What to do about long nails?

[Buddy'sParents]

Buddy's tip taps are long (call them tip taps because well, they tip tap). I took him in to have the vet tech look at them and they said the quicks were too close, so they said I should run him on some concrete and they would naturally recede. Well, more than half of our yard is concrete and we hike in a gravel path... and they aren't receding. This has been for quite awhile. What can I do? They are literally so close that even a minor clipping will cause him to bleed.

 

[wcladymacbeth]

I dunno... does it bother you? does it bother him? If no to both then why not leave them?

 

[lizzybeth727]

I am a firm believer in the dremmel!

You can file down all around the quick, which I think makes the quick receed faster. I believe sizzle has a great article on her website about dremmeling.

 

[bubbatd]

Ollie's nails were long when I got him . He'd been trimmed as much as possible . It was so much easier when I had pups !

 

[GoingNowhere]

I've just recently started using a dremel with Boo and she's taking to it wonderfully. I had already gotten her very accustomed to handling her feet and adding the dremel was surprisingly not that big of a deal. I used to clip her nails, but it scared me each time. I was worried about quicking her, because as you can probably guess, her nails are completely black. Also, she would sometimes jerk her paw away when I took too long getting the clipper in the right spot. Then I moved on to hand filing her nails... It worked... if only I had three weeks to get one paw done!

So a few days ago I got out a dremel. Honestly, I set it in front of her, and fed her a few treats. I turned it on and fed her some more. I picked up her paw and fed her. I set the dremel on her paw and fed her. Then I just went ahead and started to dremel. We're still at the point of giving her a treat for every few seconds of dremeling, but eventually I hope to be able to get her to sit for each paw before a treat. Her nails are still WAY too long, but getting shorter daily.

This website is good.
How to Dremel Dog Nails @ DoberDawn.com

They mention that it's best to dremel nails perpendicular to the floor because you can get closer to the quick without quicking the dog.

In my opinion, it's worth a shot, definitely! I would have never guessed that my paranoid dog would sit happily the first time I got the dremel out. Also, if you don't want to do it, some vets will dremel instead of clip if you ask. Of course, it costs way too much to keep up as often as you'd need to get the quick to recede.

 

[grab01]

we use the dremel here too

 

[tessa_s212]

I simply trim a very little bit off once a week. You can also dremel a little bit off once a week. It takes awhile, but the quicks will recede. My brother let his dogs get so horrible the nails were beginnint to curl underneath the toe pad. When I saw this, I was outraged, and visited my mom's twice a week to trim nails.. little by little. They are still long, but at least now they aren't causing the dogs discomfort.

I DON'T advise running any animal on concrete. It isn't good for their joints. It is unnatural and healthy, and the lazy man's way. Please stop any vigorous exercise on concrete, and just start trimming extremely frequently.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

I DON'T advise running any animal on concrete. It isn't good for their joints. It is unnatural and healthy, and the lazy man's way. Please stop any vigorous exercise on concrete, and just start trimming extremely frequently.

EXCUSE me missy, I did not ask for your advice on where to run my dog. Half our yard is concrete and a trail we frequent happens to be gravel, I can't wish it away, it's there! I simply do not appreciate your comments, they are quite rude.

I CAN'T trim because the slightest trim causes him to bleed or were you too quick to jump to judgment to read that **** far?

Good grief.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

As for those that actually had decent advice- thank you. I want to try a dremmel, but again, I worry about his quicks being too close. They really are that close. I worry about his nails being too long because I think it's uncomfortable for them to be so long, but I also know that cutting into the quicks is very painful.

 

[jess2416]

As for those that actually had decent advice- thank you. I want to try a dremmel, but again, I worry about his quicks being too close. They really are that close. I worry about his nails being too long because I think it's uncomfortable for them to be so long, but I also know that cutting into the quicks is very painful.

not sure how to explain what I mean lol, but maybe you can run the dremel over them once for awhile, and maybe that will help the quick go back, and then dremel them a little more each time after that...

 

[Buddy'sParents]

I've not used a dremmel, but I think I get what you're saying.

I guess I don't know how much it will dremmel off? Is it based on how much of pressure I apply?

 

[dr2little]

not sure how to explain what I mean lol, but maybe you can run the dremel over them once for awhile, and maybe that will help the quick go back, and then dremel them a little more each time after that...

This is what I would suggest as well. The quick receeds when it comes close to the tip and is exposed to air. If you only dremel a teeny, tiny bit..maybe 2 swipes on each nail but really often, maybe then the quicks will respond.

I have the same problem Nikki. Amos and Lola both have very long quicks. I just dremel often and only until I see the little circle start to appear. They'll always be on the long side and it really causes me more anxiety than it cause them discomfort or problems.

If Buddy doesn't seem bothered, I'd do my best and feel good about that.

 

[FoxyWench]

i would start by doing a single pass with the dremel as many times per week as possible just a once light over...
doing this frequently youll be able to slowly shave some of the nail.

the other thing to keep in mind is dogs with a more "hare" foot will naturally have longer nails than the tight pawed breeds, the quicks in a hare foot nail seem to be longer/will not recede as much.

both the cresties are like that, i thought it was because i didnt get ruby untill she was a little older and her nails hadnt been properly trimmed, but no matter how many times i do them (once weekly) they are still fairly long.
then i got jasper, good starting block and again do them weekly, but even doing them weekly from 8 weeks old, hes still got long quicks that refuse to recede...

 

[dr2little]

*snicker* we were all posting at the same time...

 

[jess2416]

*snicker* we were all posting at the same time...

well you know what they say about great minds :rofl1:

 

[Buddy'sParents]

What is a hare foot? lol

They weren't always this long. I'd say about a year or little more ago, the quicks just started to get longer and made it increasingly difficult to cut. And looking at him I would think it would be really uncomfortable and possibly contributing to some issues. I will try the one swipe a week method and see if that helps.

Tomorrow is payday so I guess we're off to buy a dremmel. Any suggestions on that end?

 

[FoxyWench]

the hare foot is a narrower longer foot

most dog paws if you place them on a peice of paper and draw around them (like you would your own foot) they are rounded
a hare foot looks more like an oval.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Ahh, okay, thank you.

 

[lizzybeth727]

Tomorrow is payday so I guess we're off to buy a dremmel. Any suggestions on that end?

You can definately get one from a hardware store, the bigger stores will have more of a selection.

First and formost, IMO, you want one that's small enough and light enough to hold comfortably in your hand. When you hold them in the store, keep in mind that you'll usually be holding them parallel to the floor, with your hand as close to the tip as you can (it's easier to maneuver that way). The heavier dremmels have bad balance when you hold them this way and it makes your hands tired. I know, the one I use is way too big and heavy for me.

I think the corded dremmels are quieter and have more power (correct me if I'm wrong), but the one I have is battery-powered and is plenty good enough. It has a lithium battery, which lasts longer than normal rechargeable batteries; we can probably do about 15-20 dogs before having to recharge it.

And don't forget to change the sandpaper pads fairly often. If you notice that the dremmel is not working as quickly or efficiently as it did in the beginning, it's the pad. I usually wait way too long to change the pad, and then when I do change it it's AMAZING how much faster you can go. I probably have to change the pad after every 30-40 dogs or so.

 

[tessa_s212]

There was nothing rude about my post. I repeated only what others have said, in addition to what should be common knowledge. It is not healthy on the joints to do such vigorous and constant exercise on concrete - which is what you'd have to do to get the results you'd need to actually shorten the nails. It appalls me that a professional would encourage vigorous exercise on concrete to wear down nails. I never ever once said anything rude or insulting that warranted such an impolite and ill-mannnered response.