This is six month old Shih Zhu Izzy.
She's about to have her nails clipped in the hands of a real grooming expert.
Jitka Krizova is one of Europe's top dog groomers.
Sasha is enJoying herself.
Originally from Slovakia, she now lives and works in Britain.
She's been showing and grooming dogs for 20 years and has won an impressive array of awards.
British Groomer of the Year Award 2006, Eurogroom winner three times in a row and in 2011 she
clipped and snipped her way to the World Championships as a member of Groom Team England.
Jitka's sharing her champion tips and techniques to help you keep your dog in pristine condition.
A dog who has plenty of exercise on abrasive or hard surfaces will usually keep its toenails
healthy.
But many dogs need help in keeping their toenails short and in good condition.
Your vet will be more than happy to help with clipping toenails but it is something that
can be done at home.
Dogs' nails should be kept quite short, otherwise they can cause discomfort for a dog, and also
potential health problems.
Nail clipping doesn't hurt the dog, but some dogs just don't like it.
If you are not comfortable to cut your dog's nails, take it to a professional dog groomer
or your local vet.
Izzy the Shih Zhu has white and black nails.
The white nails are fairly straight forward to cut.
Always use professional nail clippers for dogs.
They come in two types - the guillotine or scissor.
Jitka is using the scissor variety some of which have a safety stop that limits the amount
of nail cut.
Don't cut closer than about 3mm from the tip of the quick- the blood vessel running down
the centre of the nail.
The quick is pink and easy to see.
With black claws greater care is needed as the quick is invisible so knowing exactly
how to cut your dog's nails is vital.
First we take the hook off.
Then check the middle of the nail.
It's best to trim the nail bit by bit rather than large slices.
Look out for a dark spot in the middle of the newly clipped area as this is the start
of the quick.
Trimming just tiny nibbles you will then start to see a pale third inner circle.
Stop there or you are likely to hurt your dog.
The black nibble is the vein.
If you cans see the white little dot in the middle, that's the line you shouldn't cross.
Always have a product called 'quick stop' handy which is available from grooming suppliers
online.
If you accidentally cut the quick and it bleeds apply the product to the end of the nail and
apply steady firm pressure for a minimum of 30 seconds.
No it is all done and Izzy's feeling more comfortable.
The nail clipping took only a few minutes and it didn't hurt her.
In many dogs the back nails are shorter than the front because they push off with their
rear legs and naturally wear the nails down.
Your dog's nails should be trimmed every four to six weeks - and check her ears for infection
weekly.
All that coupled with a good diet and plenty of exercise should give you a happy, healthy
dog.