Can You Clip Dog Nails with Human Clippers



A few dog owners actually clip and trim their dog’s nails by themselves, using ordinary human clippers. A lot of experts and groomers raise their eyebrows at this practice but the reality of it is that; yes, you can clip your dog’s nails with human clippers.

This may not be the right or easy way to clip your dog’s nails but the task can be done using clippers designed for human use, if you insist on it.

There are various reasons why a dog owner will not send his dog to the groomers for nail clipping the service may be too expensive or the groomers are too far or the dog is too big and too nasty to bring around.

If you prefer to clip your dog’s nails yourself, please think about purchasing the right kind of clippers for your dog and do not dwell on the cost. There are several reasons why you should use the correct kind of clippers to cut your dog’s nails.

Efficient and Easy


Dogs clippers are designed to make the task of clipping a dogs’ nails easy and safe. If you noticed, human fingernails and dog’s nails differ in appearance, quality and texture. Ours are flat and thin while a dog is thick and robust. 

You would need a large human clipper to accommodate the thickness of a large dog’s nail. Smaller dogs have smaller nails so medium sized human clippers will be easy to use on them. Larger dogs will need the largest clippers made for humans to accommodate their thicker nails.


Dog clippers are designed to cut a dog’s nails correctly, with no fuss and a minimum of effort. Human clippers are made for humans and cannot accommodate long nails, whether that of humans or dogs.

You would have to slowly trim your dog’s nails by a few millimeters until you reach the desired length. Doggie clippers are designed to cut sideways and the length of your dog’s nails will not matter.

Another way to think about this is whether humans can easily use dog nail clippers. The answer to this should enlighten you regarding using human clippers on your dog.

Safety and Cleanliness

Sharing clippers among family members is acceptable but may not be viewed as hygienic. Think about what it says when you share your clippers with your dog. We keep our hands and feet relatively clean and when they do get dirty.

We clean them up as soon as we possibly can. Our dogs are not as hygienic as we are when it comes to dirty feet. When you share your human nail clippers with them.

You are contaminating the clippers and opening yourself up to a host of bacteria and germs that your dog has brought from his walk outside. These bacteria and germs can enter through wounds and cuts in our skin.

In some cases, the dogs nail might chip off or break off unevenly because of the wrong way that it is clipped and the use of human clippers. This is actually quite easy to rectify but may take some time.

You will need to cut carefully and cleanly to prevent breakage. Frequent mistakes will lead to shorter doggy nails and may even lead to cutting your dog to the quick. This actually hurts and your dog will bleed.

Sturdiness

Since doggy nails are thick and hard, human clippers will not last long. Whether you use the biggest human clippers you can find, you cannot maintain them for a long time if they are used for the wrong purpose.

They will eventually break down or become dull. If you inspect doggy clippers, these are made for the hardness and thickness of doggy nails.

They look like cable pliers and function pretty much in the same way. So, in the long run, you will have to purchase large human nail clippers regularly if you insist on using these for your dog.
So basically, without any regard for your dog’s safety as well as your hygiene, you can use human clippers to groom his nails.

Despite being able to so, just please go out and buy the right kind of grooming aid for your dog or better yet, bring him to grooming experts who know how to clip his nails properly.