One fundamental to good dog foot care is trimming your dogs claws regularly. When dogs were wild and undomesticated, they would wear their dog nails down by scratching on hard or rough surfaces outdoors, and by running and playing with other animals.

But now that they are in our environment, as pets, the job of maintaining their nails falls to their owner. How long should dog nails be allowed to get? Joanne Stefanatos, D.V.M., a veterinarian whom owns her own private practice in Las Vegas, says " If the claws are actually snagging in the carpet, you know they're much too long."

Dogs can suffer infections if their nails grow too long, or if they are trimmed poorly.

Here are some dog care tips for trimming dog claws. These were contributed by vets:

• M. Lynne Kesel, D.V.M., assistant professor of elective surgery in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Fort Collins says dog claws should be trimmed as often as possible. For active dogs, they should be trimmed every 6 to 8 weeks so that they don't get too long and cause discomfort and possibly lead to infections. If dogs are less active, they should be trimmed more often, preferably every 2 to 4 weeks.

• If you start trimming your dogs claws from when they're a puppy, they'll get used to it being done. Its much easier to train them to sit still from an early age than when they're an adult.

• Its very important not to cut too much nail off when trimming dogs claws. The pink part of the nail is where nerves and blood vessels are. This is very painful for the dog, and could lead to infection. It will also make it more difficult to trim your dogs claws in the future, as it will want to avoid a painful situation. Think of trimming dog claws more as 'dulling' them, rather than shortening them. And if in doubt, ask your local veterinarian to show you how far you should trim their nails.