Dogs need their nails trimmed at least every four weeks. Some dogs grow their nails out very quickly and may need to be trimmed as often as every 2-3 weeks. Long nails are uncomfortable to walk on as pressure is put on the nails with every step & it can injure the toes also due to the un-natural way the dog is forced to break over the foot due to the long nails. Every dog groomer can tell horror stories of dogs that come in whose nails are so long that the nail has curled under the foot puncturing the pads.
Nail trimmers come in three styles; sissor, guillotine and grinder. Spikes carries sissor and gillotine nail trimmers in three sizes; small for cats and toy dogs, medium and large. There is no advantage between scissor and guillotine styles, it is more a matter of personal preference. Nail griders work well on nails that are trimmed every 1-2 weeks. Grinders produce a lot of heat if used to grind back a long nail which is very uncomfortable for the dogs.
An essential thing to have on hand when trimming nails is styptic powder found in Spike's grooming section near the nail clippers. As careful as you may be in trimming your dogs nails, the dog can jerk its paw at the wrong moment causing a nail to bleed. Dip the nail in the styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
These diagrams below explain the best way to trim your dogs nails.
