# Nail Cutting Question



## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

I'm a little confused about where to cut off Basil's nails. I don't want to cut his quick, but personally I don't think it's extremely clear where the quick is... Basil's claws are white, so I can see the pink quick showing through. However, between the white of the claw and the pink of the quick, there's sort of a darkish, pinkish area, and I'm not sure if it's the quick or if it's part of the nail. It's also hard to tell exactly where the white, pink, and darkish/pinkish area all meet, because the white of the nail sometimes get too opaque from certain areas and I can't tell where it stops. I made this illustration in Photoshop to show you what I mean:










Basil's claws were extremely long when I adopted him, and he doesn't like having his nails clipped, so it's been a battle to get the quick to recede. Currently when I clip his nails, I clip along where line B is in the picture, just to be safe. Should I be clipping as far down as line A? I'd like to get his claws as short as possible, but I don't want to damage the quick. Any advice?


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Nargle said:


> I'm a little confused about where to cut off Basil's nails. I don't want to cut his quick, but personally I don't think it's extremely clear where the quick is... Basil's claws are white, so I can see the pink quick showing through. However, between the white of the claw and the pink of the quick, there's sort of a darkish, pinkish area, and I'm not sure if it's the quick or if it's part of the nail. It's also hard to tell exactly where the white, pink, and darkish/pinkish area all meet, because the white of the nail sometimes get too opaque from certain areas and I can't tell where it stops. I made this illustration in Photoshop to show you what I mean:
> 
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> 
> ...


Yes, dremel  I've dremeled my dogs' nails for years and you can't even SEE their toenails half the time (and on a GSD, this is really saying a lot!)


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

I have a Pedi-Paws, but I need to get some new betteries, lol! Still though, I don't know how far down to cut/grind the nails. Do I stop at the slightly darker pinkish gray area or do I go all the way down to the bright pink?


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

I usually clip Cadence's nails more towards A. I'm also trying to get his quick to recede! His nails click on the floor even when it's clipped to the maximum. He doesn't really show any discomfort when I clip till point A, though. He used to squeal every time I clipped his nails, but I realized after a while that it wasn't because I'd hit the quick... but because he just didn't like his nails clipped.


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## Ayanla (Jun 11, 2009)

I can not express to you how much easier and more efficient a dremel is. Odo would not let me clip his nails at all. Pedi-paws was better, but we still had issues with him fighting and it took so long that I could never do all four paws in one sitting. The dremel has been amazing. I can do all four of Kira's paws in about 5 minutes, and Odo's take only slightly longer due to his reluctance and the fur between his toes.


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

to get the quick to recede, you will need to be cutting closer to the nails than you are. It is much easier to use a dremel. a dremel is also a lot better than the cheap imitations. you want to stop just before the bright pink area.


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## stars1 (Mar 17, 2010)

I use dremel before, but now I have a Pushing Nail Clipper. It's Perfect for small pets, this comfortable Pushing Nail Clipper features sure grip handles and long lasting stainless steel blades. don't need vet or dog groomer to clip nails for my pet any more.


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## yappypappymom (Oct 22, 2009)

I think that once you "dremel", you will NEVER go back to regular types of nail clippings. I have tried the kind you suggested stars, plus the traditional nail trimmers. NONE compare to the Dremel!! (IMO) I WILL ONLY ever Dremel nails now for the remainder of my life-time. It just works SOOO well, & it is super quick too. It is painless, & I NEVER have to worry about "nicking" the quick either. Maybe I should consult w/Dremel to see if I could be a spokes person for them...THATS how WELL it works!! LOL


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## Ayanla (Jun 11, 2009)

I'm with yappy. I used both guillotine clippers and pedi-paws, and they just don't compare to the speed and ease of a dremel.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Lol, I still have NO idea what a dremel looks like. Don't really want to invest anymore money in grooming stuff (I've spent a TON!), but Cadence is really good. He lays on his side very still for me when I cut his nails. It only takes me like 5 minutes to trim them all. I just lay him down near the windows so that there's sunlight for me to see the quick, and then I trim them. I use the regular clippers (not guillotine ones).


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Lol, I still have NO idea what a dremel looks like. Don't really want to invest anymore money in grooming stuff (I've spent a TON!), but Cadence is really good. He lays on his side very still for me when I cut his nails. It only takes me like 5 minutes to trim them all. I just lay him down near the windows so that there's sunlight for me to see the quick, and then I trim them. I use the regular clippers (not guillotine ones).











This is what I use  2 speed (high powered for huge, kung fu toenails) and low (for smaller dogs or more brittle toenails). I get mine at wal-mart for about 25 bucks. The only downside is acclimating a puppy (like Tag) to it, the nose is into EVERYTHING. The good thing about pedi-paws is the guard to keep hair from being caught, but the pedi-paws (and pedi-cure) that I've tried SUCKS in comparison to the dremel. It would take me days to get Auz's nails done with the PP or PC, with the dremel it's boom-boom-boom-boom, and we're done  I don't hold the foot while I dremel, I actually brace the toe a bit so the "motion" of the dremel doesn't travel all the way up into their leg, kwim? Tag got used to it within a few minutes, he lays on my back and yawns the whole time, but he lets me do it  Auz moans and groans the whole time; he lies on his side. Every now and again he'll shift positions and find himself pulling away, and he screams because (I guess) he thinks his foot is in a vice. He's a knob 
I've got a lot of grooming dogs who hate having their nails cut, but accept the dremel like it's no big deal. The finished nail is shorter, and smoother (no snags or sharp edges), so we're happy campers...


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Nargle said:


> I have a Pedi-Paws, but I need to get some new betteries, lol! Still though, I don't know how far down to cut/grind the nails. Do I stop at the slightly darker pinkish gray area or do I go all the way down to the bright pink?


When in doubt, just take the ends off. I dremeled Auz's nails practically every other day when he was young, just to keep them nubby short and not take the chance of taking his nail too short with a rotating piece of sandpaper (that would HURT like heck..) His nails are SO easy to care for now, I think the dremel actually stunted the growth of his quicks; his nails are a once a month touch up and never touch the ground.  I very rarely try to dremel "to the pink". If the quick is long and is going to be hitting the ground, dremeling the nail back to the pink could be asking for your dog to "scrape" off the last bit and get his nails bleeding. Not good. 
I would touch the ends once or twice a week with a grinder to start pushing the quick back


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

Thanks for the photo!! 

I'm wondering.. if Cadence's nails click on the floor when he walks, does it always mean that his nails are too long?? I've been trimming them very often for the past month or so... but his nails STILL click on the floor and I'm already trimming them to the max, like righttt before the quick!


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## LiftBig315 (Jan 9, 2010)

I just did Mooses fronts, he jerked his foot just as I clipped on one and got the quick just a knick...wife just about started crying, I think it affected her more than him...still need to do the backs, I tried to cut between A and B....his nails don't hit the floor when he is standing or walking.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

lucidity said:


> Thanks for the photo!!
> 
> I'm wondering.. if Cadence's nails click on the floor when he walks, does it always mean that his nails are too long?? I've been trimming them very often for the past month or so... but his nails STILL click on the floor and I'm already trimming them to the max, like righttt before the quick!


Not necessarily, and like you said if you're cutting them as short as you can, it's all you can do. This is where the dremel really helps


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

LiftBig315 said:


> I just did Mooses fronts, he jerked his foot just as I clipped on one and got the quick just a knick...wife just about started crying, *I think it affected her more than him*...still need to do the backs, I tried to cut between A and B....his nails don't hit the floor when he is standing or walking.


This is usually the case


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## CareBearStare (Dec 19, 2009)

Another vote for the dremel here. Mine just came in the mail yesterday. Bear took to it immediately. I love that you can get the nail completely smooth. With clippers I was always worried I was pinching the quick and the edges were always left jagged to some extent. Now Bear's nails are perfectly rounded...it's rather addicting.


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## LiftBig315 (Jan 9, 2010)

Moose came back from the vet with a nice trim today!


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

CareBearStare said:


> Another vote for the dremel here. Mine just came in the mail yesterday. Bear took to it immediately. I love that you can get the nail completely smooth. With clippers I was always worried I was pinching the quick and the edges were always left jagged to some extent. Now Bear's nails are perfectly rounded...it's rather addicting.


Hmm.. how did you get them smooth?? Maybe I just need more practice..


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## CareBearStare (Dec 19, 2009)

CoverTune said:


> Hmm.. how did you get them smooth?? Maybe I just need more practice..


I pretty much just followed the instructions on DoberDawn's website 
The pictures really helped with judging the amount to take off as well


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

CareBearStare said:


> I pretty much just followed the instructions on DoberDawn's website
> The pictures really helped with judging the amount to take off as well


Thanks for that link! I've bookmarked it, and will give it a good study before my girls' next pedicure.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

maybe it's just my dremel I use but I HATE dremeling nails I would much rather clip. not to mention the dremel scares my dogs while they are just fine for clipping. the thing I hate the most is the nail dust that flys up into my face while it works. the noise is what scares the dogs.


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## yappypappymom (Oct 22, 2009)

LOL Keechak ...Leif LOVES the sound of the Dremel! He can be upstairs, downstairs - wherever...when he _hears _that Dremel turn on, he makes haste to be in the same room -_PRONTO_!!...I did a fantastic job in "conditioning" him to the tool! He knows that when he lays on his back between my legs for about 3 min., he WILL get a yummy treat of beef jerkey! (I still just tap his toes briefly, but, I do it near daily, so,...long nails are NOTHING that we will ever have to worry about here, &, he just thinks that it is something "normal" that we do, PLUS, he gets a tasty treat) Win-win situation for us at least 

Covertoon - take it nice & slow..get the girls used to the device...you can get the nails trimmed up later than sooner, just, for now, take it nice & slow!! Once the gals are used to it more, you will be able to spend more time "at it" with them, & can go from there - for now, you want them to associate "good things come w/the Dremel" *winks*


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