# Walking on sidewalks = no nail trimming?



## Tarekith

Hi everyone, had a question related to nail trimming, or rather not needing to trim nails. I've heard that dogs that walk and run a lot on sidewalks or asphalt might not need to have their nails trimmed, that the abrasive action of the ground keeps them to an acceptable length. Is this true?

I ask because like many people we're having a lot of trouble getting our black lab to let us trim his nails. He was fine with it as a young puppy, but at around 5 months he suddenly started getting skittish about letting us do it. We've never quicked him, he just decided he didn't like it. We started following the guides (and the youtube video often posted) here about getting him used to the clippers with treats and a clicker. And while we can use a pen or touch his nails with the clippers, there's no way he'll let us grab his paw and actually clip a nail. We've been working slowly on this for months now (daily), and we're seeing no improvement. If anything, he's getting worse about it as he approaches 11 months. The mere sight of the clippers causes him to back off regardless of what treats we have.

I bought a dremel as well, and after a few weeks he was ok with us turning it on and being around it. Id even be able to remove the sanding wheel and rub his leg with it with no issues. But again, as soon as I got near his feet with it, he was scared and wanted nothing to do with it.

We tried taking him to the vet to have them done, but the vet was hesitant to do it and suggested we keep working on the training (she said we were doing it right, it would just take more time). I really don't want to subject him to being held down by many people to have it done anyway, and the vet says putting him under for the procedure is a last resort.

As we live in the city, is it ok to just let the sidewalk do the work for us? Or is that just a myth?


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## Lorina

In the two years I've had my dog, I haven't had to clip his nails once. They're a little long now, because during the summer, we walk on sidewalks less -- too hot on little footsies, plus in the cooler months when it's dark early, I tend to walk more at night, when well-lit sidewalks are safer than parks or hiking trails.  

I would definitely try to work on letting him touch his feet. It's the best option, but it can be a slow, slow process, as your finding out. In the meantime, it certainly shouldn't hurt anything by having him walk on sidewalks.


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## Toby4Life

This is not a myth. I haven't clipped Toby's nails in over 6 months because during the summer we walk on streets/sidewalks and his nails remain shorter. In the winter when we get most of our exercise in the snow we end up having to cut them but not in the summer.

The one disclaimer here is that we don't just walk, we usually get out on the rollerblades a few times a week and I'm sure this extra running/pulling on the streets help grind them down even further, but we haven't been out in over a month and his nails are still fine just from our walks.


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## loratliff

Hm, really interesting thought. I've always noticed that my guy's nails never seem to get super long, but that probably makes sense considering that we walk on the street a lot.


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## Curbside Prophet

Elsa's paw pads go before her nails do, so go figure.


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## poodleholic

The pavement is too harsh for the kind of outdoor exercise my dogs engage in, so their nails need to be trimmed. I dremel.


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## Purplex15

it really doesnt make any sense for your dog to get worse about his feet if he was good about it as a puppy and nothing traumatic has happened since. when you try to do his feet, are you mad, or upset, in any way? if you are nervous or feeling anything other than calm assertion, your dog will feel it and will more than likely be really bad for you. i would really like to hear how he is with other people, like a groomer or a vet, who dont have that "he is my dog and i feel bad" mentality. then you could know for sure if this issue is his issue, or yours. has anyone else ever tried to do his nails?

as far as sidewalks go, it completyely depends. just like people, dogs do not all walk the same, and many distribute their weight unevenly on their feet. most dogs i know wear down all back feet, and just the outside of the front ones, still leaving 4 nails that need to be trimmed (and dewclaws if the dog has them). so def. try it, but you may still have to trim.

im also not one to flat out ignore a dogs behavior by doing something else to avoid it. if your dog is acting like this, then he will probably act the same way in situations where he has to have something done. the older and bigger he gets, the worse it will be.


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## Line-of-Fire

Sidewalks will do it. Sometimes their back feet nails are shorter than the front, however, because some dogs tend to drag theird back legs a little. Just being lazy lol. Paulie's back nails are lots shorter than the front because of this. I still trim, but mostly just the front. He's usually on grass anyway.


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## hawkjm73

In my experience sidewalks are usually effective, so are the rock yards we tend to have here in Arizona. I personally prefer shorter nails then that, though, so I still clip. (Great Danes WILL step on feet eventually, and I'd much rather the nails not ever be involved.  )

How is your dog positioned when you attempt to trim his nails? I've had dogs that are content to let me trim when they're laying down, feet waving in the air. Some, though, are very uncomfortable like this. My current Dane does best when I stand at his side and pick up one foot rearward to clip. Visualize a farrier working on a horse's hoof for the position. I also trim off slivers at a time. I suspect it is uncomfortable to trim all the way through a cross-section at once, so I do one corner, then the next, and so on until the nail is the may I want it. He seems more comfortable with that, and I can get rid of sharp edges much more effectively, though not as well as a dremel. I'm not real sure if a lab's nails are suitable for that, but it could be worth a try. A second person delivering high value treats to the dog while you're working makes this way easier as well.


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## rosemaryninja

My dogs are 10 and 8 and I have never had to trim their nails. They walk on tarmac and pavement for about 3-4 miles every day. Their nails are really short; I couldn't clip anymore off them if I tried.


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## ioreks_mom

iorek's nails are usually short enough just by walking him on the sidewalk. his quicks are really long so his nails are quite long too, but we can't make them any shorter. we are lucky that his toenails are all white and it is easy to see the quick.


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## blackrose

The dogs that have been boarding in at work for almost six months (one pair has been with us almost a year, poor things) have the shortest nails ever because all of their outside time is on cement. When Blackie and Rose were active we never needed to trim their nails. No Blackie really needs his done but I'm scared I'll quick him. I might have the groomer do them. 

Also, if he is just wiggly/jumpy, all it takes to get them done in at the groomers is one person holding him (in a head lock type hold so he can't move his head to bite and he can't wiggle either) with another person trimming. We can generally get dogs done like that without a muzzle as long as they have a neck and don't out weigh us. The dog doesn't seem traumatized by it either. 

When we had Sadie she didn't like getting her nails trimmed either. I never once quicked her and all experiences were positive, she just didn't like it. I would have her lay down on her side and stay while continously feeding her treats. She was loath to break a down/stay, so that was the only way I could get them done. If she'd start to get up I'd just put my hand on her neck and have her lay back down. 
Chloe didn't like getting her nails trimmed either, but I got some HIGHLY valued treats (cat food in her case) and would pick up a food, give her a handful of cat food. Trim a nail, give her a handful of cat food. And that was it until the next day were I'd do another nail. Now she is an angel for them.


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## winniec777

Hmmmmm....Maybe our dog has freakishly fast growing nails but she's been walked a couple miles every day most days of her life, usually on concrete/pavement, and she still needs a trim every groom (about every 8 weeks) and dremeling in between.


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## Smithcat

My wife walks with her black Lab Guide at least five miles a day on sidewalks, and we still have to trim her nails about every 4 weeks. A lot depends on the dog itself.


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## spottydog

This is interesting! I've never thought much about it either, but it explains why my dog's nails have only been clipped a handful of times by the groomer all these years.


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## Love's_Sophie

Side walks will keep the nails down if you're out everyday...although some dogs still manage to 'keep' their nails; our terrier mix does. 

If you have a groomer nearby, who dremels, perhaps you could bring him in there instead; usually they will let you stay (as the process doesn't take that long) and know how to hold the dog without upsetting him, and can get the job done pretty quickly. The environment there is usually less upsetting to them too, because there isn't the smell of medications, and all the other 'hospital' jazz! The groomers may also be able to help show you how to do it yourself with the help of someone holding him.

I personally don't do a 'headlock' hold, as that usually makes a dog more nervous, because they are clausterphobic on tip of nervous about what's going on; I will usually have someone at their head, to keep them distracted with treats and talking, and to hold the collar, if the dog tries to turn their heads around, or spin around too much on the table; I also have a lead attached to the arm of my grooming table, to keep the dog forward if I don't happen to have a helper; this way the dog can't spin on the table, or back off the table either. People don't usually beleive me when I tell them that we will be done in about 5 minutes (even with dremelling after the tips are trimmed off)!


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