Orange County Dog Grooming

Our Orange County Dog Grooming school taught us the steps of clipping a dog's nails. Performing this procedure isn't so simple as there are some very specific things that have to be known about a dog's nails first. Start out by putting your left arm around the dog's body and hold it against your chest. Use your left hand to hold the dog's foot with your thumb on the top of the dog's toe, and use your other fingers underneath the dog's foot pad. Put the nail in the nail clipper and clip below the dog's quick at a 45 degree angle. This also needs to be done on the dog's dew claws. If you have a dog that has dark nails it is better to make a few small clips instead of clipping off a big piece. This is suggested because cutting the quick can cause a dog's nails to bleed very badly. You can usually identify the quick as a dark spot in the middle of the nail when looking at it head on. Avoid cutting this at all cost. If the quick is cut it will be necessary to stop the bleeding; this can be done by using styptic powder, which is a coagulant product that can be easily found in any dog accessory store. Apply the powder at the tip of the place that was cut and hold it by putting a moderate amount of pressure on it. This will usually stop the bleeding, however if the bleeding is really bad you will need to take your dog to the veterinarian. Talk to your Orange County Dog Grooming salon to show you first hand how this should be done.