General Question

Darwin's avatar

One of my dogs has long fur that has hidden the fact that her nails have grown too long. My question is...

Asked by Darwin (21867points) September 30th, 2008

…what have you found to be the best way to trim your dog’s really long nails?

Bourbon is a smart dog in that she learns very quickly when you are about to do something physical that she doesn’t like, and she also has a tendency to snap at folks trying to groom her, bathe her or examine her.

What are the best tools to use? What other supplies should I have at the ready? What are the best ways to restrain a 60-pound dog? What methods have you found that help your dog stay calm and accept the procedure? Are there any particular pointers about how to get the nails short again without causing copious bleeding from the quick?

We are talking seriously long nails here.

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9 Answers

robmandu's avatar

PediPaws

You’ll want to be careful not to cut down into the quick. When they get crazy long, that’s a significant concern. So it’s probably gonna take you a bit of assiduous care over time to get the nails back to a desirable length.

syz's avatar

Schedule a tech appointment at your vet and have them instruct you how how to trim toenails properly. It’s much easier to learn by doing than by reading.

If the nails are that seriously overgrown, you’re going to want to have them deal with it this time around. Once you learn how to do it yourself, you can stay on top of the situation so that it doesn’t happen again.

deaddolly's avatar

I’ve always wanted to try pedi-paws, www.getpedipaws.com
It sounds like hype, but the concept sounds good.

Otherwise, I’d take her to the vet an let them handle her. Vet techs have experience doing just that.

marinelife's avatar

A lot of breeders and rescue groups just use the Dremel tool.

When this has happened to me I did not cut them back all at once, but frequently (a week in between) a little at the time.

chyna's avatar

@deaddolly I have never tried pedipaws myself, but my sister-in-law has and swears by it. She keeps the dogs nails smooth as they have a brand new house with beautiful wood floors and doesnt want them scratched. So far, so good.

deaddolly's avatar

@chyna Thank you. I’m going to get one.

Snoopy's avatar

The PediPaws item looks essentially like a Dremel. A dremel has many applications and there are literally hundreds of bits for everything from woodworking, crafts, sanding, etc.

They have sanding bits that look identical to that in the picture of the end of the PediPaws. Might be worth a look. Available at any big box hardware store.

maybe_KB's avatar

I would definitely say ‘pet vet’.
They’ll show you.
For 1st timers, this will be a great learning experience.
You’ll get to see how the vet positions her while trimming.
PediPaws appears to be a great tool to purchase
a) Pay the 8 bucks see the vet @ it’s finest and take it from there.
b) Go w/ the best claw trimming utensil you can afford & easily handle.

note: Ask the vet if you can trim a couple in front of them to verify that you’re doing it right.

You & Bouron will get this down in no time:)

greylady's avatar

While you are at the vet, or before hand, you can get some “Kwick-Stop”, which is a yellowish styptic powder to have on hand for “just in case” you nick something when you do the nails yourself. I have found it is seldom necessary if you use a dremel. But you still may need a helper to do it at home. (As you know, my experience is with Shar-Pei, and they didn’t fight or wriggle much, even though they are about 50–60 lbs.) I just backed them in a corner, sat on the floor, and wrapped one arm around the dog, using that hand to also hold the foot. The vet can give you ideas for restraint until your dog gets used to it. Write it on the calendar to check every month, or 2 months, until you get a routine for each dog.

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