
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Hold the trimmer in your right hand if you are right handed.
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Close your hand around the clipper to squeeze the handle
which will move the cutting blade.
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The guillotine type trimmers have stationary ring through
which the nail is placed, and a cutting blade that moves up to
slice off the nail when the handles of the trimmer are squeezed.
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Unlike cats, dogs do not have
retractile claws. The color of the nail is determined by the
color of the surrounding skin and hair. This dog has black claws
on the brown paw and a mixture of white and black claws on the
white paw. Always remember to trim the dew claws that are
located on the inner surface of the paw.
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The claws on the rear feet are
often shorter and require less frequent trimming than those on
the front feet. Always remember to trim the dew claws that
are located on the inner surface of the paw unless they were
removed as a puppy. Some breeds of dogs such as the St. Bernard
have 2 sets of dew claws on the rear feet.
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Light colored claws are easier to
cut than dark claws as the blood vessels and nerves that supply
the toenail, called the quick, is easier to see. |
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Cut the toenail to within
approximately 2 millimeters of the quick.
If you cut into the quick, the toenail will bleed and the dog
will experience pain.
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The tip of the nail is placed in the stationary ring in the
trimmer with the clipper perpendicular to the nail (cutting top
to bottom). If the trimmer is placed parallel to the nail
(cutting from side to side), the nail is crushed and may
splinter.
The cutting blade should be facing you, NOT the dog.
The screws on the handle of the trimmer should be facing the
dog.
If you turn the trimmer around with the screws toward you,
the cutting blade is cutting closer to the quick than if the
trimmer is held with the cutting blade toward you. You are less
likely to cut into the quick if the cutting blade faces you.
The handles of the trimmer can be held pointing toward the
floor or ceiling, which ever is more comfortable in your hands.
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The handles of the trimmer are
squeezed to advance the cutting blade through the nail. Light
colored claws can be trimmed with one cut on each nail.
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You cannot see the quick on dark
colored claws, making them more difficult to trim without
cutting into the quick. |
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Cut dark colored claws in several small cuts to reduce the
chance of cutting into the quick.
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As you cut off small pieces of the nail, look at the cut edge of the
nail. The light tissue (1) is the curved bottom part of the nail. The
mottled light and dark tissue (2) is the top part of the nail.
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As you cut the nail deeper, you
will see a homogeneous gray to pink oval (3) starting to appear
at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail
at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick.
The sharper the trimmer, the cleaner the cut. The cutting blade
on guillotine-style cutters can be replaced when it is no longer
sharp.
You can file the end of the nail to smooth the cut surface.
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A correctly cut dark colored nail
next to an uncut mixed colored nail. The mixed color nail is
darker close to the base of the nail preventing one from seeing
the quick. This nail should be trimmed in several small cuts. |
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If the toenail is cut too short, you can use a styptic pencil
containing silver nitrate to stop blood flow, although many
animals object to the styptic pencil as much, or more, than
toenail cutting. The black end of the stick is held to the
bleeding nail and gently rotated until bleeding stops.
Even without any treatment the nail should stop bleeding in
about 5 minutes or less.
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Washington State University assumes no liability for injury to you or
your pet incurred by following these descriptions or procedures.
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