In this lesson I will describe clipping the nails, cleaning the ears and giving the bath. Nail clipping is hard to describe, but I will do my best. All dogs have a blood vessel inside their nails called the "quick". For dogs with white nails you will be clipping off the excess nail up to about 1/4 of an inch before the visible pink "quick" at a 45 degree angle. The quick usually ends abruptly within the nail and this 1/4 inch should be enough clearance to not make it bleed, or as we say "quicking the nail". There are some exceptions by breed. I have personally found that pugs, springer spaniels, and border collies generally grow the quick much longer and thinner inside the nail. You can see where you would normally cut, but it will continue thinly through the nail, which can't be seen, even in white nails. We call this "having long quicks". I have no idea why this is, these are just my findings after being a dog groomer for 11 years. When doing these breeds I recommend trimming a little off the end at a time till you find the quick on one nail and then do the same for all the other nails leaving a little more room so as not to quick the rest. Usually how much you cut off of one is the same amount you will be able to safely cut from the rest. Watch for nails that appear to be more worn down than others. Not all dogs walk/run correctly all the time and may cause uneven wear to their toenails. If you discover a worn down nail, you must make an educated guess as to whether any more needs to be cut based on how long it is compared to the length of the other nails.

The reason a lot of dogs hate having their nails done is that there is a nerve surrounding the quick and it can be sensitive. Imagine the rings on a cut tree trunk. When cutting the nails you can actually train your eye to see the layers within the nail as you get used to doing this. Cut a little and look, the whole cross section looks solid or sometimes flaky. Cut a little more, and if you see a layer that looks like the consistency of a very thick gel, that is the nerve coating that surrounds the quick. Don't cut anymore. If you do go barely too much it will start to bleed a tinsy bit. You'll notice a red bullseye center, the thick gel nerve layer and then all the outer flaky layers. Don't panic. You can easily fix this with some styptic powder (QuickStop) or even corn starch or flour. Don't give up, as long as you go slowly and carefully, you can successfully learn to do this. Its not the end of the world if you quick your pet accidentally. Just reassure your dog calmly and continue as if nothing happened. If your dog reacts and you feed into it with a whole bunch of emotional nonsense you are making the situation worse and telling the dog that its okay to be nervous and fear having this done. That creates a no win situation where the dog is now afraid and you can never clip his nails because you will give up.

There is a technique I use for black nails since you can't see the quick. I want you to picture a very dirty old bathtub with "bathtub rings". You should cut at the bottom of the lowest "ring". I have a few theories as to what causes the rings and why this works. 1. The living blood vessel has stopped and therefore the rest of the "dead" nail isn't well nourished, thus producing the rings. 2. As the animal walks the excessive "dead" portion of the nail (which also should have no feeling) gets pushed into the dirt, grass, whatever, up to the living part of the nail causing damage to the nail in the form of the rings. It doesn't really matter if these theories are correct or not, I just know that cutting at the "bathtub rings" works.

I have one more technique for you to consider and I can honestly tell you that in this scenario I can safely cut nails with my eyes closed! That's right, eyes closed, because this technique is about feeling the shape of the nail as a clue of where to cut. If your dog has nails that are thick at the base and then extend into a long thin hook (either black or white) you can cut off the entire long hook with no worries! The quick ends where the thick part of the nail ends and the thin part begins. These are the easiest ones to do. With the dog straight in front of me, facing me, I put the nail clipper around the nail and slide the bottom edge of the clipper against the underside of the nail. The clipper will catch against the hook of the nail and I clip right where it catches. Easy.

For the finishing touches and to prevent your dog from scratching you with those freshly cut, sharp nails, you can use a Drummel tool or Pedi-paw nail filer to quickly file the nails to a smooth finish. You can also use these as a cheat, to get even closer to the quick if you are nervous of cutting too much nail off with a nail clipper. Hint: Its easiest to do correctly if you have the barrel spinning away from the pad, in a clockwise rotation if you are right-handed. Opposite for lefties.

Just before you go to the bath, you should clean your pets ears. When cleaning your dogs ears you will want to either buy a good ear cleaner, use witch hazel, or make up a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water to use. Apply the ear cleaner as directed and then gently wipe inside the ear with cotton balls to remove any and all the excess wax and dirt that may have built up. You can also use cotton swabs to clean in all the nooks and crannies; but do not insert the cotton swab into the ear canal. If you use the water & vinegar solution it can also be used as an ear flush. Gently apply the solution to the ear canal and then massage the ear, and down the side of the cheek as well (the ear canal is located directly behind the skin). Allow the dog to shake its head to drain the rest of the solution from the ear. After they are clean, you can push cotton balls into the ears to keep water out of the ear canal during the bath. This is not a must, but if your dog has chronic ear problems you won't have to worry about him getting water in his ears. Now before we move to the tub, go ahead and apply the eye protectant, if you will be using one.

First, one of the most important steps of bathing is to get the dog completely wet before applying the shampoo. Two reasons for this are: 1. The shampoo suds and distributes more easily. 2. If you are not getting the entire dog wet, it is doubtful that you will get the entire dog shampooed thoroughly and then you will still have a dirty dog with clean spots instead of a clean dog. This first step is so important because it will train you to shampoo the dog completely and also to rinse the dog completely. Not learning to get the dog thoroughly wet will be detrimental to learning to complete an excellent bath. Secondly, be very careful not to spray water into the dogs nose, and ears. Hold the dogs muzzle so that the nose points at the floor of the bathtub and position the sprayer above the head. This will ensure that you can saturate the face and since gravity doesn't go up, the water will not "go up" his nose and ears. As a further precaution, you can also hold the ear flaps down with your thumb and first finger as you point the nose down. Thirdly, turn your pet around in the bathtub while you are working on them to ensure that you are getting both sides wet, shampooed and rinsed. It is easier to work on the sections of your pet that you can see, rather than assuming you can do it without looking.

When applying the shampoo, use as much as necessary to achieve a good lather. Some shampoos lather more easily than others. Apply the shampoo to several areas of the body and then work it in with more water from the hand shower and if you have one, use a rubber curry comb to get the shampoo all the way down to the skin. Rubber curry combs are especially effective for dogs with extremely short hair (pit bulls, labs) and also extremely thick hair (Akitas, Huskys). The bath is a great time for bonding with your pet. Rubbing the shampoo thoroughly through the hair is a great excuse to give a nice massage at the same time. Elderly and disabled pets will greatly appreciate this comforting touch and any normal dog will love the extra rubdown too.

Now while your pet is all sudsed up, it is time to pay attention to the areas around the eyes and the anus. Work on the eyes first then move to the anus, not in reverse order. You don’t want to accidentally carry fecal mater on your tools or hands to your dog’s eyes. Use your flea comb or toothbrush to remove eye boogers, and feces from the anus area. Never yank and pull. Soften any foreign matter with shampoo and water, and comb gently till you have removed it. If you know how and want to express the anal gland, this is the best time to do that. Many animals experience much relief after having their glands done and although a stinky chore, it is definitely a part of your pet's health that shouldn't be ignored. Small dogs suffer with more problems from anal glands than larger breeds. These include impaction, explosion, and subsequently infection. If your dog has been scooting around on its butt, it's not worms, but an anal gland problem that is ailing your friend.

Next, rinse well and then apply the shampoo all over again. Reapplying the shampoo is very important to getting a pet really clean. Think of the shampoo as a bunch of little shovels. Each shovel full will only remove so much dirt. When you take the time to do a second shampooing, all those little shovels remove an extra shovel full of dirt and ensure that the pet is squeaky clean. This is especially true if your pet started out extra dirty. Don't be afraid to use more than one type of shampoo during this process. A good rule of thumb is to use a good cleaning shampoo first and for the second use your medicated, oatmeal, or conditioner. Don't forget to read the label on each one for directions as to how long it should be left on the skin and coat to be effective.

The last step of the bath is to rinse, and rinse and then rinse some more. Did I say rinse? It is crucial that you have rinsed all of the shampoo off of the skin and coat. Shampoo left in the coat is the #1 cause of itching and hot spots and supposed allergies. Look at the water coming off of the dog as you are rinsing. If it is suds free and looks like clear water, not discolored at all, you have probably rinsed correctly. Clear water draining off of the dog during the rinse is also an indication that you did in fact remove all the dirt from the dog. Do not forget to keep watching the water as you recheck hard to reach areas such as armpits, anus, groin and the face. When you are satisfied that your dog is clean and has been rinsed well, finish by gently squeege-ing the water from your pet. Finish off by towel drying your pet in a pat and squeeze method, never a vigorous back and forth rubbing, unless your dog is short-haired. On long-haired breeds, this will help you avoid matting the hair by accident.

Congratulations my friend! You have just washed your pet like a groomer.

The next lesson will be all about drying your pet. There's more to it than meets the eye!