Dog owners, among other items, must have hair and nail cutting tools. The notion of clipping your dog's nails or its hair is not just a past time or cool thing to do, it is actually necessary. The health of your dog will depend on several things including the food it eats, regular medical checkups and a grooming routine. This routine includes nail and hair clipping. In this article, we will explore some of the health benefits that accrue from regular nail and hair clipping of your dog.

Veterinarians always advise that you should trim your dog's nails so that they do not overgrow and cause discomfort and other complications. The procedure of trimming dog nails, often referred to as peticure helps keep the nails short. As nails grow, curling often occurs just in the same way that human nails curve as they grow longer. This curving is inwards which means that after some time, the nail may begin digging into the toe pad. Initially this causes discomfort in walking but when this is left unattended to, it begins to cause cuts which may become septic.

It is therefore recommended that besides developing a nail trimming routine, you check the dog's nails each time you notice unusual walking style or limping. This is necessary not only to prevent the pain or discomfort but also more importantly to prevent infection. Should you upon examination realize that the dog has cuts, clean the place and disinfect. Where the cuts are too deep, take the dog to a vet. Bacteria that enter though such open flesh is dangerous and may even cause death.

As a final note on nail trimming, you should carry out this procedure with utmost care so that you do not cause injury by cutting the quick. This is the soft tissue found in nails and that is made up of living cells, unlike most of the nail.

Hair clipping on the other hand makes it easier to clean your dog. When the dog is too bushy, it collects and stores dirt too easily and this may lead to itching and scratching. The danger with this again is the risk of opening up the skin and allowing germ entry. By keeping the hair short, cleaning is much easier and it is also easy to detect any cuts. Hair clipping is sometimes the only solution to matting of your dog's hair. Certain tangles of hair cannot be removed by combing and brushing, if anything, they only cause pain.

Finally, there are other benefits besides the health ones discussed above. When you clip the hair or fur of your dog, you give it a very smooth and attractive look. Clipping also keeps you close to your dog and helps maintain an emotional bond.

Since hair clipping and nail trimming have health benefits for your dog, it is important to develop a routine for doing this. Routines help you remember and also make your dog get used to being clipped.