easy way to calm my dog's fears of getting his nails trimmed?

he is a year old and unfortunately had a horrible experience when he was a pup - one of his nails was trimmed too short and the pain must have been excruciating - my wife is afraid to take him to the vet to have his nails trimmed for fear that it will traumatize him more - any suggestions will be deeply appreciated

A professional groomer tends to be more patient with trimming dogs nails. I know what you are going through. I think all dogs just hate it for some reason.

be patient with him. don't wait forever to trim his nails becasue your afraid, get him use to it now. let him know you wont hurt him, pet him while your doing it, maybe reward him if hes good. but the reality is most dogs hate having their nails clipped anyway. haha

I've only twice in the decades I've had dogs, clipped a dog's nail too short and in both cases, the dog didn't even move. I only knew I'd cut too short when it started bleeding, so the pain isn't excruciating. It hurts yes, but it's not that severe.

He needs his nails trimmed so if you won't do it yourself, take him to the vet. The vet techs are extremely experienced and good at it. Unless your dog's afraid of going to the vet, he won't be traumatized.

Or you can do it yourself. First, handle his feet a lot so he's used to that. When you're ready to clip, have him lying on his side and the first time just pretend to clip - holding the clippers very close to his feet. He'll see he's not being hurt. The next day, just take off the very tip of his nails. Hold his foot firmly, stay very calm and matter-of-fact and give him quiet praise. When you're done, make a big fuss over him telling him what a good boy he is and give him a couple of treats he really likes.