So, honestly, I’m not a fan of most pet owners trimming their own dog’s nails with a few important exceptions:

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• You are using the right tools, there are dozens of truly dire nail trimmers out there. If you look at my Amazon orders you’ll see about a dozen of the worst examples that I’ve done testing on. It is critically important that if you’re going to do this job yourself your trimmer is professional grade and designed so as not to crush the nail which is excruciatingly painful for your poor dog.

• Your trimmer is SHARP. Replace yours if you are in doubt. Dull trimmers cause pain and if you hurt your dog while doing his nails you can cause a problem for life.

• As a retired groomer I saw far too many pets who were terrified of having their nails trimmed, many of them because their well-meaning but inexperienced owners had caused them to fear the process. Sad but true. And, a dog that is fearful of nail trimming can eventually have to be sedated for this simple procedure. Please leave this job to your groomer unless you are super skillful and have the right tools.