3 Little-Known Ways to Cut Dog Nails

by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020

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We absolutely despair when it comes to trimming our dog’s nails.

There is truly nothing more stressful, as far as dog grooming goes, than that.

If your dog won’t let a nail clipper anywhere near him, you’re not alone!

We’re here to tell you that, luckily, there are some alternatives to the dreaded clipper you can use to keep your dog’s nails in check.

Dog’s Nails Must Be Trimmed, No Matter What

Like most grooming rituals, trimming your dog’s nails is vital for his health.

Long nails can hurt dogs when they’re walking, leading them to readjust their posture just to try and stop the pain.

This will lead to back and joint problems in the long run.

Also, dew claws (those nails hanging on the side of dog’s paws) don’t wear off naturally and need to be trimmed to prevent tearing or piercing of the paw pad.

This happens because dew claws grow into a hook shape, meaning they can easily get caught in a branch, for example.

And, of course, they can also curl back into the paw.

Can you imagine the type of pain either of these can cause to a dog?

Our Very Own Dog Nail Issues

Dobby was the first ever dog we adopted.

He was almost a year old, completely traumatized and neglected.

After being left to die because he was to gentle to hunt, it’s fair to say he was afraid of pretty much anything.

And the nail clipper wasn’t an exception, of course.

Can you imagine trying to trim the nails of a terrified dog?

A terrified dog who also happens to have 5 dew claws? (He actually has TWO on one paw).

By the time we adopted him, he was way too old for us to remove the extra dew claws without causing him more pain.

It left us no other choice than to learn how to trim his nails without hurting him.

3 Ways to Trim Your Dog’s Nails Without a Nail Clipper

And that’s exactly what we did!

Armed with lots of tasty treats and determination, we tried and tested other ways we could keep Dobby’s nails in check without submitting all of us to the horror that is a nail clipping session.

We found there are actually some great ways to trim your dog’s nails without him noticing it.

If you don’t believe us, just read on and decide for yourself.

1 – Get a Good Nail Grinder

File or grind your dog’s nails easily! 

It’s fast and safe (no quick cutting possible) and, with the help of a lot of yummy treats, it can actually become something your dog won’t mind.

Looking at it for the first time might be intimidating, it was for us!

But as soon as we started to try it out, we quickly found a way to make it work for us.

There are a lot of dog nail grinder available nowadays, but we do believe, after trying a few, not all are worth the money you spend.

For us, personally, this is the best option.

It’s easy enough to use, quieter than most, and it is adaptable to the size of the dog, which is important if, like us, you have more than one size dog in your family.

We do it as a team. One of us holds a deep bowl with some treats or wet food while the other files away. 

Perfect results every time.

2 – Get Him a Nail Scratcher

We took a page out of our cats’ book for this one.

If cats enjoy trimming their nails on a scratcher, why can’t dogs?

So we decided to look for a dog scratcher and were blown away by how clever this idea actually is!

You’ll love it and so will your dog.

The concept is simple enough.

Get your dog’s favorite treat. Show it to him then hide it in the compartment below the scratcher.

This should be enough to motivate your dog to scratch away, trying to get to the goodies.

3 – Make Sure Your Dog Wears His Nails Out The Natural Way

One of the simplest ways to wear your dog’s nails out is picking the right surface for him to run/play in.

Any hard surface will do a better job and wearing dog nails out than soft surfaces.

If your dog does his daily run mostly on a concrete road instead of dirt or grass, his nails we wear out much quicker.

This, of course, doesn’t apply to the dew claws, but it will help with the issue of overgrown front nails hurting your dog while he walks.

Just make sure that concrete isn’t too hot for his paws.

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