Dog nail cutting at home in Trivandrum

Most homes in Trivandrum have hard, smooth floors: vitrified tiles, polished granite, older mosaic or red oxide. They stay cool in the heat, which dogs love, but they offer very little grip.

A dog grips with the soft pads under its feet. When the nails grow long, they hit the floor first and lift the pads slightly off the surface. The dog ends up balancing on hard nail tips on a hard, slippery floor. You see it as skidding when your dog turns quickly, splayed feet, hesitation on stairs or a reluctance to jump down from the sofa.

This matters most for older dogs, heavy breeds and long-backed dogs such as Dachshunds, for whom a slip can mean a strained joint or back. Trimming the hair between the paw pads, which is also part of the groom, helps the pads make proper contact with the floor too.

You do not need to measure anything. These are the everyday signs that nails are due:

• You hear clicking on the tiles as your dog walks.
• The nails touch the floor when your dog is standing still.
• The toes look twisted or spread, or your dog shifts its weight back onto its heels.
• A dew claw, the nail on the inside of the leg, is curling round towards the skin.
• Nails catch on mats, bedsheets or your clothes, or one has split or broken.
• Your dog slips more than it used to, or avoids the stairs.

Dogs that walk a lot on roads wear their nails down naturally. Indoor dogs, older dogs and dogs that mostly walk on grass or soil usually need trimming more often. Many dogs need their nails done every few weeks, so a groom about once a month suits a lot of households.

Inside each nail is the quick, a living core with a blood supply and nerves. Cut into it and the nail bleeds and hurts, and many dogs remember it at the next attempt. On white nails you can see the pink quick; on black nails, which many indie and Labrador-type dogs have, you cannot.

The other common problems are using human nail clippers, which can crush and split a dog's nail, forgetting the dew claws, and trying to do all four feet while a dog is struggling.

If you trim at home, take off very small amounts at a time in good light, use clippers made for dogs, stop while your dog is still calm and reward it well. If a nail bleeds heavily and will not stop, or a nail is torn and hanging, take your dog to a vet.

Neolokam does not publish a nail-only price. The published price is for the complete groom, in which nail cutting is done along with ear cleaning, brushing and combing, a shampoo bath, hygiene and paw-pad trimming, scissor shaping and a blow-dry. If you would like only the nails done, message the team on WhatsApp and ask what is possible.

The advantage of doing it inside a full groom is that the feet are handled once, properly: nails cut, hair between the pads trimmed, and the paws checked while the groomers are there.

Many dogs dislike having their feet held. With two groomers, one can steady the dog while the other works. For dogs that bite or panic, aggressive or reactive dog grooming is ₹2,000 plus GST, subject to the team deciding it is safe. Describe how your dog reacts when you touch its paws when you book.