Nail cutting....

Does anybody's dogs enjoy getting their nails cut?? I know mine tolerate it really well, but I wouldn't say they enjoy it, LOL

I am such a stickler for nail cutting, I hate to see dogs with long long nails. I guess that comes from being a groomer and having to cut nails out of dog's pads before, or having to cut them because their toes are so splayed out they can hardly stand. :-( Poor doggies.

I cut my dogs' nails about every once a week to once every two weeks. I cut my cats' nails about once a month.

I use nail clippers that look something like this:
http://store5.yimg.com/I/theferretstore_1776_113796981

I find they work the best.

I also occasionally get my dog's nails ground with a dremmel. a friend of mine does it for $5.

If you go somewhere to get your dog's nails cut, where do you go and how often? At work we have a bunch of regulars that just come and get their nails cut about once a month.

So come on, tell me about your nail cutting woes, LOL

I do Star and Wilbur's nails about once a month. They stay an OK length, but I really need to keep up on it more, I don't like when they start making clicking noises when they run around in the non-carpeted areas of the house.

I do their nails MYSELF. Once, I had Star's nails done by a local rescue that was just asking for donations in exchange for a nail trimming. NEVRER AGAIN. Star didn't like it, and she's never been great around strangers. The lady wound up taking Star and SLAMMING her don onto the table. Star was howling the entire time. Even after that, they only did three paws. I left in tears, and told Star I woul dnever put her through anything like that again.

She may not like me doing her nails very much, but at least I'm gentle with her, and she trusts me!

I cut their nails at least every week. Sometimes I check twice a week to see if I missed something last time. I'm really obsessed with keeping their nails short but I guess that's a good thing..?

Kai's very tolerant and just sits while I cut them. Kaedyn on the other hand is a bit squirmish still but he's gotten alot better since we've had him. I still need to bribe him with treats though.

At our obedience classes, there was a min pin who had the longest nails I'd ever seen! :eek: I wanted to say something to the owner but it slipped my mind at the end of the class. Oh boy, it was starting to curl under..it was horrible.

I hardley ever cut Drake's nails. We run everyday and walk several times a day that the road and side walk do all the work for me. I do check his nails every week and smoothen out an rough parts, cracked, or splintered parts with out Dremel tool.

I don't like long nails for dogs either!

I wouldn't really say mine love it, but they tolerate it.

Abbey is the only one who is really great about it. She will sit still, and when I ask for her paw, she gives it. She is so good when I do it. Jada will tolerate it, Kito tolerates it but acts like a drama queen (this is when we usually hear a good Shiba scream or two!!), and Riley is afraid. I keep all of the "evil stuff" in one cabinet--nail clippers, ear cleaner, Revolution, brushes--and when I open that door, Riley is gone, jumping over the gate and laying by the front door-it's so funny!!!

I don't have a set schedule for mine, as soon as I hear them start clicking on the floor, it's time.

I hate doing Jada's and Riley's though--they're all black--it makes me nervous!!!

Our vet does it if they are there, but she charges $14 for it during a check up, so I try to get them done before they go there.

I use those exact clippers you have pictured.

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Originally posted by Shelteez2
I am such a stickler for nail cutting, I hate to see dogs with long long nails. I guess that comes from being a groomer and having to cut nails out of dog's pads before, or having to cut them because their toes are so splayed out they can hardly stand. :-( Poor doggies.

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As a former groomer I can say I've seen some really bad ones, too. I've seen some nails pulled out or broken off badly, too. In fact it's happened to Chester because he HATES to have his nails cut and he bites sometimes if you try. We had them cut really short while he was under for surgery and we'll take him back to the vet weekly from now on. Before, he went every two weeks.

We use the same tool as you do on Millie and Chester, and we also have a dremmel for Millie. She tolerates it, bit Chester won't. Aneko goes to the groomer once every 3 weeks, so hers are done there.

They all 3 have several black nails and I hate those!

I clip my pups as often as I can!! I can't stand to hear that "CLICK CLICK CLICK" when they walk on the tile floor!!

So I keep their nails short, I also clip my in laws dog Rasquel's nails, and I also do my brother-in-law's GSD Sage. I used to do my parents GSD Mix, but I cut her quick once, and she doens't let me get near her feet now!! :( (Sorry Toby)

I guess you could say I'm the families dogs manicurist!!:D

The majority of the time I cut Ruby's nails myself. She HATES it :rolleyes: It usually takes me awhile since she can be so squirmy, but other than that I never have had any problems. I usually give her front paws a trim about once a month. Her back paws seem to either file themselves down or just don't grow as quickly, so I clip them every couple months.

Sometimes I get her vet to do it (because she acts like a perfect angel for her). And If I see a nail clipping booth at a dog event I'll have them done there (I really don't like doing it so I seize any opportunity I get to have someone else take care of it ;)).

I don't know how often I really clip them.. I just clip them when they seem to be getting long. Tasha nibbles her own nails a lot so often I only have to clip one or two. She has black nails too so it's hard to tell, I just try to take off the ends. I do know the less you clip them the longer the quick will grow up into the nail so it's best to keep them trimmed.

I use clippers like the one Shelteez pictured. The other kind, I think are called guillotine, that was the first clipper I had and used with the collies, but I find I like the side clippers better.

Tommy really hates it and can be squirmy, but Tasha is like Abbey, she sits and gives me her paw and waits and then gives me the other paw when I ask for it. She's a little less certain on the back legs but she's still very good.

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Originally posted by lovemyshiba
I keep all of the "evil stuff" in one cabinet--nail clippers, ear cleaner, Revolution, brushes--and when I open that door, Riley is gone, jumping over the gate and laying by the front door-it's so funny!!!

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LOL! LOL! I have the "evil stuff" all in the same box and when I get that box Bella runs over to the recliner and curls up in a ball and turns her head away and won't look at me. I think she thinks if she doesn't look at me then she is invisible and I can't see her either! :D :D

Mine each get their nails cut every 3 weeks. The groomer does Bella every six weeks and I do her once in between, and so I do Ripley on the same days.

Bella isn't crazy about the whole thing but she cooperates and her nails are light so it's easy to see the quick. Ripley, on the other hand, has black nails and he was good until one day when I took a little too much off one nail and made him bleed. :( He is just starting to re-trust me. His nails were sooo long when we first got him that I have only ever taken just the tips off because I know the quick does grow down. Unfortunately I misjudged once and it took him a long time to forget it.

I do it every three weeks or so. I'd rather take little bits off regularly because all the nails are black and I'm paranoid about blood! They don't really enjoy nail clipping so I wait for that five minutes that they sleep during the day ;)

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Originally posted by WolfChan
II do their nails MYSELF. Once, I had Star's nails done by a local rescue that was just asking for donations in exchange for a nail trimming. NEVRER AGAIN. Star didn't like it, and she's never been great around strangers. The lady wound up taking Star and SLAMMING her don onto the table. Star was howling the entire time. Even after that, they only did three paws. I left in tears, and told Star I woul dnever put her through anything like that again.

She may not like me doing her nails very much, but at least I'm gentle with her, and she trusts me!

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Aww I'm so sorry you went through that. That's awful poor Star. :(I'm glad she trusts you enough to do it yourself.

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Originally posted by binka_nugget
I cut their nails at least every week. Sometimes I check twice a week to see if I missed something last time. I'm really obsessed with keeping their nails short but I guess that's a good thing..?

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In my opinion that is a very good thing. Good for you! :)

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Originally posted by lovemyshiba
Kito tolerates it but acts like a drama queen (this is when we usually hear a good Shiba scream or two!!),....
.....Our vet does it if they are there, but she charges $14 for it during a check up, so I try to get them done before they go there.

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Boy oh boy do I know that scream!! We have a couple shiba's come in for grooming or to just get their nails cut, and there is only one that we can do by ourselves with no muzzle. Our next best shiba takes 2 people and a muzzle, and as for the others...anywhere from 3 to 5 people (no kidding) and the screaming!!! LOL You'd think we were amputating a foot.

I find that the vets around here charge way more than we do at the shop. We charge $5 for people to drop by and get their dog's nails cut. Since you can do it your self then you don't have to worry about it, but if you know of anyone else in your area that needs to take thier dogs somewhere, you should tell them to phone a few groomers. :)

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Originally posted by K9soul
Tasha nibbles her own nails a lot so often I only have to clip one or two. She has black nails too so it's hard to tell, I just try to take off the ends. I do know the less you clip them the longer the quick will grow up into the nail so it's best to keep them trimmed.

I use clippers like the one Shelteez pictured. The other kind, I think are called guillotine, that was the first clipper I had and used with the collies, but I find I like the side clippers better.

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One of my cousin's labs chews her nails too. I rarely have to touch them.

What I don't like about those guillotine style clippers is that they tend to get dull really fast and then they tend to shatter the nail instead of cutting it.

I don't cut Gigi's nail. I don't know how, so I just take her to the groomer to do it. :o

I cannot get Nicki's nails cut to save my life. She DESPERATELY needs them done. In the warm months when we walk a lot its not so bad because they kind of file themselves down on the concrete. Right now, they are long long. I feel bad for her. I went to the vets and even three hmans holding her downwe only got ONE NAIL trimmed. We couldn't do it!

When she was a puppy, every groomer - and I mean every - tried to trim her nails and ended up hitting the vein and of course it bled profusely. She has never let anybody near her paws since. She will let anybody do anything to her, but bring clippers near her feet and she turns into Kujo.

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Originally posted by catnapper
I cannot get Nicki's nails cut to save my life. She DESPERATELY needs them done. In the warm months when we walk a lot its not so bad because they kind of file themselves down on the concrete. Right now, they are long long. I feel bad for her. I went to the vets and even three hmans holding her downwe only got ONE NAIL trimmed. We couldn't do it!

When she was a puppy, every groomer - and I mean every - tried to trim her nails and ended up hitting the vein and of course it bled profusely. She has never let anybody near her paws since. She will let anybody do anything to her, but bring clippers near her feet and she turns into Kujo.

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Take her to your vet or a groomer and ask them to dremmel them. It's much easier on the nails an usually on the dog. It's a lot less traumatic if the quick gets filed a bit than if it gets sliced.

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Originally posted by catnapper
I cannot get Nicki's nails cut to save my life. She DESPERATELY needs them done. In the warm months when we walk a lot its not so bad because they kind of file themselves down on the concrete. Right now, they are long long. I feel bad for her. I went to the vets and even three hmans holding her downwe only got ONE NAIL trimmed. We couldn't do it!

When she was a puppy, every groomer - and I mean every - tried to trim her nails and ended up hitting the vein and of course it bled profusely. She has never let anybody near her paws since. She will let anybody do anything to her, but bring clippers near her feet and she turns into Kujo.

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Could you get the vet to prescribe a mild tranquilizer for her? Just enough to maybe take the edge off?

Have you tried gently playing with her feet, holiding the nail giving a treat, squeezing the nail giving a treat etc. Just a few times a night. Also you could try showing her the clippers and giving her an extra special treat, then putting the clippers away.

At work we have had a few dogs that would take at least three people, and a muzzle, and lots of wrestling, in order to get their nails cut. But the owners perservered and now for a lot of them the muzzle and the wrestling and the 3 people are no longer needed.

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Originally posted by Shelteez2
Could you get the vet to prescribe a mild tranquilizer for her? Just enough to maybe take the edge off?

Have you tried gently playing with her feet, holiding the nail giving a treat, squeezing the nail giving a treat etc. Just a few times a night. Also you could try showing her the clippers and giving her an extra special treat, then putting the clippers away.

At work we have had a few dogs that would take at least three people, and a muzzle, and lots of wrestling, in order to get their nails cut. But the owners perservered and now for a lot of them the muzzle and the wrestling and the 3 people are no longer needed.

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Funny thing is that she absolutely LOVES to have me massage and play with her feet/toes. She'll basically groan and her eyes roll into the back of her head. then in a split second, she is monster mutt when she sees clippers!

She loves the vet but hates the table that moves up. She refuses to get on it. As you know, its basically impossible to move a 100 pound dog that does not want to move! :rolleyes: It takes the vet, the tech and myself holding her down along with the muzzle and we still can't get anywhere. I hadn't thought of the tranquilizer concept. My monster mutt because has an acute fear of nail clippers!

I told her this afternoon (beforeI read your post) that if she didn't let me trim them soon! I honestly know they are way too long.

I cut the goonies nails every couple of weeks or so and always before an agility trail (it's easier on the contact equipment that way) out of the three of them I would have to say Smudge is the easiest because he'll just stand or sit there and let me cut them with out much fuss. Winter and Tama however are a different story.

Winter I either need my sister to help me hold her or I have to pin her down with my legs because she squirms way to much, the same goes for Tama, but he doesn't squirm nearly as much as Winter does...freaky border collie.

I just realized that Wilbur needs a trip to the groomer's anyways...so maybe I'll have them do his nails, and watch to make sure they're gently with him. Star's all right, but Wilbur's a little butthead when he wants to be.

Oh dear. Duke HATES getting it done. If I take him to the vet, they have to muzzle him. So, I've stopped doing that. I only do them about once a month and we both hate it so bad that we split it up into two days. Front one day and back the next. I wish I could get his shorter because I don't like them long either but it's hard to see where the white part is on his nails and I've hurt him once. That dremmel thing sounds like a good idea. Any pet places do that?

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Originally posted by dukedogsmom
That dremmel thing sounds like a good idea. Any pet places do that?

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You'll probably have to call around to a few groomers and vets in your area. I know there are a few here that offer it, but we don't where I work. Good luck finding someone who dremmels!

my dog doesnt like having their nails cut. I always put up a big fight just to have her nails trimmed. :o

I think working at a grooming salon does that obsessive nail thing to ya. ;) I've seen my share of nails growing into the pad and dogs that can hardly walk because their nails are so long. It's sad. :( Looking at dogs with long nails just makes that little vein in my forehead twitch sometimes lol.

I clip my dogs' nails every 2 weeks or so. Nebo's don't seem to grow very fast (or they just file down from all the running) but I still keep them as short as possible lol. He's very good about it, I can just lift his paw up and do it.

I clip Reggie's nails about the same...his are all black so it's harder, so that's big reason it needs to be done all the time. It's easier to just take a little bit off at a time then blindly cut a large bit because it's grown out so long. Usually I hold Reggie in my lap. He squirms, but doesn't try to bite or anything.

My nail clippers look about the same as that...I don't know what the brand is, but they are orange and from a catalog. ;)

Yes, groomers' dogs always have nice looking nails.

Nails grown around like ram's horns, into the pad - nails that have to be cut off with wire cutters - nails that have broken off way into the foot, and become infected and absessed .... after you see those things, you clip your dogs nails!

Most of my dogs don't mind. Vanilla HATES it and goes into a screaming, flopping panic. Of course, when I first got her, everything from the telephone ringing to touching her tail sent her into a screaming, flopping panic ... so I suppose if nails are the only thing that is left that sets her off ... then she's doing great! LOL I just get one of my employees to clip while I hold her.

I HATE it when people don't keep up on their dogs nail care. It is just as important as brushing, ear cleaning, good diet, etc.

Nope, they hate having them cut. We go for daily walks for about 30 minutes every day, so the concrete helps them. They also get taken to the groomers about once every month, so they get them done there.

I dont have to trim Clover or Theo's nails as they wear down naturally from all the running.

Penny has to be muzzled and she gets realy crazy when trying to clip her nails, but the groomer that has been doing them for about the past 5 years has got it down to a fine art and can do them in about 5 minutes *Go Ruth*

As for Elvis his are not to bad i just trim the tips off and as he is getting bigger they will just wear down themselves.

I have the guillotine type cutters. Keegan isn't usually good about getting them trimmed. I don't know why b/c I tried playing with her paws since she was a wee fart. I usually have to wait until she is wore out from playing at my parents house or at the dog park. Then I shove a couple biscuits in her mouth and go to town!! BUT the other nite I was trimming them and she squirmed and I cut one twice. :( She bled for an hour. I didn't have any syptic powder or anything.(which I do now!!!) I took her out to the snow and put flour on it. Finally I shut her in the bathroom with the lineolum for awhile then it stopped bleeding. But the next day when we were playing outside it broke open again. :(
She's fine now.
My RB greyhound was a terror when I first got her. My dad and I tried to do it and she started to freak out and my dad jumped about a foot in the air and said "I am not doing it!!!"
So I found a groomer who did a good job for $4.00. Nicest lady.
The groomer I have been taking Kylie to for her grooming also charges $4 for all nails.

For those of you who have used the dremmel on your dogs paws, how hard is it to do yourself?
I'm just curious, because I have thought about purchasing one more than once, but if it's something I can't do myself, I don't want to get it.

Sorry about Keegan's paw Staci:( Abbey got a nick last time (hubby was doing them) and I was so glad I had the syptic gel--it stopped right away!!

Hey if you don't happen to have syptic powder on you when it happens cornstarch sort of works. I don't have any quickstop at home, and I don't take Reggie to work very often (he's a butthead there) so I've had to use it before when he's jerked at a crucial moment. It doesn't work nearly as well as quickstop/syptic powder but it's better than nothing. I need to buy some to use at home and stop relying on everything at work lol.

As far as the dremmel I tried it on Nebo once and I had a hard time holding it still. But I've only used one a couple of times so I'm sure if you used it enough you'd get better with it. I prefer clipping with regular nail clippers just because it's faster.

For a home remedy I have found that corn starch works much better than flour. Just a little FYI in case anyone ever needs it :)

As for dremmeling... I do prefer it because you can get the nails shorter and closer to the quick without actually hitting the quick. Also alot of dogs seem to not mind the vibrating of the grinder as opposed to the pinching of the clippers.

That being said, I don't dremmel my own dog's nails. I don't know why, I've just never learned. Instead I take them to my friend's house who does it for me. I should just ask her to show me though, my dad has a dremmel and it would save me the trip :)

For those of you who might be interested in doing it yourself check out this website. It has ver detailed info along with pics.

How to Dremmel Nails.

I tried sneaking the clippers to her nails last night and nearly got my hand bit off! She can be very aggressive when she wants.:(

The Dremmel thing - is that the basic Dremmel rotary tool? Not that I'll even think of trying that one on my own!

I file her nails! lol:) She's a princess!

Here's a link to the Dremmel:

http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/produc...ngNailTrimmers

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Originally posted by wolf_Q
Usually I hold Reggie in my lap. He squirms, but doesn't try to bite or anything.

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How does poor little Grandpa Smokey do when you clip his nails? I am just betting it's not a pretty picture from other things that you have posted regarding his grooming. :p (((Hugs))) to the little guy. :) Actually as my RB toy poodles aged they were even easier to groom and do nails, etc. They looked at it as a good chance for them to grab an afternoon nap! Yep, they actually dozed off! :)

haha! great thread! I work at a vet clinic (not a regular vet though) and I too am obsessive with nails. lol every dog we do procedures on we clip their nails, and a lot of times people just ask us to do it when they are in for an exam and we do. its a lot easier when they are sedated though! ;) It really gets to me to see dogs with dagger long nails..

Ive only had Brock 2 weeks now and I cut his nails last wed (a week from tomorrow) when I took him to a self grooming place. we have a dremmel at work and the guillotine type clippers, but I agree, those kind get dull really fast and it can pinch the dog a lot more and make it a lot more uncomfortable than it already is. the grooming place I went to had the kind like you pictured and I liked them a lot (Id never used that kind before). so Im going to have my dad or one of the girls at work show me how to use the dremmel tomorrow. I havent purchased any dog nail clippers yet cause Im hoping Brock will tolerate the dremmel so I can just do that once a week. Im glad his nails had been kept short before I got him. It can be really difficult to get them back to a good length once they are allowed to grow long. Im also glad he only has one black nail! They make me really uneasy too!!


"Kito tolerates it but acts like a drama queen (this is when we usually hear a good Shiba scream or two!!)..."


"Boy oh boy do I know that scream!! We have a couple shiba's come in for grooming or to just get their nails cut, and there is only one that we can do by ourselves with no muzzle. Our next best shiba takes 2 people and a muzzle, and as for the others...anywhere from 3 to 5 people (no kidding) and the screaming!!! LOL You'd think we were amputating a foot. "

oh my goodness, this cracked me up!!! we have a shiba that comes in to our clinic every 3 weeks to get his allergy injection because his owner cant do it and we call him the screamer for obvious reasons! ;););)

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Originally posted by Pam
How does poor little Grandpa Smokey do when you clip his nails? I am just betting it's not a pretty picture from other things that you have posted regarding his grooming. :p (((Hugs))) to the little guy. :) Actually as my RB toy poodles aged they were even easier to groom and do nails, etc. They looked at it as a good chance for them to grab an afternoon nap! Yep, they actually dozed off! :)

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Honestly I very rarely clip his nails. Maybe once or twice a year. They are very very small and don't seem to grow at all, they never have. I don't really understand it, but whenever I've tried to clip them I could just barely clip the tips off. He's kind of hard to do...he doesn't care about what I'm doing, he just doesn't like to be held against his will, he tries to bite. :rolleyes:

After reading this thread yesterday I thought I better trim up Katie's nails. I just did it about 3 weeks ago, but I thought they were looking a little long so I decided to go ahead and make sure they stay short. Alden told me not to, he said they looked pretty good and I just did it not too long ago. I wouldn't listen. I just HAD to make sure they were perfect. Katie is pretty good about it and I usually have to give her some treats and that way she will tolerate it. Sure enough I cut one too short! It was awful! I don't know how I messed up. Katie has all white nails so it is very easy to trim her nails. I have never done this with her before. She let out a yelp and jerked her paw back and the blood was really flowing. Alden ran to get a towel and some flour (no cornstarch in the house). I sat with her and kept trying to get the bleeding to stop and she was soooo good. She just layed beside me and kept licking my face like I was the one that was hurt or something. Talk about making me feel really guilty! Katie is fine though. After the yelp she didn't seem bothered by it at all. She seemed to just want to console me because I was upset. It sure did bleed for a long time though. I felt like such a bad mommy :( I'll have to make sure this never happens again.

Robin

P.S...To Alden's credit he did not say I told you so because I think he already knew how bad I felt and also I was shocked that he knew about the flour thing. He said the vet had mentioned it to him the last time Katie was there and he trimmed her nails.

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Originally posted by RobiLee
I sat with her and kept trying to get the bleeding to stop and she was soooo good. She just layed beside me and kept licking my face like I was the one that was hurt or something. Talk about making me feel really guilty! Katie is fine though. After the yelp she didn't seem bothered by it at all. She seemed to just want to console me because I was upset. It sure did bleed for a long time though. I felt like such a bad mommy :( I'll have to make sure this never happens again.

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Try not to feel too bad. It dows happen unfortunately. I think dogs sense how you're reacting to it, and then react accordingly. So some people who act like the end is near and really super coddle their dogs make for dogs that act really upset the next time you bring out the clippers, whereas people who just go on matter of factly and don't make it a big deal make for dogs who don't care either.

Of course that's just my generalization from dogs I see at work. I'm sure there are exceptions.

It might be worthwhile (for your peace of mind only) to get some quick stop from the pet store. You will probably never ever need it, but knowing you have it there might help :)

Giving Katie a pat for being the stoic akita she is, taking things in stride and still comforting her mommy when she's upset.

I was trimming nails today on my two.. One of Tommy's dew claws was pretty short already but it had a pointy little tip on it and I decided I'd just shave off the tip there but I got a tad too much and saw a bit of blood welling on the tip. I keep my grooming stuff in a fishing tacklebox (habit formed from the days when we showed Willie). Anyway I keep a little spice container with some corn meal in it and I just immediately dabbed that on. Tommy never had any reaction except he wanted to see what the corn meal was and was snuffling that as I was dabbing it on. That stuff works wonderful, clots it up right then and never a drop hit the floor. Course if I had cut it really deep it wouldn't have worked quite that well but it stopped it right away. Tommy showed absolutely no pain reaction at all, he didn't even jerk his foot when it happened.

I've seen it a lot worse a couple times, once when I worked with a groomer for awhile when I was in high school washing dogs, and she accidently cut kinda deep on a nail of a golden retriever. Another time with Willie when the breeder was at the show with us and hurriedly helping groom him up, I'm not sure how she did it so badly but she cut really deep on one of his nails, really bad. I was extremely alarmed at the amount of blood, going through some hand towels and putting some styptic type powder on the foot. Willie himself, again didn't ever react much except when it was first cut he did jerk. We could not get that nail to stop, it started up bleeding again in the show ring. What a nightmare, I still have no idea how she managed to mangle that nail so bad as I was sitting right there and he wasn't jerking his feet or anything.