I wish I was brave enough to do this! I usually just let the groomer take care of them when my Yorkies are groomed. Their nails are black so it is hard for me to tell if I am cutting too close. I worked at a vet for almost a year as the receptionist and they wanted me to learn how to at least cut nails so if they got behind in the back, I could just take care of it. I HATED it. I never felt comfortable or confident in doing it. I was so scared and nervous! I got too close once and made a poor doggie bleed a little and cry and yelp. I felt terrible and felt like crying too! I hate hurting any animal even if it is not intentional! I brake and swerve for squirrels!
Misha is now 4 years old and I still can't trim her nails. She is terrible when it comes to nails. She goes into attack mode. So far, the only way to get them done is to put her on a sedative and let the assistant at the Vets do it.
I have to admit that I can do almost anything for my dog, but nail clipping gives me the creeps. I just can't do it.
We've tried but they would get too aggressive with us and we would end up hurting them. You would think your own dogs would be more comfortable with you doing the clipping than some complete stranger, but that wasn't the case with our dogs. We now have cats, and there is no way on earth you would ever get me to try and clip their nails. I let the vet get mauled instead.
I would never even think about cutting my dogs nail, I leave that to the professionals. Even though the groomer cuts his nail every visit, they still seem extremely sharp. I have tried walking him on pavement to try to wear them down and take away the rough edges. So far nothing has worked. I am considering buying on of those electric grinders. Has anyone tried them , do they work , and how does your pet react?
I noticed that if we didn't take our dogs in to have their nails cut, they would start getting stuck in the carpet, blankets, rugs and other stuff. A few times we actually found some of their whole nails on the ground as if they got ripped off or something.
We would walk our dogs every day as well, and it still wasn't enough to wear down their nails.
My beagle got pretty crafty with her long nails. She figured out how to pull down a table cloth and yank all the food off a table.
I absolutely hate having to cut my dogs' nails. I would usually have my dad do it while I held the dogs (3 mini dachshunds), but even then it was difficult for me to watch my dad sometimes get the quick. We'd use the traditional dog nail clippers, but I did buy a grinder. I tried it on the dogs, even with the recommended "hold down" procedure, but I just gave up after a while because it felt like some sort of torture.
The thing is, my dogs nails grow really fast and crazy sharp. Even though they are outside dogs and their running around should help file them down, I always find myself trying to avoid their claws as their jumping at my legs. Other than my dad cutting their nails though, we never took them to the groomers. Sometimes though, our vet would take the liberty and cut their nails. That was always a relief.
Yes I do clip my dogs toenails. I bought a good set of clippers at Petco. I am not sure of the brand, but they have a plate behind the hole to stick their toenail in that keeps you from going too short. I dont clip them as often as I should so sometimes will have to clip the same toenail more than once.
If you do happen to cut into the quick, to where it bleeds, dab a drop of SUPER GLUE on it. Blow on it till it dries. Will stop the bleeding.
One thing I found out, is when I clip her nails, if she is in "HER' swivel recliner, like she is most the time, if I turn her on her back with her head toward me she will let me hold her feet and clip her nails much better than if she is upright. She doesn't try to pull back as much. Don't know why, but it works for me!
I have a little 10lb yorkie/shitzu mix. She spends 90% of her time indoors and when she goes out it is on grass. So her nails get trimmed about every 4wks. I just trim a little at a time so I do not cut to close. I am especially mindful about keeping her dewclaws trimmed because I noticed they do tend to curl toward the pad. As long as I do not dawdle while trimming, she does pretty good. And she always gets a treat afterward.
I have a huge 90 lb American Staffordshire Terrier. He is absolutely terrified of nail clippers so I have never been successful at clipping his toenails. We've even brought our dog to the groomer, and even with several people holding him down the groomer could not safely clip my dog's toenails. I'm looking into trying out the dremmel but I don't see how my dog will be any less afraid of a grinding apparatus than a small nail clipper. For now, I just let him run around on cement and take him out for long walks on sidewalks to get file his nails down. If I have the time, I might try to train my dog to file his own nails on a sandpaper board or scratch board. There are websites out there that give advice on how to train dogs to file their own nails using positive reinforcement, so for those of you who have trouble clipping your dog's nails, I recommend you try out these alternative methods.
I personally do clip my own dogs nails. I find that if I can't see where their skin is and I'm not sure how far to cut them down, I just keep them slightly longer to be safe. I would hate to miss and make them bleed and hurt. Ouch! I have been doing it for quite some time so my dogs are pretty conditioned when it's time to cut their nails!
I personally do not cut my dog's nails because the cost to have it professionally done is so low I do not want to risk it. We take our dog in about once every 4-6 weeks, her nails grow really fast in the summer, and it costs us about $12-$15 to have her nails trimmed. We are in and out in no more than 20 minutes and the dog isn't scared of the process, in fact I think she quite enjoys it because if her nails start to get too long I swear it seems as though she will hold her paws up as if to tell us. We have never even tried to cut the dog's nails and have no plans. Last time we were at the vet a man in the waiting room told us he uses a dremmel to file his dog's nails, he said it is quick and easy and greatly reduces the risk of hurting your dog.
I have found that using a grinder on my dogs nails makes them more nervous about the whole nail clipping process. I have been clipping all of my dogs nails for years. The best nail clipper that I have found is one with a guard. The guard is in place so that you only clip off a little bit. It also lines the nail up evenly so that you can get a clean and even cut. Also if you are too nervous about clipping your dogs nails they will sense it. Take your time and make sure your confident in what your doing.
