Clipping Nails

[Julie D]

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This is so fascinating, I can't believe I'm reading about dog nail clipping (w00t) ,

luckily Ella's are white and in good light you can see the quick, I just wait 'til she's asleep and do them then. I guess if they get too long they would make the toes curl up and be quite painful, did you ever see the programme about the donkeys with the distorted long hooves, it was awful

next we need a topic on teething and ear shapes (or have we had one already ?)

Edited to say, Janis you are the 'Queen of K9' I'm amazed the way you produce a picture in a second to demonstrate, I'm still bottom of the class in posting pics !

 

[~Helen~]

Wah! I've done it. Went to the grooming palace today and had a big chat with the girl who works there. Bought a pair of clippers. Came home and armed myself with treats. And now Josie has neat nails (w00t)

I've also done Lola's front ones, but she was a bit more squirmy so I'm going to do the back ones when I have a pair of friendly hands to drip-feed her tasty treats later on today :thumbsup:

An interesting note which the grooming person told me, is that she recommends clipping puppy nails every two weeks - this apparently encourages the quick to recede. If you leave them, or never cut them, then the quick grows quite long (and can go all the way to the end of the nail) and eventually the nail curves round in a deformed way, and you never get them trimmed back because the quick is too long :blink: edited to say that reading back over this thread I've noticed people have mentioned getting the quick to recede already :b

also - I bought clippers with a guard which prevents you from taking off too much if the dog jerks suddenly at the crucial moment :thumbsup: They were £4 I think.

 

[Paula Roberts]

We always do the puppies from two weeks so that they get used to there feet being handled its amaking how tiny puppies can have such sharp nails.

 

[kim & Tilly]

Right thats it im off to get clippers and have a go........better have lots of toilet roll as well just in case :- "

 

[Janimal]

Wah! I've done it. Went to the grooming palace today and had a big chat with the girl who works there. Bought a pair of clippers. Came home and armed myself with treats. And now Josie has neat nails (w00t) I've also done Lola's front ones, but she was a bit more squirmy so I'm going to do the back ones when I have a pair of friendly hands to drip-feed her tasty treats later on today :thumbsup:

An interesting note which the grooming person told me, is that she recommends clipping puppy nails every two weeks - this apparently encourages the quick to recede. If you leave them, or never cut them, then the quick grows quite long (and can go all the way to the end of the nail) and eventually the nail curves round in a deformed way, and you never get them trimmed back because the quick is too long :blink: edited to say that reading back over this thread I've noticed people have mentioned getting the quick to recede already :b

also - I bought clippers with a guard which prevents you from taking off too much if the dog jerks suddenly at the crucial moment :thumbsup: They were £4 I think.

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Well done Helen - Happy Clipping :thumbsup:

 

[wild whippies]

Ok was a bit late with this but here we go.

Here's my 'Dremmel' bought from B&Q for £30 it came with the extension lead and stand you see here along with a load of drill bits and plenty of sanding discs

Close up image of sanding disc drill bit

One of my dogs nails here, as you can see the tips are just starting to make full contact with the floor as he's stood still.

Here I've cleaned up his nails with a 10% peroxide solution and an old toothbrush. I find it gives better visibility of the nail and the vein but also highlights any cracks in the nails and cleanses the dogs cuticles which may have sand / debris ingrained in them.

When I first started doing my dogs nails I would just switch the dremmel on in it's stand and encourage them to come near and reward with treats. (Don't have any drill bits in incase they want to sniff it!) I would then just try to literally brush it over their nails and then go over the top with praise for them being good. This I did over days rather than minutes so it become a routine to them.

Next model is Riley who is quite a timid dog when it comes to being poked and prodded. I get all dogs that are new to this to stand between my legs because if your on your own doing this, they could bolt off and run into the cables etc. If you've got an extra hand though you may prefer to have one person hold while the other files.

For back nails on all my dogs I always stand them supported between my legs because they seem more assured if their body is suppported whilst a back leg is raised.

Finally a close up, hold the dremmel with a thumb extended, as it guides your movement. Extend the nail and support the toe as you file, this puts vibration down to a minimum and keeps your movement smooth and the nail still. DO NOT file for more than a few seconds as the doberdog link says, these things can heat up quick and it will put your dog off permanently!

Hope this was useful

Jac

 

[wild whippies]

Oh yeah if you've got long hair, tie it back! :- "

 

[~Helen~]

Fantastic, Jac! It all looks so professional :thumbsup: and those pictures of clean nails are brilliant. Thank you for the demo and big hugs to model Riley :wub:

OH has a Dremmel but he looked a bit oddly at me when I suggested we use it on the dogs :lol: He already thinks I feed them better food than I feed him :b I call it Dog Envy :lol:

... and what wouldn't I give for fabulously toned arms like that :- " :lol:

 

[Janimal]

Brilliant pictures Jac - I must show the OH these, and very informative. (w00t) Hes wanting a dremmel for other reasons :- " but Im sure I could get him to try the dogs nails too. :lol:

 

[chelynnah]

That's a GREAT tutorial Jac - and don't forget the one at http://www.doberdawn.com

Also a hint for buying clippers - scissor type ones are less stressful on the dogs than the guillotine ones. Scissor ones work with a blade on either side (like scissors) where the guillotine one (pictures earlier in the thread) has only one blade and puts a lot of pressure on the nail before it actually cuts.

Wendy

 

[Janimal]

Thanks for that too Wendy - I didnt know which ones to go for when I bought them and have seen several other BETTER looking ones too - so I might invest in another scissor action type next. :thumbsup:

 

[~Helen~]

That's a GREAT tutorial Jac - and don't forget the one at http://www.doberdawn.com
Also a hint for buying clippers - scissor type ones are less stressful on the dogs than the guillotine ones.  Scissor ones work with a blade on either side (like scissors) where the guillotine one (pictures earlier in the thread) has only one blade and puts a lot of pressure on the nail before it actually cuts. 

Wendy

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Yes, I must say that I didn't like the feel of them. The grooming place where I bought mine were really helpful, nothing was too much trouble, they got lots of pairs out of packs for me to fiddle with. The guillotine ones might suit some people but to me they looked and felt a bit tricky, and I didn't feel I'd have a good visual on the nail

There were two scissor types - normal scissors and a pair like secateurs with a spring in them. I got the spring ones simply because they felt pleasant and comfortable to use.

 

[kim & Tilly]

That's a GREAT tutorial Jac - and don't forget the one at http://www.doberdawn.com
Also a hint for buying clippers - scissor type ones are less stressful on the dogs than the guillotine ones.  Scissor ones work with a blade on either side (like scissors) where the guillotine one (pictures earlier in the thread) has only one blade and puts a lot of pressure on the nail before it actually cuts. 

Wendy

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Ahh, i bought the guillotine ones cause i thought they would be better but i did cut her nails and she was so good....and there was no blood :- "

 

[Janimal]

My dog clippers

heres a link to some different types on offer.

 

[chelynnah]

Here's the kind that I use (I tried all the different ones) when I need to trim a bit off before dremelling if I've let them go too long (and what I used before I started dremelling)

Wendy

 

[fallenangel]

just been in nettos and they have a rotter simmaler to jacs with stand and exstenion bit for £12.99 got it home and its brill much quicker than my rechargabel dremmel and its very quiet so the dogs dont mined it

 

[~Helen~]

I'd say they're probably a bit long.  It's easier to tell though if you can get a pic of him standing on the floor - the nails should clear the floor.
You can work the quick back by filing (or dremelling) up really close to it and doing it every few days.  The quick will start to recede into the nail, so that even if you have managed to let them grow too long so the quick is now too long, you CAN remedy it.

As for the superglue thing - liquid skin (used by Dr's and vets) is pretty much exactly the same thing as superglue.  I wouldn't go using it on other types of wounds though as sometimes you need a wound to stay open (like punctures), but for quicking nails, it's a godsend.  Anything else I ever used over the years would stop it for a little while, but it would alwyas start again.  With the Superglue it stops and stays stopped.  Like I said though - be careful with how much you use and just dab a bit on with a cotton bud.

Wendy

edited to say - that sounds bad - like I quick them often.  When using the clippers I'd sometimes catch a tiny spot (and even those can bleed forever).  Sometimes no matter how hard you try you just can't help it.  When we had dachshunds my parents only ever once tried to trim themselves (black nails) and it was HOURS before the bleeding on the nail they quicked (badly) got under control.  In the meantime it looked like someone had been murdered in our house!!

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:- " just re-reading this to remind myself what to do with the superglue :- "

My oh my, do quicked nails bleed... :unsure:

 

[flossy]

wow soooooooooo glad i read this; havent been cutting the pups nails as seem to be wearing away nicely on the paving..... but that post about not cutting puppies nails and how the quick grows longer, jeepers, am on clipping duty tomorrow!

 

[midlanderkeith]

Ok was a bit late with this but here we go.
Here's my 'Dremmel' bought from B&Q for £30 it came with the extension lead and stand you see here along with a load of drill bits and plenty of sanding discs

Close up image of sanding disc drill bit

One of my dogs nails here, as you can see the tips are just starting to make full contact with the floor as he's stood still.

Here I've cleaned up his nails with a 10% peroxide solution and an old toothbrush. I find it gives better visibility of the nail and the vein but also highlights any cracks in the nails and cleanses the dogs cuticles which may have sand / debris ingrained in them.

When I first started doing my dogs nails I would just switch the dremmel on in it's stand and encourage them to come near and reward with treats. (Don't have any drill bits in incase they want to sniff it!) I would then just try to literally brush it over their nails and then go over the top with praise for them being good. This I did over days rather than minutes so it become a routine to them.

Next model is Riley who is quite a timid dog when it comes to being poked and prodded. I get all dogs that are new to this to stand between my legs because if your on your own doing this, they could bolt off and run into the cables etc. If you've got an extra hand though you may prefer to have one person hold while the other files.

For back nails on all my dogs I always stand them supported between my legs because they seem more assured if their body is suppported whilst a back leg is raised.

Finally a close up, hold the dremmel with a thumb extended, as it guides your movement. Extend the nail and support the toe as you file, this puts vibration down to a minimum and keeps your movement smooth and the nail still. DO NOT file for more than a few seconds as the doberdog link says, these things can heat up quick and it will put your dog off permanently!

Hope this was useful

Jac

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Very useful thanks, ive a good mind to get one

keith

 

[dessie]

Ok was a bit late with this but here we go.
Here's my 'Dremmel' bought from B&Q for £30 it came with the extension lead and stand you see here along with a load of drill bits and plenty of sanding discs

Close up image of sanding disc drill bit

One of my dogs nails here, as you can see the tips are just starting to make full contact with the floor as he's stood still.

Here I've cleaned up his nails with a 10% peroxide solution and an old toothbrush. I find it gives better visibility of the nail and the vein but also highlights any cracks in the nails and cleanses the dogs cuticles which may have sand / debris ingrained in them.

When I first started doing my dogs nails I would just switch the dremmel on in it's stand and encourage them to come near and reward with treats. (Don't have any drill bits in incase they want to sniff it!) I would then just try to literally brush it over their nails and then go over the top with praise for them being good. This I did over days rather than minutes so it become a routine to them.

Next model is Riley who is quite a timid dog when it comes to being poked and prodded. I get all dogs that are new to this to stand between my legs because if your on your own doing this, they could bolt off and run into the cables etc. If you've got an extra hand though you may prefer to have one person hold while the other files.

For back nails on all my dogs I always stand them supported between my legs because they seem more assured if their body is suppported whilst a back leg is raised.

Finally a close up, hold the dremmel with a thumb extended, as it guides your movement. Extend the nail and support the toe as you file, this puts vibration down to a minimum and keeps your movement smooth and the nail still. DO NOT file for more than a few seconds as the doberdog link says, these things can heat up quick and it will put your dog off permanently!

Hope this was useful

Jac

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Very useful thanks, ive a good mind to get one

keith

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I have one of these and can thoroughly recommend it. I can even do silly old black dog's nails with it and he hardly murmurs whereas if you cut his nails with clippers he shrieks the place down!!!