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Need advice on cutting nails

6K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  krandall 
#1 ·
Anyone have and great ideas on how to relax my puppy to cut his nails?
 
#4 ·
At my salon we tell people to run an electric toothbrush on their toes, especially if you want to use a dremel. But either way just getting them use to having their feet messed with helps. And if you are doing it at home know that one nail ( or a half) is good enough. Best to keep the experience positive:)


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#9 ·
The problem is, unless your dog is walking on pavement A LOT, their nails will get too long if they are only being trimmed every 3-6 weeks. I do my guys nails weekly. Panda and Kodi are both very good about it... Panda sits there with her little foot out in front of her, ready for her manicure, Kodi tolerates it.

Pixel is a little pill about it. Dave has to hold her wrapped in a towel, I extract one foot at a time, trim the nails, and put it back inside the towel until all 4 feet are done. She's not even really afraid, because the minute you let her out of the towel, she turn around, all laggy, waiting for her cookie, little monster!!! :laugh: But she gets done ever week or so too. Long nails are REALLY bad for a dog's tendons.
 
#11 ·
I have never heard of trimming your dogs nails on a weekly basis. I always thought every couple of weeks was sufficient. I personally won't ever trim Django's nails myself. The entire thing makes me nervous. I will have to talk to my vet and see what her opinion is on nails, we are there every 3 weeks for injections so it would be easy for me to have his nails trimmed if necessary. Kudos to everyone who rims their dogs nails!
 
#12 ·
Believe me, I don't enjoy it. But the vein and nerve inside the nail grows so fast that if you're not nipping off little bits pretty often, you get to a point where you can't get them back to a healthy length without quicking the dog and causing pain. In the long run, frequent trimming is easier on everyone.

For a lot of dogs, a dremel is a better choice. My problem, with two in long coats, is that it's so easy for facial hair to get caught in the dremel if the dog leans over to see what you're doing. Sometimes I dremel to smooth rough edges, and dremeling causes the nerve and vein to retract faster than clipping, so it can be useful if the dog's nails are overgrown. But clipping gets the job done faster.

Pretty much all the performance people I know have a set night of the week that is "nail night", and all the dogs get their nails done! :)
 
#15 ·
I use a happy hoodie -you can get them at groomer supply stores or I'm sure Amazon -to keep their hair away from their feet and I like to do it when their hair is wet so I can put back from the toes more easily

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Yes, I always cut nails right after a bath... partly because they are easier to see when the hair is wet, and partly because the nails are softer then, and less likely to splinter as well.

I tried a snood, but it really doesn't work on our dogs with their long facial hair. It's not the ears that get in the way, it's the beard and mustache, and a snood doesn't keep those back. Anything that WOULD keep them back would obscure their vision... which I'm sure they would hate!!! :)
 
#14 ·
I have always done my dogs nails myself too and have yet to quick one. I don't try to trim with one cut though, I shave it down in 3-4. And I angle back the top and sides. My dogs have always been really good about it, but I started very slowly, just touch a nail with the clippers, click and treat. Eventually trim one nail, etc. Hallie got to where she would fall asleep having her nails trimmed, Sophie isn't close to that yet :) but she does hold still, pretty much, until I'm done.

I also aim for once a week but it often goes closer to 2.
 
#16 ·
I also aim for once a week but it often goes closer to 2.
And that's the thing... If you aim for every week and miss a week, it's no big deal. If you PLAN on doing it every 3 weeks or more, and the schedule gets off track, you've got a lot of growth that it's hard to get back out of, because that darned vein and nerve grows right along with the nail. So you can't take much more off after 3 weeks than you could after one or two, and the nails get longer and longer over time.
 
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