Black pigmented nails ,the ones where we cant quite see the quick ? How do we keep these trimmed ?
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How Do You Cut ?
- Thread starter Dar Khan
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With great difficulty! 
Mine have a mix of nail colours and I hate doing the black ones in case I cut the quick.
Mine have a mix of nail colours and I hate doing the black ones in case I cut the quick.
I hate black nails, too. I tend to just cut very tiny tips off regularly rather than taking too much off in one go (or I cheat and get my vet-nurse friend to do them :lol: )
Shining a torch through the nail sometimes shows up the quick so you can see how far back it is before you start. If you cut a tiny bit at a time you can see the texture inside the nail change before you actually hit the quick, but that relies on having a nice, calm, co-operative dog who will let you fiddle around without making too much fuss and wriggling (not the case with my two who have black nails).
Shining a torch through the nail sometimes shows up the quick so you can see how far back it is before you start. If you cut a tiny bit at a time you can see the texture inside the nail change before you actually hit the quick, but that relies on having a nice, calm, co-operative dog who will let you fiddle around without making too much fuss and wriggling (not the case with my two who have black nails).
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I hate having to do them and the dark ones are a pain as previously said before you cant see the quick , i have started to file them every day just as much as the dogs will tollerate to keep them down , same issue with the dew claws
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either compare foot to foot for nail wear and guess how much - removing too little is better than too much
or if you look closely at the underside of the nails then you will see the bit that sticks out or overhangs - this might be easier (tho longwinded) - put your right hand out palm up, put your left hand on top palms inwards so that your left fingertips are covering your right palm up to the bottom of your right fingers - now turn both hands over together and pretend they are the claw, your right hand is the outer nail and your left hand is the soft tissue containing the quick inside the nail, your wrist is where the nail goes under the hair. you can cut UPTO the fingertips of your left hand, if you cut into the soft tissue a couple mm you probably won't hurt the quick but if the dog digs or goes over rough ground then he won't have any nail to protect the soft tissue and it'll be sensitive to him, you'll need good sharp strong cutters or you will squeeze the nail when you start to cut, i do long nails so the cut goes sideways and tidy with small flat edge wire cutters to remove any bits that might catch and rip off and i do short nail tips so cut goes from top to bottom. it is easy when youve got some confidence and if you do them every week then you can see where to cut
sorry it was so long
are you going to eggesford on sunday
or if you look closely at the underside of the nails then you will see the bit that sticks out or overhangs - this might be easier (tho longwinded) - put your right hand out palm up, put your left hand on top palms inwards so that your left fingertips are covering your right palm up to the bottom of your right fingers - now turn both hands over together and pretend they are the claw, your right hand is the outer nail and your left hand is the soft tissue containing the quick inside the nail, your wrist is where the nail goes under the hair. you can cut UPTO the fingertips of your left hand, if you cut into the soft tissue a couple mm you probably won't hurt the quick but if the dog digs or goes over rough ground then he won't have any nail to protect the soft tissue and it'll be sensitive to him, you'll need good sharp strong cutters or you will squeeze the nail when you start to cut, i do long nails so the cut goes sideways and tidy with small flat edge wire cutters to remove any bits that might catch and rip off and i do short nail tips so cut goes from top to bottom. it is easy when youve got some confidence and if you do them every week then you can see where to cut
sorry it was so long
are you going to eggesford on sunday
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THE ARK PET SHOP SUPPLIES SOME VERY GOOD NAIL CLIPPERS THEY HAVE AN INFA RED LIGHT ON THEM AND CAN DETECT WHERE THE QUICK IS ON DARK NAILS.SO THEN IT SHOWS YOU WHERE TO CUT.AROUND ABOUT £40 THOUGH 
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If you have someone to help you ,shine a torch underneath the nail and this will show up the quick quite easily
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I must be odd ... I find white nails harder to trim than black. Because I can see the quick I tend to be overconfident and end up cutting too close ... I've drawn poor Finn's blood a few times now, although in my defence he has got very long quicks. But black nails ... easy peasy, been cutting the dachsies for years and not drawn blood once.
I do think though that you get to know your dog's feet ... that after a while cutting nails is less about what you see and more about instinctively knowing how long they should be.
Annie
I do think though that you get to know your dog's feet ... that after a while cutting nails is less about what you see and more about instinctively knowing how long they should be.
Annie
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I gave in today and took Molly to the groomers to have hers clipped, took 5 mins totally worth the £8 cos she hates having hers done!
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saw the pics of the sloughi at cornwood, good luck on sundayThanks all for the help . Am going to get a good pair of nail clippers today
I never knew you could buy such a thing!!! They sound great. Megan has a mixture of Black nails as well and I always worry about cutting them :- I will go and google Ark and see if they have a website
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Raffertys nails grow really quickly so I need to cut them every couple of weeks. He's really good about having them done but some are black so I'm always a bit wary about cutting too far. Not made him bleed yet so must be doing it ok :b
I usually cut so much off & then finish them all off with the Dremel. It takes an extra bit off the nail and also smooths off the rough edges
I usually cut so much off & then finish them all off with the Dremel. It takes an extra bit off the nail and also smooths off the rough edges
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