As any human parent knows, it's kind of scary the first time you cut your baby's nails especially if you have never done this before. Just remember that you can cut a quick. This will not require a trip to the vet to fix. If you were to happen to cut a quick, which is the blood flow part of the nail this can be painful for your pet.

If you are not comfortable clipping your dog's nails I would not suggest you try this yourself. You can always take your dog to a vet or a grooming shop and they will clip the nails for a minimal charge.

Your dog can pick up on your fears of clipping his or her nails which can be almost next to impossible if you don't know how to safely position your pet without either getting bit or twisting your back or your dog's back out of place depending on the size of your dog. Many a groomer have been bitten by not following the proper techniques when trimming the nails. Some dogs will forewarn you by growling others will not.

If you are brave enough to trim your dog's nails the easiest ones to trim are the white nails. Since the cuticle shows up a lot better. The quick is the pink part like was mentioned before is the blood supply to the nail. The black nails are the hardest since they are dark in colour.

Just remember if your pet's nails grow out too long it can have negative medical effects which can lead to surgical procedures. Meaning if the nail grows into the skin, the only solution is to have the vet perform surgery to get the nail out of the skin. Watch how quick your dog's nails grow if they grow out longer than the normal length you cannot cut them shorter than normal because the quick also grows out.

There is one suggestion this is not suggested for anything but short close to the skin hair. Can you picture your dog's hair is caught up in a handheld tool? Don't try this technique with anything but shorter hair that can't be pulled by your hand. You can purchase a small battery powered rotary sander, called a dremmel. This method makes noise so if your dog is nervous, to begin with then this probably would not work.