another "i-adopted-an-adult-and-haven't-dealt-with-this-before" question: nails

ok. so growing up, we always got our puppies used to grooming from day one. rolling them over and playing with their paws, ears, tails was a normal random occurance before nail clipping, ear cleaning, etc was even started.

now i've got an adult who is obviously not used to having her nails messed with [or much other grooming]. they are definately overgrown, a couple are curved to the point of beyond a half-circle. doubt the previous owners did much with them. the groomer trimmed them slightly, but as they are black, it has to be done so gradually/regularly to train back the quick. i've never had to deal with a dog with overgrown nails, as we always kept on top of grooming before. yet again, inheriting someone else's lack of experience is a an area where i lack experience!

i checked out the book i have on adopting a dog, and the author suggests taking the dog to the vet if the nails are unusually long. unfortunately, he does not specify what is "unusually long" enough to take to the vet. frankly, anything beyond neatly kept nails is unusually long to me! the groomer didn't mention anything, but that doesn't always mean anything...

question: what does a vet do that is different than me gradually snipping these nails down over the next while?

question #2: how long in between clipping do i need to wait to let the quick retreat further back into the nail?

i haven't started clipping yet. she just was groomed a week ago. i have been spending time getting her used to me playing with her paws [using treats, praise, etc] and she is now pretty fine with me touching them. but, will growl a bit if i put the clippers up to her nails on her back feet.

As someone who basely used her vet as a nail-clipping substitute for years, I can answer #1: the vet takes the canine abuse (utter hysteria on my dog's part), calls in reinforcements (vet techs) if neccessary, and has the emotional detachment neccessary to endure the possibility of making your dog bleed. They also have vats of that stuff that stops the bleeding and, in my experience at least, the expertise that they never have to use it.

If there's enough excess nail to affect her movement, I'd ask the vet to do them this once, to make her more comfortable without establishing you as the villain who brought those nail clippers near her toes.

do the vets actually cut the nail right down well past the quick and just cauterize them, or what?

You can have the nails bled back. Is that what the book is referring to?

doesn't specify. just says that if they are "too overgrown" to take them to the vet. so, i am wondering what a vet would do that is different.

what is being bled back?

It probably depends on where the quick is. If it would be touching the ground, I'm sure there is some way to cut it back. Some might use a dremmel also, our cocker has "big dog" nails that an ordinary clipper can not cut easily, so he does them. It would be necessary with my puppy, since he has thinner nails, and I just keep them short enough to not click on the ground.

The best part of course, is that you are not being the foot torturer

Usually frequent cutting of the nail will gradually push back the quick. However, with some older dogs who for most of their lives have had long nails, long nails are just a fact of life.

Where I work we have extra people and KwikStop for any bleeding; I think that's typical of most grooming shops. And we're used to hysteria. It happens on a daily basis.

A vet does clip the nails past the quick and cauterize them. I'm not sure if the dog is sedated or not but there's a lot of bleeding and obviously they can't anesthetize the nail itself. Give your vet a quick ring, they'll be less horribly vague.

If your dog's quick isn't receding and the nails are so long his toes are being pushed in different directions when he stands, the vet's is probably the answer. For now I suggest to keep trying the groomer.

thanks dusty. i will just call up the vet. i'm concerned about the length causing foot problems.. the groomer here barely snipped off her nail tips [and i mean barely] and i would have to have her in weekly just to stay ahead of new nail growth. maybe it's just this particular groomer. plus all the groomers in town are super booked because of shedding season.

thanks for the tips and info!!

As a groomer, I would advise you that if the nails are cut back too far and bleed.......and I mean well past the quick the feet will swell. Nails that are black are hard to see where the quick is as long as the nail is not too curved and sitting on the floor it will not harm the dog. But Dogs that are walked properley and I mean on concrete never have to have their nails cut only their dew claws, so if you are not sure walk your dog on a hard surface and this will file the nails down naturally. I only ever take the tips off black nails as this does hurt the dog when it bleeds