When Did You Cut Your Dogs Nails Last.

[moosepup]

If I exercise my dogs doesn't that mean I have to exercise too?? Stuff that!

[Starkehre]

I think a lot also depends on what an owner classifies as long nails and what they find acceptable. :D

For example, I don't wait to check to see if their nails are wearing down enough or check to see if they NEED doing, because for me personally, that is too late. I dremel them every 10-14 days without fail and keep them super super short, do not actually allow for barely any growth at all... cause then it is a case of retraining quicks back which is messy and painful for the poor dogs... but just the way I do it :)

Added, I love dremelling my dogs' nails. I take a lot of pride in the job I do and really get into it. They are well behaved and don't seem to mind it all... most of the time :D I am careful to try to ensure the nail does not get too hot and treat them throughout intermittently. I have my own nails done with a dremel so I know how it feels, so can empathise with the dogs if it gets hot or close.

From time to time I do them for my friends' dogs also.

Can you explain bolded. I have never needed to cut any of my GSP's nails as they have always worn down on pavers, footpath etc but we have less of that now due to reno's and I've noticed that H's nails are much longer than usual. I've just bought some clippers and did a couple of tiny snips yesterday to get him used to it but I'm really worried about the quick seeing as they've never been cut. He's incredibly sensitive and I know if I hurt him I'll never get clippers near him again. His nails are black.

The blood vessel/supply/quick grows as the nail grows. It is always slightly shorter than the nail length, but does continue to grow just as the nail does, it doesn't stop. Therefore when nails are allowed to grow, so does the blood vessel.

If you want nails to be short you either have to cut/file small amounts often to encourage the vessel to retract in length by itself, which it will eventually (it will always grow slightly shorter than the nail) or cut the vessel which is very painful for the dog. We always try to avoid causing pain and cutting blood vessels, but if it occurs it is not the end of the world.

This is why I prefer to always keep the nails short, avoiding having to retrain quicks. It can be a slow process.

When nails are long it is not a simple process of just cutting them short and they are fixed. The damage has been done and it takes a significant amount of time and effort to get them short again... but definitely doable :)

It takes a while to get the hang of clipping black nails if you haven't done it before, but just keep doing what you are doing, little bits at a time. I would do tiny bits daily. When they are getting short you will see how the nail make up changes, it looks different. It is darker and softer. Over time you will familiarise yourself with exactly how the nail looks when you are close to the quick. Taking teeny bits off once a month will not really achieve anything. The nail and quick grows faster than that in most cases.

Take your time, be confident, make it enjoyable for your dog and get some assistance to hold him if he is wriggling too much.

Good luck.

:)

[fiveplusone]

I think a lot also depends on what an owner classifies as long nails and what they find acceptable. :D

For example, I don't wait to check to see if their nails are wearing down enough or check to see if they NEED doing, because for me personally, that is too late. I dremel them every 10-14 days without fail and keep them super super short, do not actually allow for barely any growth at all... cause then it is a case of retraining quicks back which is messy and painful for the poor dogs... but just the way I do it :)

Added, I love dremelling my dogs' nails. I take a lot of pride in the job I do and really get into it. They are well behaved and don't seem to mind it all... most of the time :D I am careful to try to ensure the nail does not get too hot and treat them throughout intermittently. I have my own nails done with a dremel so I know how it feels, so can empathise with the dogs if it gets hot or close.

From time to time I do them for my friends' dogs also.

Can you explain bolded. I have never needed to cut any of my GSP's nails as they have always worn down on pavers, footpath etc but we have less of that now due to reno's and I've noticed that H's nails are much longer than usual. I've just bought some clippers and did a couple of tiny snips yesterday to get him used to it but I'm really worried about the quick seeing as they've never been cut. He's incredibly sensitive and I know if I hurt him I'll never get clippers near him again. His nails are black.

The blood vessel/supply/quick grows as the nail grows. It is always slightly shorter than the nail length, but does continue to grow just as the nail does, it doesn't stop. Therefore when nails are allowed to grow, so does the blood vessel.

If you want nails to be short you either have to cut/file small amounts often to encourage the vessel to retract in length by itself, which it will eventually (it will always grow slightly shorter than the nail) or cut the vessel which is very painful for the dog. We always try to avoid causing pain and cutting blood vessels, but if it occurs it is not the end of the world.

This is why I prefer to always keep the nails short, avoiding having to retrain quicks. It can be a slow process.

When nails are long it is not a simple process of just cutting them short and they are fixed. The damage has been done and it takes a significant amount of time and effort to get them short again... but definitely doable :)

It takes a while to get the hang of clipping black nails if you haven't done it before, but just keep doing what you are doing, little bits at a time. I would do tiny bits daily. When they are getting short you will see how the nail make up changes, it looks different. It is darker and softer. Over time you will familiarise yourself with exactly how the nail looks when you are close to the quick. Taking teeny bits off once a month will not really achieve anything. The nail and quick grows faster than that in most cases.

Take your time, be confident, make it enjoyable for your dog and get some assistance to hold him if he is wriggling too much.

Good luck.

:)

excellent, thanks. Makes perfect sense. I'll shall do a little bit a day then.

[Starkehre]

You are very welcome :)

[suziwong66]

this threads needs to be marked with an enabler symbol...just got home from Bunnings...

[fiveplusone]

Just did front paws. A tiny bit off each. Only started to fuss on last one, so left it at that. Was happy to sit next to clippers after and gave them a good sniff so hopeful wont fuss tomorrow.

[Pjrt]

I cut & them dremmel my own dogs nails every week.

As a groomer for 27 yrs I have seen just about everything in the toenail department! Ingrown, macaroni, split, missing ....... I have only had a couple as bad as the OP dog.

this was a close one a couple of weeks ago.

I tend to cut and then dremmel on clients dogs. I use a cordless trigger shaped dremel with a stone attachment. Because I cut first and just use the dremmel to take off the rough edges it only takes literally 3 seconds for each nail so heat isn't an issue.

[Mim]

I cut & them dremmel my own dogs nails every week.

As a groomer for 27 yrs I have seen just about everything in the toenail department! Ingrown, macaroni, split, missing ....... I have only had a couple as bad as the OP dog.

this was a close one a couple of weeks ago.

I tend to cut and then dremmel on clients dogs. I use a cordless trigger shaped dremel with a stone attachment. Because I cut first and just use the dremmel to take off the rough edges it only takes literally 3 seconds for each nail so heat isn't an issue.

Close call!

It looks like the quick is quite long in that nail, what would groomers do in that circumstance? Trim just before the quick and leave a long nail? Or cause the dog some discomfort and trim it short but cut the quick?

[Pjrt]

I cut & them dremmel my own dogs nails every week.

As a groomer for 27 yrs I have seen just about everything in the toenail department! Ingrown, macaroni, split, missing ....... I have only had a couple as bad as the OP dog.

this was a close one a couple of weeks ago.

I tend to cut and then dremmel on clients dogs. I use a cordless trigger shaped dremel with a stone attachment. Because I cut first and just use the dremmel to take off the rough edges it only takes literally 3 seconds for each nail so heat isn't an issue.

Close call!

It looks like the quick is quite long in that nail, what would groomers do in that circumstance? Trim just before the quick and leave a long nail? Or cause the dog some discomfort and trim it short but cut the quick?

I can see looking at that nail why you might think the quick is long but it is just a discolouration on the nail. The quick is actually just above the half way mark of that nail. Personally I would never hack through quicks in a salon setting. Of course we accidentally nip quicks on occasion but no I wouldn't set out to hard cut quicks to get nails back. Years ago I had a show groomer ask me to hold a Wire Fox while she murdered the quicks. It was one of the worst memories I have!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

marshalls law cartoon about dog nail clipping.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=664773893549991&set=a.563460893681292.139392.544382342255814&type=1&theater

[angelsun]

Unfortunately I too see this sort of thing and mostly on rear dew claws that the owners believe it or not, do not know even exist!! I can't tell you how many people I inform about rear dews and they look at me with a blank face and say 'really? I didn't even know they were there!" and this is not a puppy...but a mature or senior dog....shocking!

[3labs]

When I rescued Tess her claws were curled over. She doesn't like them done, but will let us.

Ernies previous family sat on him to cut his and as soon as you touch his paws he goes into a panic. Walking him on concrete seems to keep them short and I cut the dew claws when he is asleep. I sneak up and quickly get one before he reacts, and do the other a few nights later.

[suziwong66]

OMD i don't know why i didn't buy a Dremel before this thread While i've been desensitising Wilbur with it, in preparation for doing his nails, i've also been playing with the other heads. I polished the silver teapot and engraved a couple of glass bottles that i use in the laundry.

I think we need a 'what kinds of things do you do with your Dremel' thread

[ann21]

Sigh I tried cutting my dog's nails today and cut one quick . Luckily there wasn't too much bleeding but its too much stress for me really so I've just ordered a dremel off Amazon. Here's hoping for an easier way to keep my dog's nails short!

[The Spotted Devil]

I've been meaning to try a Dremel with my Dally - his nails are THICK and he tolerates trimming because we do a gallop down the hallway to a biscuit afterwards.

My ESS (and my 3 cats) are weird. They all love having their nails done....on their back on my lap. I swear a queue forms when I bring the nail trimmers out - it's just another excuse for one on one attention I suspect!

Everyone has nails done approx every 10 days. The dogs run on grass and Dally nails sit very high and don't wear...the quicks can get long in no time.

[*kirty*]

I do my animals nails fairly regularly - dogs, cats, rabbits and even the guinea pigs lol! Toby, my Std Poodle has really long quicks and they bleed every time I trim them! Even just taking 1-2mm off is enough to make sure them bleed. Very frustrating especially because she is cream!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Here's another video about why.

Canadian Agility team vet via Say Yes, Susan Garrett...

[Lady Flying Furball]

When I first got Tonka I asked my vet about this and as I walk him on a lot of pavement the vet said that that should naturally take care of it. It certainly seems to as I don't trim them and except for the odd groom (once a year) walking seems to do the job.

[DesertDobes]

I trim my dogs nails nearly every day, when I give them a cuddle! I only need to take a mm or so off

[*kirty*]

When I first got Tonka I asked my vet about this and as I walk him on a lot of pavement the vet said that that should naturally take care of it. It certainly seems to as I don't trim them and except for the odd groom (once a year) walking seems to do the job.

This isn't always the case but a lot of people think it is. Some dogs toes naturally sit up more, meaning the nails don't wear down properly.