# Ok can we talk trimming nails and why it shouldn't be this difficult



## Yorkie967 (Mar 13, 2012)

I just can't believe why this is something I still cannot do properly. I've taught myself to groom both my dogs over the years and have
become quite proficient in this area..ears, face, everything and give a great bath too but the doggone nail trim is just a bugger. 

Tonight after giving my yorkie a nice bath, his nails are long as hell because they haven't been cut for prob 10 mos so I was like what the
heck it's so long it should be easy without hitting the quick and sure enough I hit the quick and blood start coming. Weird thing was that he didn't yip
or flinch which was goos but so I have no idea. And it's hard because his nails are black so you can't see the quick. Even if I use that pedi-trim machine grinder
it will still at some point hit the quick so I don't know what else to do and I don't want to have to resort to a groomer for such a simple thing. 

You guys have any brilliant tips and how to master this simple process?:mmph:


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Because you waited so long, this resulted in the quicks being so long as well. This is a common problem with our clients. Trim a little bit every week and the quick will start to recede back.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We use a grinder and on long nails I just trim a tiny bit every 5 days til finally the nails are where I like them. everyone here gets nails done once a week. When I petsit - with the exception of Abi's pups I spend a lot of time grinding nails back a tiny bit at a time because the clicking on the pergo makes me nutsy.  Just go slow. You could even just grind a tidibit every three days - this is good for the dog to get used to it and the heat from the grinder helps the quick to pull back.


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## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

It sounds like the quicks have grown out really far. The longer you go between trimmings, the more the quick has a chance to grow longer. I would recommend just clipping the tips off once a week to get the quick to recede back to where it is supposed to be. With black nails, you can trim them little by little until you start to see a dark dot in the middle of the nail. That is where you stop. If you cut past the dot, you will cut into the quick! Also, with a lot of black nails, you will see a part towards the end that looks "dry" or "dead." That's the part the quick has not extended out to.

Here is a diagram I found...

http://www.askthedogguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ViewOfQuickForNailClipping.png


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Here is a video on grinding the nails right DoberDawn.com


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Liz said:


> Here is a video on grinding the nails right DoberDawn.com


Are you kidding me? A dog that just lays down to have his nails done, I don't think so! It's WWIII here whenever I bring out the nippers or dremel, in fact Leo is going in tomorrow for light sedation for his nails blood work and rabies shot..He hates the vet and the fact that he has ripped his dew claw twice doesn't make it easy handling his feet at all........Wish him and them luck! LOL


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

I have the vet do it. Tanis has a VERY sensitive back foot. He nervously puts up with all of the other paws being done but when you go for that back one he yelps like I'm trying to cut his dong off. He does it to the vet tech too but this guy knows Tanis well and can get it done in 5 minutes.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

You oldest dog Mikey went from having to be muzzled and held down to me being able to trim them by myself!

He just lays down, snaps and growls a bit but we get it done! 

Gunner just lays there too.

Mikey has really hard black nails so I trim them every week. Just clip the tip! Don't get all crazy and hack it on half. A little bit goes a long way if you are patient enough to trim them at least once a week.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

Shoot, on a raw diet, once a week doesn't seem to be enough for my guys. I guess the small amount of asphalt we walk on isn't enough to help keep them ground down. I'm having to go to every 5 days to get their nails the proper length


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

A week is easier to keep track of IMO. I don't the see difference in 5 or 7 days LOL.

We usually do them Sunday evening but I did them yesterday so they will get them done Sunday again hopefully.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Sprocket said:


> You oldest dog Mikey went from having to be muzzled and held down to me being able to trim them by myself!
> 
> He just lays down, snaps and growls a bit but we get it done!
> 
> ...


Dare ya to come do my boy Leo!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> Dare ya to come do my boy Leo!


HECK NO.

Mikey had to be muzzled, and We both held him down while he screamed and hollered.

Probably should have taken him to the vet but he is completely different now. It's quite shocking.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Ok... I have now officially been reminded that we need to do Da Boyz nails this week!

Also, many thanks for the info about "seeing the black dot" in the nails when grinding them = the quick. And the Diagram... excellent!

You get so much great info on this forum.:biggrin1:


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## Yorkie967 (Mar 13, 2012)

Great tips I appreciate them all. I was really surprised though my benny didn't cry when did hit the quick and blood start oozing out so I was so relieved for that. Normally he's a big baby and yips for the smallest things.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I have a question - I got the clippers and i'm going to do rebel's nails once a week to get them shorter - two of his front nails are so long they are more like claws. 

I can't see the quick at all, and his nails are really heavy and hard to cut. So I just did a tiny bit - BUT I noticed they are cut on a diagonal rather than straight up and down.

Should I keep doing them like that or can I cut them not on the diagonal? For one thing, it's easier straight up and down and I'm not so afraid I will go into the quick.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Yes, it's fine. Most places do them diagonally so they are less sharp. I do them that way also. Just take a small amount of each nail every few days! That's all I do instead of an all out nail cut every two weeks or whatever.

All my dogs dislike getting their nails cut but only Tess will fuss. She was scared of it from day one but with positive reinforcement I got her down to whining.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Caty M said:


> Yes, it's fine. Most places do them diagonally so they are less sharp. I do them that way also. Just take a small amount of each nail every few days! That's all I do instead of an all out nail cut every two weeks or whatever.
> 
> All my dogs dislike getting their nails cut but only Tess will fuss. She was scared of it from day one but with positive reinforcement I got her down to whining.


I am lucky in that Rebel will sit still. It took me about half an hour and that was with him not moving. I was scared to cut. Maybe I'll be a little faster next time. 

I can't imagine if he didn't like it! I'm not a good enough nail cutter to fight him AND the nails.

But I think I am going to cut them squared off and not on the diagonal, at least until I get a little better at it. Thanks.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I am lucky in that I never have to clip my black labs nails. She keeps them worn down on her own. I started out with her when she was just a puppy, but that was hell. So if they don't grow I am not going to fight with her on clipping them. 
Patches does need hers clipped and I do it every time I notice them getting to long. I never let the quick grow which is what happen when you let the nail get to long. Then it is really a problem to get the quick back to its place when it is already a fight to cut her nails. 
Hope you can have better luck in getting them clipped or just take him to the groomers once a month or twice a month and let them know you would like the nail to be clipped to the quick every time so it shrinks back.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I definitely have the quick too long. I can't FIND the quick, but it has to be way too long.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Two of my dogs have dew claws (and Bishop has an extra dew claw on one foot) so they don't wear down at all..


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

These are Rebel's nails AFTER I trimmed them. In Indy I only got them cut twice a year but we were walking every day on asphalt - out here he's only on dirt or grass. I wonder if they were wearing down then, and they are not now. I just know they are terribly long.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

My Scotty was a complete nutcase when it came to trimming his nails. The first time, he was a wild struggling dervish. After only one paw, he was panting, flushed and hot to the touch. Gave up 'til we got clippers, figured it was the "feel" of the dremmel that freaked him. Nope, same melt down. Luckily, I found a treat that completely holds his attetion. Put it down where he can see it and just about reach it (I trim with him "pinned" between a chair arm and my body), and he's so focused that he doesn't care anymore (at least as long as he can have a nibble after every paw). It took a while to find this "miracle" treat 'cause he wouldn't take most treats before it.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Yeah, those nails are VERY long. Why not bring him into a groomer or a vet's to get them done, and then just maintain them?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Caty M said:


> Yeah, those nails are VERY long. Why not bring him into a groomer or a vet's to get them done, and then just maintain them?


Because in the three years I've had him they've never cut them cut them very short. I mean, they haven't been THIS long but always when I take him I expect them to be alot shorter and sometimes I get home and can't even tell they've been cut. 

I don't think they can see the quick either. So I understand if I cut a little off once a week I can get them down. I think if I can get him out into the yard (it was raining today) I might be able to find the quick and I can cut off more.

i took Snorkels in this morning and they told me her nails looked good and didn't need trimming - to me, that's silly. I had them trimmed two weeks ago and they are 3/4" long and clacking all over the floor. So I'm doing hers by myself also.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

xellil said:


> Because in the three years I've had him they've never cut them cut them very short. I mean, they haven't been THIS long but always when I take him I expect them to be alot shorter and sometimes I get home and can't even tell they've been cut.
> 
> I don't think they can see the quick either. So I understand if I cut a little off once a week I can get them down. I think if I can get him out into the yard (it was raining today) I might be able to find the quick and I can cut off more.
> 
> i took Snorkels in this morning and they told me her nails looked good and didn't need trimming - to me, that's silly. I had them trimmed two weeks ago and they are 3/4" long and clacking all over the floor. So I'm doing hers by myself also.


They don't want to quick him...The best way to do it, is what I've done with Leo yesterday...Let the vet, not the techs do it and if they quick him they cauterize it immediately. Although, Leo had to be lightly sedated because of his low tolerance for feet work and vets but they look much better than when I took him in.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> They don't want to quick him...The best way to do it, is what I've done with Leo yesterday...Let the vet, not the techs do it and if they quick him they cauterize it immediately. Although, Leo had to be lightly sedated because of his low tolerance for feet work and vets but they look much better than when I took him in.


So you think I should take him in and tell them to cut half the length of his nails off and just cauterize it?


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I have NEVER had to cut Hunter's nails (except the odd one that grows the wrong way). He naturally wears them down running and sliding to catch his ball. 

Sarge freaks out on me and I have to hold him down with my leg on his back and be quick. I know it sounds torturous but he doesn't get over heated or drool or anything to suggest he is panicking,. If I don't do it that way, he kicks the crap out of me. 

Dozer is the hardest one to do. He came to me with a phobia of cutting his nails. He will punch me in the face and swing his giant head back and forth with his mouth open and has grabbed my arm a time or two (no biting, no pressure even, more like a "see what I can do if you mess with me"). There are two ways to cut his nails. One way is I wait for him to fall alseep and cut one (two if I am lucky) before he wakes up. The other way is to have Gary half lean on him and rub his mouth. His mouth is his achilles heel and it sort of distracts him. I say sort of because sometimes it doesn't work. LOL
I HAVE taken him to the groomer. It was A nightmare. He is too big to go on a table so they attached him to the wall. There was only one groomer there and she had me hold him down (which is a joke, I was riding a bucking bronco!) while she cut his nails. He pulled the attachment holding him right out of the wall and broke it. I can't take him back there now 

He has a date with a vet at the end of the month. I am anxious to see how they fare. LOL


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

xellil said:


> So you think I should take him in and tell them to cut half the length of his nails off and just cauterize it?


No, but if they do go too short then he is in the right place for that to happen....I do however know of some show people who have had the vet cut them extremely short and cauterize them. Hopefully not all vets will do this though, because I think it is an ugly practice...


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> No, but if they do go too short then he is in the right place for that to happen....I do however know of some show people who have had the vet cut them extremely short and cauterize them. Hopefully not all vets will do this though, because I think it is an ugly practice...


I think i'll try my method for a couple of months and see what happens. I did hear about it here so it should work! They are hard as rocks, too, it takes two hands to cut the things.


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## lab mom (May 6, 2012)

Hi all - the doberdawn.com does an excellent job of explaining how to trim nails and the use of a dremel grinder. I know too many people that found pedi paws to be ineffective-unless you have toy dogs and get the pedipaws for large dogs. I have a dremel 7300 rechargeable and it works great! (Under $20. at wallyworld and about $50 for the same dremel in blue at well known pet stores) But if you have a grooming business or have several large dogs and you want to do everyone's nails at once do not go with a rechargeable. I also have to battle black nails and I never want to go back to a standard guillotine nail clipper! :rip:


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

Anyone have tips for getting my dog happy with a dremel/pedi paws? He lets me clip his nails with regular clippers, although he's not THRILLED about it, but he does tolerate it. does NOT like the pedi paws thing. I was trying to use the clicker and treats to get him used to it, but I didn't have enough hands to hold the pedi paws thing, his foot, and the clicker! Should I just let him eat treats freely while I do it? haha. It's not the end of the world I guess to ue the clippers, but I think I'd prefer to use the pedi paws thing/get a Dremel eventually.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i wonder if you could give him something like a Kong so you could go hands-free.

Are dogs sensitive on their feet because they weren't used to it as puppies? Or something else? Just curious why some dogs hate it so much.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I'm not sure there is a "reason" for some dog's feet sensitivity. I've had dogs who hadn't had the nails done the majority of their lives and not had a problem when I started doing them (one special pup had a dewclaw nail growing into her foot, didn't growl, snap or even struggled much). I started working with Scotty from puppyhood and he's just now barely tolerating his nails being done. And, to my knowledge, he has never been "quicked".


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