How do you cut a dogs nails....

[mommytotwo]

without them bleeding...and to a dog who has never had them done before?

 

[swald91]

VERY CAREFULLY!!!!! I have a bulldog & the 1st time I did it-it was a Sunday night & of course I cut too short!!!! He bled for almost an hour brfore I was able to stop it-with baby powder! Make sure you look thru them before you cut-& you do have special clippers, right? Good luck!

 

[mommytotwo]

VERY CAREFULLY!!!!! I have a bulldog & the 1st time I did it-it was a Sunday night & of course I cut too short!!!! He bled for almost an hour brfore I was able to stop it-with baby powder! Make sure you look thru them before you cut-& you do have special clippers, right? Good luck!

What type of clippers should I get?

 

[wic0721]

PETCO!

I used to do my dogs nails, but I accidently clipped her and she bled...I swore I'd never cut her nails again after that!

 

[doxdogy]

According to DH who is the nail clipper, do not clip above the curve of the nail. He said after clipping the nails, wait a week and clip again. In a week's time the vein will recede. He uses not the slide type of nail clipper, but the plier type. If the dog has never had it's nails clipped, you may want to give them something to calm them. We have one doxie that we have to give benadryl to before clipping his nails. If you don't, he howls and cries as if someone is killing him.

 

[swald91]

Ones to cut dogs nails. I know they have different ones out there-but since I did that to my dog, he won't let me near his toes!! I have 2 different pair & one is so much nicer-not that it makes a difference b/c he's afraid now!!! Even the dog groomer has to muzzle him!!!! I would really like to try that Pet-a-cure (spelling?) just seems so much easier.

 

[clh2]

I am too squeamish to do this myself - so I happily pay to have this done.

I did try this myself, and at the time, the research I did was specifc about doing something ODD. Take a plate, and smear something like peanut butter on it. Have a buddy hold the plate at face level while you do the nails. I did this about 2 or 3 times, and totally decided to have this done.

Before you actually do his nails, go through a dry run. Have your dog used to you touching his legs, and finding the best position to reach his nails. I would recommend "playing" with your dog while he is standing. Our dog trainer showed us how to hold their leg to keep the dog still and so you can do one paw relatively quickly. Also - have an idea where the "quick" is. You do not want to cut the quick. Our dog has 2 or 3 nails that are black, and the quick is really hard to see - part of our decision to get his nails done.

(Wow - I hope that paragraph makes sense!)

Good Luck!

 

[LisaR]

A spoonful of peanut butter is a must! One of us holds the peanut butter and makes sure the dog can just reach it with his tongue and the other one clips the nails. Our dog used to run away the second the nail clippers came out and now he jumps up on the sofa waiting for his treat.

 

[muffyn]

get a dremel & do this. way easier than clipping it too short by accident

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html

 

[SandrA9810]

I use a dremel tool as well. It takes a bit longer, but prevents you from filing too short, and it's easy to round off the ends. Just make sure you place it in the right direction... you don't want it to kick back on you.

I also have a couple different clippers, one with a hole and the blade comes from the bottom up, and the ones that look like scissors. Those actualy came with a small bottle of powder to stop/heal the bleeding, and a file. Which I bought at pet supermarket.

I like the second pair better, but I don't get any where as good results as the dremel tool. And you have to realize that most dogs won't like the feeling of the vibration either. It's a fight with kiani at first, but once i get past the first nail, she settles down into a comfortable position for me to finish.

So if they're long, trim them with cutters then dremel them down to a shorter length, that way you won't as easily cut into the quik.

 

[princess momma]

I've always been too afraid, I have the groomer do it.

 

[chell]

If you are going to do them at home make sure you also buy a septic stick to stop the bleeding if you do cut them too short. If you forget the septic stick use cornstarch. Someone else said they used baby powder, which is cornstarch with scent added. If your dog is sensitive the scent may aggravate the wound.

We do not cut nails in this house except for our own. We tried it and it didn't work. Our puppy (at the time he was a puppy anyway) has an extra toe and the nail on that toe was loose, but we didn't know it at the time. My husband tried to trim that nail and the puppy pulled back just as he was squeezing the clipper down. This resulted in his entire nail coming off. The puppy had a small whimper but wasn't in pain since the nail was barely on there - but we didn't know that at the time. My husband was freaking out because he thought he ripped the nail off. I was freaking out because I thought he ripped the nail off and I saw blood.

We had the septic stick but he kept licking it off, so the bleeding went on for a while. Eventually we got the bleeding to stop. The next day we had a visit to the vet. The vet told us there really wasn't anything we could have done to prevent it from coming off, the timing just wasn't in our favor - he would have lost it soon anyway.

I'm not sharing this with you to scare you but just to warn you if your dog has any odd toes - don't trim that one!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I would really like to try that Pet-a-cure (spelling?) just seems so much easier.

We tried the Peti-paws and hated it. We have a big lab and his nails are really thick. The trimmer just buzzed the surface and sent the shavings into the air. It smelled like a dentist office in the house after the one nail our dog held still for. No thanks! I'd rather pay the $15.

I hadn't thought about trying the Dremel. Would you just use that similarly to having acrylic nails done? I'd just be afraid to buff too much off.

 

[ma2jr]

Nail should be level to the paw pad, no shorter.

 

[chell]

We tried the Peti-paws and hated it. We have a big lab and his nails are really thick. The trimmer just buzzed the surface and sent the shavings into the air. It smelled like a dentist office in the house after the one nail our dog held still for. No thanks! I'd rather pay the $15.

I hadn't thought about trying the Dremel. Would you just use that similarly to having acrylic nails done? I'd just be afraid to buff too much off.

I think the Dremel would just be like a PetiPaws on steroids.

Do you live in a big city? We only pay $5 to get our animals nails trimmed. I am NOT complaining either.

 

[Tuffcookie]

My vet used to do it for free with the exam. However, I noticed the last couple of times I was charged $12 for them doing it. When I took Dudley to the groomers, the lady that owns the business told me to bring them there. She only charges $5! I let the groomers do it now.

TC

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We tried everything at home. She has very long "quicks" so it is very difficult to cut without cutting too short. We bring her to the vet and they use a drimel tool. I've taken her to pet stores and they always cut her. She absolutely hates it.

She is less than a year old and a darling, but this is the one issue that always comes up every couple of weeks. Her nails grow out so fast!

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

DH uses a dremel on our lab.

 

[Alice1386]

Unless your dog is absolutely okay with you really messing with its nails, pads, and feet in general, I would HIGHLY suggest just taking your dog to the vet or groomer's and letting them take care of it. It is rarely over $15 to have them clipped.

If you really want to do it yourself, I suggest the clippers that work like sissors instead of the ones with the hole in it that you slip the nail in. A lot of them come with the quick stop (what stops the bleeding if you happen to hit that blood vessel-which can be quite painful), but if not, be sure to get something to stop the bleeding (it will all be located on the same aisle). If your dogs nails are white it will be easy because you can literally see the dark blood vessel in the nail. If not, it is a bit harder. Start by taking just a little off. If your dog hasn't had its nails cut in a long time and the nails are really long, remember that the quick (the blood vessel) may have grown further down in the nail. This whole process can be highly stressful for a dog and may require a muzzle and someone restraining it... vets have experience and drugs .

Best of luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Please don't cut your dog's nails unless you're absolutely sure of what you're doing - it's incredibly painful to cut the quick. There are books and websites which show how to do it if you want to learn how.

You only take a small bit off the tip a little at a time. After they're cut, the quick recedes over time, so in another week or two you can cut a little bit more. It's better to do it this way than to try to take a big portion off at a time.

What I generally do is have my dog lay down, then gently turn the paw over and look to see where exactly the quick is. (I do this before every nail I cut.) I then take a little bit of the nail off without going too close to the quick. I then check it again after I cut it, and if I can do so safely, I take a little more off. Sometimes I cut the same nail two or three times.

I've gotten my dog used to this since she was a puppy. She doesn't like it too much (she gets a nice treat at the end, though), but she trusts me because she knows I'm not going to hurt her. I expect that if I cut the quick, she's going to lose the trust, so I make sure I don't do that to her.

Some nails are easier to see the quick, such as those that are white. The black ones are tougher, but turn the foot over and look underneath the nail to see where the quick is. There shouldn't be any dirt caked in there or you won't be able to see it. The best time to cut is after the dog's feet have been in water and the nail is clean so you can really see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WBGm27hg-Q&NR=1