# Nail/Quick Identification (Pictures Inside)



## JK319 (Mar 11, 2008)

Quick?

In the above link are three pictures of my dogs nails. I've visited several sites regarding trimming black nails but I'm still unsure. He was last at the groomers exactly 2 weeks ago when I took those pictures.

I hear clicking noises when he walks and this was straight from the groomers even though we're supposedly not supposed to hear it. This is one of the reasons why I'm afraid to clip any more nail. The other reason is that the circles as shown in the pictures have got me paranoid about the proximity of the quick. The third reason is I don't know if they've been let to grown.

Sorry I can't provide any more information as I'm not the original owner of the dog. I've had him for exactly 2 weeks and he's 2.5 years old and this is my first pet ever.


----------



## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

Welcom to the Forum!!

It looks like you're right at the quick and I would not trim them any shorter. It he's 2.5 yo perhaps his nails are longer than they are suppose to be (b/c they weren't trimmed regularly) and no matter how many trims you do they might still click on the floor. I adopted a 3yo Doxie and her nails were long. For the last 4 years they have been trimmed every 3 weeks and we still can't get them "short". Some dogs are like that. 

Thank you for adopting him!!


----------



## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

I frequently foster, and those poor babies often come with very long nails. I don't clip, I dremel, because I can use the dremel and take the nail down every 3 days, unlike clipping.


----------



## JK319 (Mar 11, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. I said the wrong thing in my original post. Those pictures were actually 2 weeks AFTER the groomers. I do walk him 3 times a day for an average of 25 minutes each time. This is on pavement so it probably doesn't grow as fast as it would. Would walking alone help the quick to recede? If not I may have to learn to use the dremel. A little scared about that.


----------



## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

He would have to play and walk on cement/pavement quite a bit to keep the nails and quick trimmed back.

Dremeling is not as hard as you think it is. Here's a link and how to Dremel. 

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html

I bought my Dremel at Target for about $20 it is in the small appliance dept.

If you are really worried I would have a vet, vet tech or groomer show you how to trim nails.


----------



## acanoffleas (Jan 15, 2008)

I would also recommend dremeling the nails. The trickiest part about doing is is just figuring out the best way to hold the paw that works for both you and the dog. Grinding the nails will help the quick to recede without having to take as much length off as clipping them would. Walking on macadam will definitely help to keep them worn down as well.


----------



## Kittie Gee (Mar 11, 2008)

With black nails it is easier to quick the nail, however just take it slow and take small amounts off, don't be afraid to clip the same nail several times in one sitting. On black nails continue cutting until you see a slightly darker wet looking spot - that is what comes up just before you cut the quick, and this is the shortest you can go before making the dogs nail bleed.


----------



## Shanette Peters (Jan 14, 2008)

I have this 'nail' problem with two of my client's dogs, one a cocker spaniel, the other a shih tzu mix. frequent nail trimings havent done enough with these dogs, I started using a dremel.. with good results for the shih tzu x, hopefully I will see a change on the cocker's nails soon too. Although the quick seems harder to see for black nails, I've been 'fooled' by white nails - the quick being longer than expected, that's fustrating! Luckily even with this happening I haven't actually cut the quick. but come very close!


----------



## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

I've had two fosters that would never get to the point of being a normal nail length, and they were hideously overgrown. The shelter vet had to do spays on both of them so he trimmed the nails while they were both under anesthesia. And isnce they were both on pain meds for the spays, that also helped with the initial pain from the nails. Within a week both dogs were sooooo much happier running around on my hardwood floors.


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

This thread is 24 years old and your post is seriously off-topic. Please start a new post.


----------

