I am constantly in shock at how many people don't even groom their own dogs, let alone cut their nails. I'm gald it's not a Stateside "thing" as I thought it was. I find grooming and a daily body inspection (of the dog!!!!) is a major part of the bond.I could never bring myself to take any dog to the vet for a nail trim. (Actually that is a bit of a lie - I did once! We had been at the racing track and I had seen a dog that couldn't stand properly let alone run. I thought it was because the dog was so overweight - I asked my employer if he would give me £100 as a loan and he did!! I bought the dog and brought it home. In the morning when I got Danny out of the kennel it was obvious that both his wrists had been broken at some point, his front legs were about two foot apart! His nails had looped around and were penetrating the pads on his front feet. That one I took to the vet for a nail trim!! He lived as a family pet for 11 years after that with rabbits, kids, cats and the like. In case anyone is wondering - a Greyhound) Danny still came out and won a veterans race three years after he left the dog track!!