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Long Nails and Long Hair Don't Mix I was awakened in the middle of the night by my Moka letting out a couple of faint wimpers. The first one I thought she was dreaming, but when she did it again, I lifted my head to see that she had her back foot caught in her ear hair, LOL. She was scratching her ears, and her nail got caught up in her hair. She does not have the kind of hair that mats but I think it got wrapped around her nail as she was scratching. It actually took some effort to get her unstuck. Well, this morning before I left for work, I tried to trim her nails. They were not overly long, but could stand a triming. She did have one with a tiny little hook forming and I suspect it was the culprit. I got them all except for the very last one...when I went to snap it off she cried. She always does on that one. Why?? It was by far not the longest one, and I generally take only a tiny little bit off the tip and I know I am not close to the quick. I hate trimming thier nails for fear of getting too close but it has to be done. Anyway, just wanted to share our late night drama, to warn about long nails and the hooks that form on the tips. |
Good to know. Also glad that you woke up to help her! |
Pls don't ever let them get so long as to curl into a hook! That is very dangerous for them and can be painful. She cries because the quick is probably higher in that toenail. When you don't trim them regularly, the quick keeps growing further up the toenail. Then trimming is painful because there are live nerves there. Here are some directions for trimming: How to Trim a Dog's Toenails | eHow.com The suggestion in there for using a human nail clipper is a good one. I actually have a baby nail clipper I use sometimes. It is sharper than any of my adult size clippers and makes the job easy. Plus, you can't take off much at a time with them. |
I've found that you can take the nail shorter with a grinder than with clippers without causing any pain. Our Woogie hates to get his nails done and we had let them get too long. We clipped just the tips and then took them on back with a grinder and he was fine with it. I was amazed at how short we were able to get them, all with no blood and no discomfort. |
I just had a similar experience with Destiny. I keep her nails trimmed short on a regular basis and she has long hair as well. But somehow the nail cracked or splintered on the side and it kept getting caught on everything and she would scream out every time it happened. I hated to cut it because I knew it would be going into the quick because the nail was already short but I didn't want her to keep going through it so I cut it. However this particular nail for some reason was just mush where I cut it. No quick or real any hard substance. Kinda hard to explain but not how a normal nail is when you cut it. Anyways crisis averted and all is well. So sometimes even when the nail is cut short it can still catch. I think I'm just going to go back to filing their nails even though I hate it because it takes twice as long. I think the nail clipper is splintering their nail when I cut it. Just something to keep in mind. |
Teddy's nails are curled and they are trimmed regularly. Barney and Daisy have short nails that never need trimming because they wear them down on my stone patio and my tile floor. Teddy for some reason, due to the anatomical positioning of his paw (more rounded than B&D) tends to have curled nails and as a result, they never wear down on their own and need trimming. If I think I need them trimmed more than I can do without feeling like I might hit a bleeder, I have the vet do it and even short they look curled to me. I have not tried a grinder because my dogs are scared of the noise but I have used a file with good results to take the nails down short. I hate nails and nail trimming. |
I am not good at the clippers (afraid of clipping too close) so I started using the grinder several years ago. My 13 year old pek lost a toe because she damaged it when she got it stuck. It taught me a lesson and I file all my babies' nails on a regular basis. The yorkies absolutely hate it, but their health is more important. It is just so easy to get caught and if I don't catch it, it can cause serious damage. |
I agree that the grinder is the easiest and safest way to trim their nails. You can get the nails nice and short without hurting them. I find it easier if someone holds the dog while I use the grinder. My boys gave me a hard time at first, but once they got used to the noise, they stopped fighting it. It's worth a try. :) |
I am going to give this a try. Do you that use a "grinder" use the pedipaws, or a tool such as a dremel tool? |
I started out using a dremel and recently switched to the Oster version of pedipaws. Either was okay for me, as long as it was cordless. My dremel worked fine, but had a cord. I found it easier to be cordless. |
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