Doggie Manicures

[Pam]

Once when I was in the vet's waiting room there was a dog that was there to get his nails cut. Having always had poodles and doing all of their grooming myself, which includes cutting the nails, I found that a little unusual. Maybe it's not, though, if you have another breed of dog. Anyone out there that doesn't cut their own dog's nails?

[carrie]

I am constantly in shock at how many people don't even groom their own dogs, let alone cut their nails. I'm gald it's not a Stateside "thing" as I thought it was. I find grooming and a daily body inspection (of the dog!!!!) is a major part of the bond.I could never bring myself to take any dog to the vet for a nail trim. (Actually that is a bit of a lie - I did once! We had been at the racing track and I had seen a dog that couldn't stand properly let alone run. I thought it was because the dog was so overweight - I asked my employer if he would give me £100 as a loan and he did!! I bought the dog and brought it home. In the morning when I got Danny out of the kennel it was obvious that both his wrists had been broken at some point, his front legs were about two foot apart! His nails had looped around and were penetrating the pads on his front feet. That one I took to the vet for a nail trim!! He lived as a family pet for 11 years after that with rabbits, kids, cats and the like. In case anyone is wondering - a Greyhound) Danny still came out and won a veterans race three years after he left the dog track!!

[Rottie]

I do everything myself, but I know lots of people that have big dogs that hate getting their nails clipped. It takes 3 or 4 people to hold them down, plus one to clip. Sometimes, the only place you can get that many people is at the vets or groomers.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

My Husband does all our grooming and thats no small feat doing Schnauzers, he also clips their nails and we brush them every day. They chew nylabones and we brush their teeth once a week. I don't know if that is often enough. We read in Dog World that you can use an electric tooth brush with soft bristles on their teeth and we may try that maybe that way we would do it more often if it works.

[Logan]

I almost hate to respond after reading the previous posts, but NO, I don't trim my dog's nails. During the colder months, I have no way to bathe them, so once a month I pay for a bath and they get their nails trimmed at the same time. They walk on the pavement so much that they really never get too long anyway. But I won't trim them myself. We had a bad experience cutting one too short when I was younger, and I refuse to go near them now. Sorry to be the wimp of the group. That's just what I do!!!

Logan

[aly]

Logan, there's an electric little tool that you can use to file the nails down. I have been looking around the internet for one but I can't find it yet. I forgot what they are called but I will let you know if I find any. I know people who use them because they are afraid of clipping too short. With this thing, you don't have to worry. The sound of the motor is not very loud either.

[Dixie Belle]

I never cut my dogs nails, my dad always did it. When I got married my husband took over the job. But since we got Dixie Belle, it takes two to get it done. (She is a St. Bernard) But we have never taken ours to the vet for it,

[Anja Bear]

The electric tool is called a dremel.

I grrom Anja my self. I am always amased at the caregivers of small pup who pay to have them groomed.
Anja is 128 lb and get into the tub by herself and will stand in still thur the two shampoos and the conditioner. She is a breeze to trim nails and clean ears and she get her teeth brush everynight.

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It's not much of a tail but I love it.

[AdoreMyDogs]

I always trim Graham's nails every week. He loves to be pampered. He's a very prissy boy. Cassie is another story. I cut her nails every few weeks and she's horrible! If I had her as a young dog I would have taught her some manners while she's getting her nails done, but her last owners didn't do anything for her so she's a brat when it comes to nail trims....I DON'T let her boss me around though....if she needs her nails trimmed she's getting her nails trimmed no matter how much she fusses. She's slowly getting better, she is starting to trust me because I have not cut into her quick yet. The first few times I cut her nails I almost quit and decided to take her to the vet for a nail trim because she was so horrible. I give her lots of T.L.C., praise, I play tug-of-war with her and her favorite stuffed toy, and give her a biscut or two. It helps shen she gets so much good stuff after the dreaded nail trimmings. She's getting better

[KYS]

I too have always trimmed my dogs nails,
and with my luck they happend to
be black.
Sheba hates having her nails trimmed.
Rocky wears his down on cement, so
I only have to clip his front dew claws.
If I did not groom my own dogs,
I would love to have someone else
cut their nails for me.

[ownerof3dogs]

I cut my dogs nails. KYS guess what? mine are all black too but I have never cut the quick. my dogs are very good about getting their nails clipped and getting bathed. Herc just jumps in the tub.

but I understand why people bring their dogs to the vet to get it done. I work there and some dogs are just terible. They bite and wiggle and scream and it takes how many people to get it done.

[ilovehounds]

I groom and trim my own dogs but having short haired hounds its not that much work

I always trim my dogs nails, Hannah loves it so much that everytime she sees me filling and painting my nails she comes over to get hers done to. She will ever go and show my parents her nails when Im finished painting them. She puts her paw and gets all happy when they say "oohh pretty nails"

Copper is a different story, he was neglected and abused he hadn't had them done that much and doesn't like his done I need someone to help me hold him.

I don't see anything wrong with taking your dog to the vet.

And Logan I can relate with you and I understand why you wont trim your dogs nails, I had alittle accident with Hannah a coulpe weeks ago I was cutting her nails and my sisters pup came running in and Hannah jurked and I cut her nail to short. It started bleeding and I didn't know how to stop it, the vet said to put some thick cream like vasaline or cow balm on the end to stop the bleeding and wrap it up. It stopped the bleeding but everytime she went outside and walked on it alittle it would start again. It was scary but thankfully she still loves to get her nails done So don't feel bad, your not a wimp

[RachelJ]

I would love to clip the nails myself as I agree with Carrie that the daily grooming is part of the bond, but despite my best efforts and starting early, Hannah will fight with all her strength against having anything done to her feet. She gets hers done at the groomers every 6 weeks. The only time I am allowed to even touch her feet is when she gets a massage.

As Tucker doesn't go to the groomers as often as Hannah, I probably should do his in between. (I just checked his and they could use a trim.) I know I have several nail trimmers around here so I think I give it a try tonight. He had his bath yesterday and I wore myself out on that and making sure that he got combed out good so he wouldn't get any tangles.

When we do go to the Vet for any reason, he does cut their nails while they are there. It takes me holding Hannah while he does it. The groomer always says that Hannah behaves well but I wonder.

[aly]

ilovehounds: I have this styptic powder called Kwik Stop that I keep by me when I cut Shiloh's or Reece's nails. If you cut too short, you can apply this and it stops the bleeding. I have not had to use it yet but it is good to keep on hand. Its available at most pet supply stores.

[aly]

Anja Bear: Is there a specific dremel used for dog grooming or do the ones at the hardware store work? I just looked on ebay and there are a lot there.