Giving your family dog a bath - no problem. Probably cleaning your dog's teeth wouldn't be a challenge. But trimming doggie's nails, no way! Ok, listen up. This can be done. It's not nearly as difficult or frightening as it appears.

Nail trimming in dogs can be achieved very easily if you know how. It may be beneficial to watch another person (vet, groomer or perhaps a friend) who's skilful in nail trimming show you first. Some dogs don't need to have their nails trimmed. Many will naturally wear the nails down or the dried out ends of the claws will simply flake away without you even knowing. But several breeds, particularly Basset Hounds and Dachshunds will likely need your assistance with keeping the toe nails moderately short. Even though you will never want to, you might as well just count on cutting a nail too short on occasions. It just happens at times, even with professional groomers. The nail will bleed should you cut it too short, so you need to be ready for that.

Get yourself a superior dog nail trimmer. Check with your vet or the people in the pet shop which sort they recommend highly. Place the primary part of the trimmer in the palm of your hand and the moveable part is controlled by your fingers. You need to be able to see the small cutting blade which slides when you squeeze the handle.

Ensure you're not cutting from the top downward; but rather from underneath. Slide the opening over the end of the claw while staying in the whitish part of the nail. The pink area of the nail is the live part and has blood vessels throughout. Hopefully you should be able to see where the pink part starts.

If your dog has dark nails you may not be able to see any pink to recognise where the live section of the claw starts. Simply do a bit at a time with the dark nails. Check the end of the nail. The dead area generally is whitish and when you cut further into the end of the nail you will start to see a dark area. That dark area is where the live part starts.

When you are ready to cut, and you are sure you aren't at the live, pink part of the nail make a smooth, quick squeeze on the handle while holding the trimmer steady. Don't try to "pop" the end of the nail off; it will fall away on its own. You can file the edges or just let the dog wear the nail smooth. Taking your dog for a walk on the street can help them file down.

Remember that at some point you will cut too short. When this happens, place a tiny piece of tissue paper firmly against the end of the nail and hold it for a few minutes. Better yet, have some cornstarch or flour available and put a small quantity against the bleeding end of the nail, hold it there with your finger. This is effective right away. Or you can do nothing and the bleeding should stop in about five minutes. If it continues to bleed much more than that, give your vet a call.

You can do this!. Play with your canine's feet first to get them accustomed to the concept. If you do it once a week, it won't seem like such a tragic event. If you're able to only do one paw daily, that's ok also. Man's best friend needs you to do it for him. Unwind and enjoy your pet!