Bring out clipping tools ahead of time and let your dog become familiar with them. It is important that you remain calm. If you’re nervous, your dog will sense it and associate fear or uncertainty with dog nail trimming. If your dog is nervous use gentle reassurance, but don’t coddle your dog. Let your dog know that you expect him to behave, but don’t push it too far.

If your dog can only manage to tolerate getting one toenail trimmed that’s all right. Just be persistent and try for another nail at another time. And always remember to reward good behavior with your dog's favorite treat.

How can I cut my dog’s nails when he doesn’t like his feet touched?

Have patience and start working on getting your dog used to having his feet handled. This must be done gradually, so don’t rush it. Try gently touching one foot while your dog is asleep. If your dog wakes up be very casual about it. Just remove your hand and act as if you didn’t even notice that you were touching his paw. Anytime your dog resists don’t react, just ignore fact that you were even holding his paw and try again another time. Repeat this process and over time your dog will adjust to having his feet handled and you should even be able to start touching individual toes without an adverse reaction.

Whenever your dog allows you to touch his feet always remember to praise your dog and give him a dog treat. Your dog will begin to associate having his feet handled with a pleasant experience. Bring out nail clippers when your dog is very comfortable with you handling his feet and you are confident that you have gained your dog’s trust.

Will my dog ever adjust to getting her nails trimmed?

Many dogs may never like to get their nails trimmed, but if done regularly over time, dogs can learn to sit through this routine grooming procedure. Other dogs may never sit still. If you can’t get your dog to sit still you may need to recruit help of another person to hold your dog while you trim her nails. While some dogs can be distracted by dog treats alone, others may also have to be held. You may want to try clipping your dog’s nails after a full day of exercise when your dog is looking to take a long nap. Tired dogs tend to be less resistant.

If you know that your dog tends to bite when stressed out, for safety sake you should muzzle your pet before you begin a dog nail trimming procedure. If task of trimming your dog’s nails proves to be too much, find a professional dog groomer or veterinarian for this part of your dog’s routine grooming. If you can’t get your dog to cooperate it’s better that your dog doesn’t associate you with this negative experience. If you know that your dog tends to react in an aggressive manner, be sure to let your groomer know what to expect so that necessary safety precautions can be taken before they begin a dog nail trimming session.

What is quick and what do I need to know about it?

The quick is living part of a dog’s nail and has blood vessels running throughout. Cutting into quick during dog nail trimming is painful for your dog and will result in bleeding. If your dog has light colored nails your job will be easier since you will be able to see quick. It will be impossible to see quick if your dog’s nails are black or dark in color. If your dog has at least one light colored nail you can usually use that nail as a guide for others. If dog nail trimming is completely new to you, ask your veterinarian or groomer to show you how to trim your dog’s nails or consult a good dog care book.

Another important fact to note is that quick grows with nail. As a dog’s nails grow longer quick will also lengthen. So if your dog’s nails are over grown you will not be able to clip nails to desired length without cutting into quick. You will need to trim tips of your dog’s nails often and over time quick will shorten. To avoid cutting into quick you’ll want to start by trimming small pieces of nail until you get hang of it.

Help, I’ve cut my dog’s nail too short and now my dog is bleeding! What do I do now?

Don’t panic. Your dog is in a little pain but prognosis is good – your dog will live! You’ve cut into quick, blood-filled tissue in your dog’s nail. To stop bleeding take a pinch of styptic powder and press it against bleeding toenail. Now give your dog lots of treats. The nail should stop bleeding in about 5-10 minutes.

Try not to baby your dog too much. You don’t want to bring a lot of unnecessary attention to injured nail. You’ll be surprised at how easily your dog will be distracted by dog treats if you’re not making a big deal out of bleeding toenail. So just stay calm and upbeat and you may be able to finish your dog nail-trimming task.

If your dog is calm and enjoying treats it's best to continue trimming. If you didn’t finish with paw that you were working on you may want to continue on another paw and come back to that one after you have finished rest. If your dog is too excited you may need to try again at a later time. Don’t be discouraged, even professional dog groomers occasionally cut into quick.

If my dog’s nails are over grown how can dog nail trimming get them back to a healthy length?

You will need to trim your dog’s nails regularly. Start by clipping very small pieces of nail tip until you can see a dark, round, kind of moist looking disk appear in middle of nail. This means you’re approaching quick and nail will bleed if you cut it any shorter.

Try trimming this far every week or two and quick will gradually recede. Over time length of nail can be shortened. Cutting into quick to shorten a dog’s over grown nails could lead to an infection. If your dog’s nails are extremely over grown and this condition is causing health issues consult your veterinarian immediately.

Trimming your dog’s nails is one of regular home dog grooming tasks that helps to keep your dog healthy and active. As with most dog grooming tasks, rewarding your dog for positive behavior is an important part in your dog’s acceptance of activity. It’s always best when your dog can associate attention you lavish on him or her with a positive, happy memory. Learning tricks to proper dog nail trimming, training your dog with positive feedback, and showing patience and love will make time you spend together a reward in itself.

Article courtesy of: href="http://www.dog-supplies-advisor.com/" rel="nofollow">Dog-Supplies-Advisor.com a website dedicated to providing dog care advice on a broad range of dog-related topics. Includes informative articles, frequently asked questions, recommendations, and href="http://www.dog-supplies-advisor.com/free-dog-ezine.html" rel="nofollow">Free Ezine.

Ask yourself these questions:

- Do I really care what color coat is, what sex it is or how many pounds it weighs?

If so, you really want a puppy from a breeder, not a rescue. Rescue dogs rarely conform to an exact type.

- Am I looking to save money?

You may not save money buying a rescued dog, even though initial cost could be $700 or $800 less than from a breeder. Rescue dogs often need more medical care because of abuse and neglect they suffered before.

- Is my life relatively stable and my household relatively quiet?

All abused creatures, whether dog or human, crave and need an unusually organized household. Many people can be good parents to a rescue dog. But perhaps best potential parent of all is an older person or couple whose children are grown, and who has time and patience to devote to dog's mental and physical healing.

- Can I provide regular medical care and regular grooming?

The deepest wish in heart of Dog Rescue folks is each of their dogs never has to go through another minute of hunger, discomfort or pain again.

When dogs are starved, they sometimes have incontinence problems that heal only slowly. They may need more regular teeth cleaning than a continually cared-for dog. Some need a house training refresher when former owners didn't bother. Most were never clipped or groomed, even in non-shedding breeds. Do you have time and resources to keep your dog totally safe and comfortable?

- Can I consider need and adopt a boy rescue, or an older rescue?

For reasons not entirely clear, many potential adopters go for girl dogs. There's no logic to this: all rescue dogs are spayed or neutered, and boys are as intelligent, witty, loyal, well-behaved and loving as their female counterparts. Perhaps it's just that rescue impulse leads us to think of "damsels in distress"!

At any rate, that adorable boy that needs a home really deserves your attention. Someone less educated might pass him by for reasons they don't fully understand.

The upshot is, a rescue dog can make best pet you've ever had. He understands exactly what you're giving him, since he didn't have it before. Your newest family member will offer you an overabundance of loyalty for rest of his days.

*How can I help with Dog Rescues?

Dog Rescues are always looking for help. Of course, they need financial contributions, and kennel and medical supplies. They also need 'foster moms' who perform difficult task of patiently rendering a dog adoptable, then giving it up to its final owner! So if you have skills in this area and want to help, contact small and amazing group of volunteers that make up your local Dog Rescue.