We have 6 dogs on a ranch with mostly sandy dirt. Only one, the ball chaser, actually wears his nails down. The other 5 get dremeled once a month. Wait too long and it becomes more difficult and painful for the dog as the nails curl back into the paws. Especially dew claws.
this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2025
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I've never cut any dog's nails, outside of cleaning up after an accident or because of infection. 1 got to 14, one to 15, and the two I have now are both about 5 now.
I walk them 6-8km every day on a mix of paved and rocky trails.
How often do you get your dogs nails trimmed?
I trim my dog's nails about every 2-3 weeks. She tolerates it because I give her a mini marshmallow after each paw. I regularly touch her paws in non-trimming activities to get her used to it. She went from fear to something like annoyance.
I used to have a greyhound that was so used to handling from the track that he would fall asleep while I dremeled his nails.
So far never, for 11 years.
They just wear down by themselves from walking I guess. Is this not normal? I’m really surprised to not see this as the top answer.
Depends on the dog. My littlest one is too light to wear his nails down by walking alone.
Trim the puppies nails as often as you can (safely ofc). Get them used to being groomed so as adults they don't freak out
Absolute. I have been touching his paws everyday. I have a nail grinder and soon will be bringing that around to get him used to it before I actually do any grinding.
I wanna get this pup raised right!
I keep nail clippers next to the treats. I knew the trade was working when my dog would go over and lift its paw up
One of my dogs won’t let me at all. The vet tried too and couldn’t do it. He’s a sweet boy but he just can’t with the nails.
We do it when he gets his teeth cleaned.
His nails get longish and sharp. They break sometimes. I feel bad for him but he’s terrified of the clippers and he isn’t good motivated at all.
My other doggo will do anything for a snack. He is the easiest dog I ever trained.
My cow dog hasn't had his nails trimmed once and he's three. He's outside enough they seem to be filed down just from his normal activities. My last dog needed his nails trimmed every three months. Just keep an eye on them and get them trimmed when they are too long.
We get our little bastards groomed every few months. They clip them for us.
Otherwise we’d only do it if there was an issue.
For us it really varied depending on how much they were out and on what surface. When I was going for near-daily jogs with them on the sidewalks, they really didn't need it. If they didn't get out as much, it was more like every couple months. We probably weren't as good about keeping them trimmed because our dogs really hated it.
Twice a month or every 2 weeks or so for my little pup. I hold him belly up, cradling him on my lap and chest, feet up in air while my husband trims. It has been working and hes very good with that.
Hmmmm what I'm getting from this is that I need to up my schedule. I trim them maybe once every month or two.
@Lifecoach5000
I trim (actually grind with a dremel tool) weekly. Part of how often is related to activity, but I walk my dogs 4-7 kms daily, so I'd say more of it has to do with foot shape. My dogs have a hare foot and the nails don't grow down as much as a cat foot would.
My dogs like having nails done because there are copious amounts of rewards.
I have several dogs. One needs them done weekly, others every 2-3 weeks. It depends on environmental factors. We do it about when they start hitting the floor.
As long as you’re able to cut without nipping the quick, they can be trimmed.
I never did, because I got him as an adult and nail clippers were the one and only thing that made him aggressive. His nails clicked but it never seemed lika a problem big enough to justify forcefully doing something to him that he was so afraid of.
I trim them myself and it depends on the dog. My husky doesn't need it that often. Maybe once a month.
My chihuahua mix grows his nails out super fast tho. I have to trim them once or twice a week.
And let me just say, every single "no hurt" safety clipper I have tried is absolute garbage. They tend to crush the nail and not cut it, which is not only inefficient, it definitely can hurt the dog. The kinds that look like a curved pair of tiny scissors are way better, easier to use, easier to make sure you're not pinching anything or cutting too close to the quick, etc.
Once a week
I trim my adult dogs nails when I hear them clatter. Sometimes twice in a month, sometimes not because he wears them down pretty well all by himself.