We need help with nail clipping

[Kevin Lackey]

Brody has been with us for about 6 weeks or so now. I have been bringing him to school and trying to train him as best I can. He is a wonderful dog. I have been handling his ears and feet often to make grooming easier.

Now it's time to groom....

Brody's nails somewhat resemble a bear's claw. It's incredible. I need to clip them but I have some questions before I inadvertantly maim my poor dood...

#1. How long or short they need to be?

#2. Has anyone tried that gimicky nail shaver thing-a-ma-jig that gets advertised on TV, or is that just the dog equivalent of the flowbee?

#3. I have heard people say that they use a dremmel, which I own one, but related to #1, how? what attachments?

My poor Brody peels out like in the cartoons before he gets the traction to run on the hard floors when he tries to chase a ball. LOL!

[Adina P]

My goal has been QUITE short...but haven't reached that goal yet as I use a dremmel tool (LOVE IT! except for the nail dust I have to breathe) and it requires me to trim CONSISTENTLY 2-3 times per week. I don't use a pet-specific tool, but the Mini Mite from Wal Mart (I think it's made by Dremel, but can't recall for sure). It only comes with one attachment. Check out my discussion here:

Has a link to a great article on getting dog ready to be dremeled and includes info on attachments: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/mission-to-dremel

[Kevin Lackey]

Thanks Adina, I didn't realize there was so much involved with it.

Still, the Brodymeister is worth it, and so are my leather couches. LOL!

[Amanda and Wheatley]

I got the pedipaw thing, and it is GREAT! My dog didnt even notice it! I turned it on, she didnt flinch, I let her get used to it (which I guess wasn't necessary, but I did it anyway) and then I started using it. She barely even noticed, and it worked great! Definitely worth the $20! I recommend it for sure. Also if your dogs nails are white or light in color, you can see the quick (the pink area inside) make sure not to cut into that but just above it. Either way, just take off a little amount when you first cut your dogs nails and then the next time you can take off a little more

[Kevin Lackey]

Brody's nails are white, so I'll have to inspect them to look for the quick.

[Mary Steward]

The nail shaver thing would probably work well for an older dog, or an owner with lots of patience, but i gave mine to my son (my toby is about 18 months, his Siberian husky is 8 years LOL) so it works better for her if he has the patience. About one foot an evening.Now I have a dremmel tool, and I use something very similar on my own toes. However, I can feel if it starts to hurt, and not sure you could tell unless your dogs nails are clear.
I'm still not so clear on the ear thing. Do you pull the hair out by the roots? Doesn't that hurt? I don't want to make my dog afraid of me.
I would welcome any response on the ear thing. Thanks

PS Toby is like that on laminate floors... but he almost literally flies off the back porch when he goes out cause he's sure he'll get a rabit in the back corner.. glad to say he hasn't yet :-)

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

The ear hair is poorly rooted so comes out easily. Use an ear powder that helps grip the hair. You can pull most of the hair out with your fingers. The only time it really hurts is if the ears are infected with bacteria, yeast or mites and the skin is more sensitive. If one of my dogs gets a yeast infection [which is common with all flop eared breeds], I treat it first for a few days and then pull the hair.

[Tammy & Gracie]

I have Gracie's ears plucked at the groomer. But I have noticed recently that I can do some myself. When in the midst of brushing, combing or some other grooming task, I just reach in the ear, pinch a few hairs between thumb an pointer finger and pull. It does not seem to phase her at all. It also does not require any strong tug, it just comes out!

[Nancy Cavanaugh]

Hey Kevin - if his nails are very long right now - you have to trim slowly. The vein in the nail grows into the nail, as the nail gets longer - and you don't want to have his nails bleed first go round. I think Veronica has my phone number....
I'll come by and give him his first trim if you want...I use a regular doggie nail clipper. My friend has a dremmel - so I can borrow it sometime and see if you like it.

How is he about handling his feet and toes? that is something to do regularly - just so he gets used to it.

[Kevin Lackey]

Hi Nancy, That would be awesome if you could swing by, even just to supervise me so I don't make a newbie mistake and hurt my boy.

Brody is very submissive so handling his feet and ears are a non-issue. He get's into this one bush daily with those round, velcro-like burrs and I'm forever trying to pick them out of his ears, feet and muzzle.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

Dog nails have a quick just like human nails, so it can be very painful for them if you cut too close. Since your dog has white nails, you should be able to see the pink from the blood in the quick. If you are not sure, then there is a product on the market that you can stick to your dog's nails and it reveals by heat where the quick is. There is a nail cutter on the market that has a sensor and light. Red for don't cut here and green for cut...but I found it very inaccurate. I returned mine to the store. If your dog's nails get too long, cut a bit each week for 3 or 4 weeks and this should get them to the correct length.

[Kevin Lackey]

Well, Brody scratched my youngest yesterday pretty badly. It was a total accident, but at this point I dont have six weeks of introduction time to a dremel, so I bought some clippers at petco.

I did one paw yesterday and rewarded him nicely for his behavior.

I did another paw tonight and a knicked the vein in his nail and my poor boy bled all over the kitchen floor.

I felt like Jason from Friday the 13th... my poor boy. I think it hurt me more than him. he's running around and I'm dwelling on it. LOL!