Nails

Jen

Jen

Have you tried a dog groomer? I’ve found them a lot better and have more patience for these things than a vet.

They put Stanley in a harness thing and slightly raise him off the ground so he can’t run away.

I imagine it’s still stressful for him but I make OH take him and he’s always fine by the time he’s home ☺
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
Yes, they definitely grow at different rates. Willow's are bloody bionic. Squidge's don't grow fast at all. Willow covers a huge amount more ground on walks than Squidge does, so it's not that Squidge wears her down faster. Shadow's are quite soft so, whilst I do trim them once a week, there's very little to come off. Ginny needs hers doing because she's not very mobile but when she was having proper walks, they were similar to Shadow's.
They are almost never on tarmac, but when we have been at various times over their lives, it hasn't made any discernible difference and, anyway, if the nails are touching the asphalt, they're too long, so...

Emily said:
and what that might do to her long term relationship and trust with us
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I think trust is more likely broken when you try to trick them. As long as you have a clear setup where she knows, "These are the conditions which mean a non-negotiable procedure is going to happen", then I think you're all good. The fact is that there are times when the dog has to go through something they'd rather not (eye drops, ear drops, injections etc) and so it's a good thing to teach them that there is a scenario where they don't get a choice. Of course, you can still build up to the procedure itself, so for example, pop the muzzle on, have your OH put an arm across her chest (or whatever) and then lift and hold her paw. You're not "asking" in the same way as you would for cooperative care and it's non-negotiable, but you can still break it down into manageable chunks to get her used to the idea that muzzle on (and whatever other environmental cues you use) means that she just has to suck it up for a few minutes.
 
snowbunny

snowbunny

Location
Andorra and Spain
M.F. said:
My heart goes out to all of you whose dogs don’t like their nails cut. I can imagine the stress. We are very lucky that Snowie just accepts it. In fact, yesterday he was wagging his tail while I was trimming his back paw nails. I discovered an easier way to do them. He was lying on the ground with one back paw stretched out with the pads showing. I could see clearly where the long tips extended over the quick and how far I could cut them. Made SUCH a difference to how easy it was and how less worried I was to cut the quick (I’m terrified of cutting the quick having cut it once and Snowie let out a gasp!!).
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My Dremel has a light on it which helps me see where the quick is on the lighter nails. Of course, it doesn't help with that at all with the black nails, but the change in texture when you get close to the quick is pretty obvious, so I just go by that.
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
@Jen Suggestion is a good one. My sister's rescue dog screams, shakes and his heart rate rises if she tries to cut his nails. She takes him to a groomer who has spent two years building his trust. He's still not great but a good groomer wants the same as the owner, a good outcome. Groomers have a much calmer approach than a vet and also the environment is different too. You could ring a few groomers to explain how Ella reacts and go from there, it might be worth a try Emily. I agree with you about the muzzle, her trust in you is essential not just for nail clipping. Even restraining is not ideal. I really do feel for anyone who has this problem. xx
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Nails on different dogs are definitely different. I remember when I first came on the other forum to learn about Labradors and thought Mags was out of her mind with the "don't need a bath, don't need nails clipped" thing. (Sorry Mags 😁) Both my Rotties had nails like concrete and no amount of pavement walking was going to make a difference. They also needed to be bathed regularly or ...ick.

As long as I hit Regensburg twice a year, Carbon's nails stay pretty much ok. Not perfect, as they should be shorter, but him using cobblestones as a scratching pad after each toilet sure does do the trick. It's one reason I've not tried too much to work with him to stop the habit, which I have to prevent him from doing here in Cornwall or he'd tear up the lawn.

In a pinch, I can do Carbon's nails with clippers, but it's certainly not his choice. The furthest I got with the R+/start button thing was that he at least recognizes that the clippers mean food at the end, so he puts up with it. I do it as fast as I can, max two nails at a go, and then drown him in sausage. He forgives me, though it's not ideal.

But I hear you that the kamikaze approach wouldn't work for you, @Emily . This is a tough one.. 🙁
 
Jen

Jen

I’d be tempted to just leave them. They don’t look THAT bad to me.

They’re not that much worse than Stanley’s. As long as they don’t seem to be causing her any discomfort I’d just get them cut if you’re getting her sedated for something else.
 
M

M.F.

snowbunny said:
change in texture when you get close to the quick is pretty obvious, so I just go by that.
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Wow, that’s paying attention! I’ve never used a Dremel so I wouldn’t know. But I did watch a vet (or groomer or dog trainer, I forget) in a video describing that you must cut up to white soft stuff. It looked scary! But it’s actually a good guide—I saw the white soft stuff for the first time yesterday when Snowie had his paw upside down stretched out behind him. Usually I just use the bottom of his paw pad as a guide to the correct length—my trimmer has a guide/spacer for this.

Pro tip from the person who sold me the trimmers: use the sharpest, most powerful trimmer you can get. One fast slice makes the job less stressful, I think. Just need to make sure you don’t cut the toe off!!! My trimmers are rather scary that way!!
 
Charlie

Charlie

Location
Argyll & Bute, Scotland
The are so short @Boogie Charlie's are like Ella's and that's having them cut ever few weeks. I use @snowbunny advise on the white line, so I cut to there and snip the sides, touch wood I've never cut the quick. However, the quick's have never receded as I understood they can with regular clipping. xx
 
M

M.F.

I do think the length of the fur on the paw also makes nails look shorter or longer. Snowie has very fluffy paws, so his nails look short, so I have to make sure I measure them against the bottom of his paw pads. I once saw a dog with what looked like very long nails. But I just wasn’t used to seeing a paw with very smooth fur.
 
Natalie

Natalie

Jen said:
I’d be tempted to just leave them. They don’t look THAT bad to me.
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I was thinking that - Monty's are only a little shorter than that. fortunately very slow growing.

On the sedation thing - I had a vet tell me once that he thought a GA was much better than sedation. He felt that dogs that were still vaguely aware of something going on were much more likely to build up anxiety than those who were just knocked out for the count. We weren't talking about nails at this time, but anal gland infection, I think.
It helps of course, if you know that your dog reacts 'well' to GAs and doesn't experience bad side effects - we are lucky that Monty has no issues with this.
 
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