Many people find their dog’s black colored nails a barrier to doing their own trims at home. This is because the solid color of the nails doesn’t let you see the quick. Believe it or not, groomers don’t rely on looking at the quick even on clear nails.
Looking through the nail at the quick can be deceptive. You might think you’re close to the quick, but accidentally cut into it instead. The best way to cut nails is to look at the tip of the nail after taking off a tiny slice.
This photo shows a set of freshly cut black nails. I have outlined the areas you should pay attention to. See the black dot in the center of the nail? That’s the quick, or blood vessel inside the nail. When cutting nails, you should stop when you see this dot.
How To Trim Black Dog Nails With Pictures
How do you avoid cutting back too far? The secret is to take very small cuts of the nail at a time. If you are not sure, cut the same length as there are between these two bars: || Stop and look where you’ve cut.
You may still see the outer nail (it won’t look any different) the first time you cut. Try taking another small cut, until you see the white chalky interior. The white center is dead material and has no feeling. Keep cutting back until you see the black dot, and then stop! That’s the quick. You are done!
This works on every type of dog nail, including brown and clear nails. Take a look at our original nail trimming article here to see what the quick on clear nails look like.
Cutting black dog nails is scary for some people, but it really doesn’t have to be. Slow, small cuts and checking for the quick each time makes a big difference in how often you quick your dog.
Other Support
Cutting your dog’s nails is relatively straightforward—if your dog behaves. Most of dog grooming however, is working with a moving target and getting dogs to cooperate. If you’re struggling with your dog’s behavior, here are a few options for you:
- Train your dog to like nail trims
Even if your dog only gets its nails clipped once a month, it will still have the procedure done over 100 times in their life. Something that occurs that frequently isn’t something they should dread, but your groomer can’t train your dog for you in the few minutes they have with the pup each month.
You can help your pup learn to love nail trims with these step by step instructions. - Use a scratch board
While this doesn’t work with the dew claws, if your dog really hates having their nails done, a scratch board can reduce the amount of time your dog spends getting their nails cut. If your dog is food motivated, it’s relatively easy to teach your dog to do these nails, even the rear nails.
Check out our instructions here. - Free Practice!
Want to practice on a fake dog before moving to a live one? Try out our very own nail trimming game!
We hope you find these tips useful, and are able to keep your dog’s nails in great condition from here on out.
Similar Posts:
- How to Trim Your Chihuahua’s Nails
- What To Do When Your Dog Breaks Their Nail
- What is the Alternative Cut Line?
- Best Nail Trimming Tools for Chihuahuas
- How Often Should You Trim Your Dog’s Nails?
This is really helpful and comforting to know groomers don’t rely on seeing the quick with dark nails. I appreciate the practical tips.
Great information, but honestly I never had the guts to do it. I tried once but my lack of confidence was obvious so I relied on the groomer. My dog Red had very long quicks so she had to have her nails trimmed more often because they could only cut the tips.
Nail trimming–the scariest thing of them all. We invented the perfect way of getting Cookie’s nails trimmed–we had her PT do it LOL
Very informative. I had the most difficult time trying to figure out how to trim Henry’s dark nails. It scared me. He was calm. I finally got a grinder, and now I don’t worry about it. I love your tip to take tiny cuts and access. It’s so nerve-racking. Excellent post! I’m sharing with my dog parents.
Yes! 100 times over. Nail trims may be scary, but totally do able. Even the black nails can become breezy over time.
This will help a dog owner with black claws so much. We have cats who wriggle so I can’t imagine trimming a dog’s claws but, as you show, it CAN be done!! Adding this to my ‘lifesaver’ shares!!!
My dog Jessie, whom we adopted 3 years ago, is the first dog I’ve had with black nails. I was able to trip my other dogs’ nails but I am one of those people who’s afraid of not being able to see the quick! Thanks for sharing this advice, I will give it a try. I’d love to be able to trim Jessie’s nails myself between grooming.
I am petrified to try trim Nili’s nails so I take her to the groomer to have it done, it might sound crazy but would rather be safe than sorry. Great post and always good to learn
Excellent info! I tried a few times with my Huskies, but was too nervous. I did clip below the line and had to add the stop-bleed powder. So I decided to have my groomer do all of their nails! However, I did do my rabbit’s nails! This is really good info! Sharing with my readers!