How often do you trim you dogs nails? What tools do you use? What age do you start cutting them?

Sorry for so many questions, I just have no idea. The only nails I've ever cut where my own, my kids and the rabbit.

It depends I think on how good the pup is with new things. We started as soon as she was home, for the most part (save a few days for her to get comfy at home). Let them give it a sniff, it might take some work to get them used to it depending on how they are with new situations. As long as strangers aren't involved, mine is fine, so we just flipped on the dremel and went at it, keeping her still with a bully stick. Start of gently, without taking too much off, and let them get used to it. Touch their feet every day, have them get used to having their toes separated, etc. You can get the nail grooming tool of choice out every day, even if you don't actually cut. If you have a certain time you set aside for nail trimming, tooth brushing, and regular brushing, that makes it easier to remember (we do it when the roomie gets off work and before she goes to bed). It takes just a couple of minutes
I prefer a dremel, you can get ones made for grooming pets at petco (as seen on TV ones), or just get one from home depot (which work better). The only difference is that the as seen on TV ones have a "safety cap" so you can only use part of the dremel, which honestly is just a big inconvenience and makes you hold the dremel and the dog's paw at a weird angle sometimes and makes the whole thing a lot harder. And really, I don't see how it's any safer- it just means that can sell it as a grooming tool and mark up a really lame dremel.
Clippers are good, more people probably use those. You do end up with rougher nails when you're done and it's easier to cut too far (this part scares the sh*t out of me). They are much faster to use though.

As long as you work with doing strange things to her, she'll be okay with either tool, probably. We went to the vet and they asked if they could clip her nails, but didn't have a dremel. She'd never had them clipped before, but just layed there and ate treats just fine. Once I tried to see if I could give her a nail extension by putting starbucks straw on one of her nails lol. She looked at me funny and went back to her kong.

Thanks! I'm sure to cutting the rabbits nails so I dog should be a walk in the park. Believe me, cutting a rabbits nails is NO FUN! She knows all our tricks and it usually takes an hour or so to get them all done. With the rabbit you can tell how far to cut because the end of the nail looks different, a more solid even color. Are dogs the same? Lord knows I would cry for a week if I hurt her.

I honestly didn't know cutting rabbit nails was a thing. I suppose it makes sense though, I just never thought about it, and I've only ever had dogs (and plants, but I kill plants. When you don't feed a dog it barks and whines, when you don't feed a plant it....leans..?).
Dogs I'd suppose are similar, you can see where to cut. Some nails are probably going to be black, though. I think it's a husky thing, I'm sure other breeds have it too. My lab mix didn't.
The black ones, obviously, make it hard to see the end, and are also tougher. Korra's are black pretty much every other nail. It scares me enough I just use the dremel.
But, I wouldn't use the clippers on my lab either, so that's probably just a lame excuse for me being a total chicken.

Rabbits nails grow like you wouldn't believe, we got a little behind and are trying to play catch up now.

I'm a plant killer too, my kids like to pick on me, when we go to Lowes I'm not allowed to touch the plants, they say I have the touch of death. My aunt gave me her 60+ yr old Christmas Cactus, I killed it, talk about someone feeling like poo.

I'll give the dremel a try, sounds a lot safer. Thanks for the help.

Professionally, we usually recommend every 2 to 4 weeks, to keep the quicks shorter.
You will have to trim off a lot less at a time this way too.
If nails go a long time without clipping, the quicks (blood vessel in middle of nail) can grow longer and that will limit how short the nails can be cut without bleeding.

For all nails but black nails especially - just start with small slivers and look straight at the blunt end of the nail. As you get closer to the quick you will see a black or red/pink dot in the center, kinda like the dot in the middle of a tree stump. When you see the dot - stop. This means the quick is close by, if you really want to press your luck when you get good at it - you can tell how wide the black dot can get before you're really close. Sometimes with a near-miss you will see no dot but a circular membrane because you're just a hair away from the beginning of the quick/blood vessel.

When cutting, be sure to cut the nail side-to-side.

I would vehemently recommend you stay away from Guillotine-style nail clippers, all the ones I've seen have done more shattering/splintering of nails than anything. Also cutting the nail top-to-bottom tends to upset dogs more.

Plain pliers/scissor-like clippers work fine, depending on quality and sharpness.
I highly recommend the Safari brand. I've used the same pair on about 12 dogs a day for over a year.

IF you accidentally make the nail bleed, you can use something called quick-stop / styptic powder - OR plain average Flour. Just pack it onto the end of the nail and press, this will stop the bleeding. The bleeding might resume if the dog digs or gets the nail wet soon after, but otherwise its a permanent solution.
Just re-apply if this happens.

The dremmels seem all fine and good, but I've seen many dogs that despise them, and quite a few that got burned from people holding the dremel on the nail too long - which wasn't very long at all. A lot of dogs just don't like the sound or vibration. It all depends on the dog, i'm sure, like hair clippers, if you get them used to it early on they could be fine with it. We do not use them professionally, we have too many dogs that are unfamiliar with it or hate it, we are efficient enough with the old fashioned way lol.

I would also like to point out - it helps to keep your dog co-operative if you put them up on a surface or somewhere that's not the floor / couch etc. so they don't think its playtime.

Hope this helps.

When I was getting the girls used to me cutting their nails, I did a little bit every week. Like seriously a very tiny amount. Just enough so they knew what I was doing. My girls both have black nails, so I take extra special care for that as well. I walk my girls on concrete a lot, but they still need their nails clipped every once in awhile, especially their dew claws.

The schedule really just depends on how fast the individual nails grow. I recommend doing just a little bit every week or two, not trying to be a professional and getting it perfect, to me that is just asking for trouble. Until you are extremely comfortable with it, just do a little bit at a time. I have been doing it for over a year with Kennedy, and I still wouldn't just go gung-ho at it.

I personally haven't used a dremmel, and I'm not sure I plan on it. Those are more scary to me then the normal clippers. I would suggest you have a groomer show you how to use it before you attempt to use it yourself, or at least watch youtube videos to show you the basics.

Good luck!! Nail clipping was the scariest thing for me personally to learn; I was always afraid of getting the quick and having some massive bleed out. But, accidents happen. I haven't hit the quick yet, but if I do, hopefully I won't freak out!

Mink wrote:

Professionally, we usually recommend every 2 to 4 weeks, to keep the quicks shorter.
You will have to trim off a lot less at a time this way too.
If nails go a long time without clipping, the quicks (blood vessel in middle of nail) can grow longer and that will limit how short the nails can be cut without bleeding.

For all nails but black nails especially - just start with small slivers and look straight at the blunt end of the nail. As you get closer to the quick you will see a black or red/pink dot in the center, kinda like the dot in the middle of a tree stump. When you see the dot - stop. This means the quick is close by, if you really want to press your luck when you get good at it - you can tell how wide the black dot can get before you're really close. Sometimes with a near-miss you will see no dot but a circular membrane because you're just a hair away from the beginning of the quick/blood vessel.

When cutting, be sure to cut the nail side-to-side.

I would vehemently recommend you stay away from Guillotine-style nail clippers, all the ones I've seen have done more shattering/splintering of nails than anything. Also cutting the nail top-to-bottom tends to upset dogs more.

Plain pliers/scissor-like clippers work fine, depending on quality and sharpness.
I highly recommend the Safari brand. I've used the same pair on about 12 dogs a day for over a year.

IF you accidentally make the nail bleed, you can use something called quick-stop / styptic powder - OR plain average Flour. Just pack it onto the end of the nail and press, this will stop the bleeding. The bleeding might resume if the dog digs or gets the nail wet soon after, but otherwise its a permanent solution.
Just re-apply if this happens.

...

Are these the ones you are talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Professional-Trimmer-Small-Medium/dp/B0002RJM8C

I need to get some for the new pup and I would also like to get some for the cat. He makes a fuss about nail clipping time but I hate the ones that we originally got (the guillotine) because like you said it seems to ruin the nail and it's really not sharp enough. -_-

Would you recommend the small/medium for cat and husky use? Lol.

I use these for the cat...have for 9 years now and love them...always used them on my chihuahua too until she passed...I like them because they are small and easy to grip/hold and I can cut them a lot quicker.

http://www.amazon.com/Scissor-Style-Small-Puppy-Nail-Trimmer/dp/B0007UD6OA

Recently I purchased these for the husky pup and they are amazing

http://www.4thedogs.com/animal-planet-grooming-tools-gift-set/

Thanks for all the info.

simplify wrote:

Are these the ones you are talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Professional-Trimmer-Small-Medium/dp/B0002RJM8C

I need to get some for the new pup and I would also like to get some for the cat. He makes a fuss about nail clipping time but I hate the ones that we originally got (the guillotine) because like you said it seems to ruin the nail and it's really not sharp enough. -_-

Would you recommend the small/medium for cat and husky use? Lol.

Yes, those are the ones ^_^ They should work just fine.
Occasionally, we come across an adult GSD with just super thick nails and have to use a more heavy-duty pair.
I don't know if some Huskies get thick nails like that or not, but you'd have at least until the puppy is past full-grown if they do.

Thank you! I used the nail clippers I have for the rabbit. Cut her front nails, she didn't want me touching the back one so that will take some work. I think I just need to catch her when she's tired.

I have a set of the scissor clippers but a cheap set that's been around for a while. They have a tendency to cut and then crush the nail the rest of the way as they just aren't sharp. I was wondering if anyone has tried to sharpen a set before? Getting a better set is an option but if they can be sharpened I would rather do that. Kenzi hates her nails trimmed so I have to be quick when I clip and there's nothing quick about dull blades.

I have used clippers and a Dremmel and the last two dogs I had prefer the Dremmel to clippers. Others I took care of have liked clippers.

My clipper has replaceable blades. My shepherd prefers dremmel, Loki is good with clippers, and my lab doesn't like either, but I use clippers on him since it is faster.

I just picked up a pair of dog clippers from dollar tree that would work fine if I was allowed to get close enough to cut nails. I've never tried sharpening any blades.

I took the clippers apart last night and used a knife sharpener on them. They are sharper now, but putting them back together as tight as they were before dismantling them has proven a pain. There's a gap between the blades when closed so I will probably just buy a new quality set and cut my loses rather than fight with getting those back together. I wish I could use a dremel but she runs from anything that makes a motor-ish noise.

Hey guys, Mylo's recent bath and nail trim was done on Feb 6th. I'm wondering if his nails are due for a cut again or not. He does have a few black nails.

Here they are, I'm only concerned for the front ones. Are they still okay?


I'm willing to pay to have it done but do you guys think it's stupid to take my boy somewhere to get his nails trimmed?
I plan on taking him for another bath in either June or July so I know his nails are gonna need to be trimmed way before that cause thats a long time.
I feel way too hesitant to try it myself although I could probably do it.
He's good with having his paws touched as I do it everyday with daily belly and thigh rubs haha.

Rule of thumb, if you can hear them click on the ground, then it's time for a trim. hard to tell where the quick is, especially on dark nails, but if the white has grown out a bit past the pink tint and are beginning to seem sharp then they could use to be trimmed. I was never comfortable with nipping them back myself either and took my girl to have others do it for me, but have found that sometimes the groomers or vets get too close. I've switched to a dremel and will never look back. I am totally confident to do them myself at home and don't have to worry about getting too close the quick with it, even on keno who has all black nails.

I trim Anya's weekly--that way I can do just the very tips and not worry about cutting the quick.

She used to be a maniac and panic, but a spoonful of peanut butter keeps her occupied and she lets me do it easily. Now as soon as she sees the clippers she knows its peanut butter time and runs to her spot and sits, and extends her paw to hurry it along

I ended up taking my boy for a nail trim in the end of March at a local pet store (not petco or petsmart) They did good although I was told he was rowdy. I plan on taking him once every month there...it freaks me out to trim his nails.