I'm scared to do it too. I bought a pair of nail trimmers, and I can hear her nails clicking a bit when she walks, but when I look at her nails closely, I don't see the "curved tip" my vet told me to look for. I'm going to wait until the curve is more pronounced, or until the next time she goes to the groomers...whatever comes first.
I saw a great tip in another thread....slip an old panyhose (pantyhoe?
) onto her paw and that will keep the hair on/between her toes away from her nails so you can see them more clearly.