Clipping Dog Nails

You clip them all, but the front ones grow faster than the back ones, and often need clipping more often.

You can clip the back ones if they're too long, but I often need to clip only the front ones.

And be careful how far back you clip! Just a little bit at a time is best. If you hit the quick, 1) you'll have lots of bleeding, and 2) your dog may remember the pain and hide when he/she sees the clippers from now on. Really!

L.:

I would file which ever ones need to be done. I do NOT do my dog's, I cut it too short once and felt like the worlds worst mommy so I pay PetSmart $11 to do it...

Like others have said it depends on the dog, lenght of nail versus the quick. If you haven't done it before you may want to just do the front today unless your dog tolerates it really well. I do our dog's front nails every time and sometimes half or all of the back nails. When we had a pool with concrete around it I never did her back or the outside ones on the front, she kept those trimmed by running. One of our cats i still never do more than two paws at a time and have been doing her nails for six years, safer for both of us.

All 4 if you can. It may take more than one "session" to get it all done, lol.
Also, if your dog's nails are overgrown, don't try to get it all done this one time. Start small, by just taking off a little bit. Then do it frequently in small amounts. Over time, the vein in the nail grows also... so if you clip too much in one clip session, you will get that vein it will bleed a lot, and also be painful for the dog.
Start small, and over time and multiple clips, the vein in the nail will recede so you don't cut into it and cause pain/bleeding.
Good luck.

You can clip them all. Just be very careful that you pay attention to where that vein/nerve is. It will hurt if you clip it and bleed like mad.

I clip both.
We have hard wood floors and if their nails aren't clipped they slide all over the place.
Just be careful about how far back you clip them.

I cut my dogs nails. I usually only do the front ones. They wear the back ones down naturally because that is how they "push off" Sometimes I might cut the tips just so they arent as sharp.
If you do cut them too short, keep some corn starch on hand. It will stop the bleeding.