I hate cutting my dogs nails for that same reason. My daughter works for animal control and does it all the time so I have her do it but she did tell me on the dark nails you can look on the underside of the nail and it is lighter so you can see how far to cut. Hope that helps.

I hate that job too and we have 4 dogs that we have to cut their nails. My husband holds them and I cut...I almost get an anxiety attack worrying if I am going to get into the quick. But, around here it is $20.00 per dog and I cannot afford every two weeks of toenail cutting. I appreciate angela's suggestion. Thnx!

I haven't been cutting nails long... but I have noticed a huge difference in nail trimmers. I ordered a cheaper one online and had problems cutting nails with it.

Now, I have a more professional clipper I bought directly from the vet. The first time I used it, it was quick and like magic. I had no problems... Each nail took a second. I maybe could have cut a little more but they were at least trimmed up.

I guess what I'm saying is be sure you use a really good nail clippers...It can make your job a lot easier.

I have the same problem with Caesar. I should have
trimmed his nails closer when he was younger. Now that
he's 4 his nails are pretty long and I just cut the tips.
He's bled a few times and I didn't even cut them short.

Thanks. I think when the nails are long, the quick is obviously longer, so in that case you need to cut a bit off, and let the quick shrink back? Then cut more?I don't even know where I got that from... not sure if it's true. And if it IS true, how long it takes for the quick to shrink back.

Man, it's late and I'm rambling...lol.

Susan - my vet told me the same thing. We had rottweilers and they have such thick nails it was really hard to clip. The vet said to just keep taking off a little bit at a time over the course of a few weeks and that the quick wiol slowly recede. Oh how I hated to trim those nails. My DD was great at it.

Hi,

I mostly lurk, but saw this and wanted to say that if you have a dremel, you can grind your dog's nails with it. Much faster, doesn't hurt a bit and if you get a little too close to the quick you can simply stop dremeling.

Once dogs get used to it, they practically sleep through the procedure and their nails look really nice using this method. I don't do the polishing suggested at the end.

I'm posting a link to DoberDawn.com that shows how to do it. Look at the left side of the page and you'll see a link with detailed instructions.

Hope this is helpful luck. I once cut the quick on our dog and felt horrible.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Dremel Dog Nails

Sorry.

I meant to remove the word "luck" from the sentence that says, "Hope this is helpful." Moved "Good luck" to the bottom, but overlooked that one "luck."

Hate when stuff like that happens!

I let my wonderful groomer cut my dog's toenails. I had a bad experience years ago with another dog. The vet was cutting her nails, cut one too close. The poor dog started to bleed and cry. I have a very weak stomach and passed out. They had to call my husband to get us both.

When I had the Great Danes it was a major chore to clip all those big toes so we usually did it at the vet with a lot of help to hold.

Now with just my mini fox terrier I do it my self when she is sleeping in my lap. I always have a bottle of styptic right there and something to apply it with should there be a bleeder. I buy the styptic gel at pet supply store.
On her tiny nails I have found it easier to use the big toe nail clippers for Humans over the dog clippers. I get a much faster cleaner cut and the faster I get it done the less chance she will start to complain.
The quick will recede if you keep clipping them really often.
A lot of people have them "quicked" by a vet, usually if the dog is under anesthesia (for other work or dental cleaning) and will not feel it, they clip the nails short and into the quick to force it to go back up.
I would be scared it would still hurt when they came out of anesthesia.

Mine has both white and black nails I am always cautious on the black ones but you can see a little from the under side.

That styptic gel has come in handy for us too! My husband nearly cut off his ear lobe shaving one morning, thankfully the styptic gel was right there. It is something to keep in every medicine cabinet.

Kwik Stop Styptic Gel
I picked some up at petsmart