# Nail Trimming...Nervous



## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

Ok so I read somewhere on here that boxers are supposed to have pretty short nails, I am gonna assume its because she uses her paws for everything and its safer . I agree latley everytime she paws at me its really starting to hurt . I don't want to have to pay to get her nails trimmed all the time but I am REALLY nervous of cutting them to short. My MIL said she would do it for me but she made my grandmas dog's nail bleed last time so I don't really trust her. Is there anything I could buy that would make trimming her nails...idiot proof.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I've totally been there! First, I would google some diagrams of dog nail so you understand where the quick is and where you should be cutting. This helped me a lot with gaining confidence. The first many times I clipped Sydney's nails I was a nervous wreck.

Then, I'm going to be a broken record again and recommend getting a dremel tool. I use the Minimite, which someone on here recommended to me a long time ago. It's available on Amazon and not very expensive or I'm sure you could get it at a hardware store. I personally think it is much easier to prevent hitting the quick with a dremel because you're filing instead of cutting. Unless you dremel significantly too far you're not going to cause bleeding. You also don't have to keep your dog quite as still to get the job done.

And yes, I personally think it's best to keep the nails as short as possible. I'm still working on getting Sydney's front nails off the ground but we've come a long way since I got her!

Edit: Also, if your dog has light colored nails you might be able to see the quick through the nail which will make things easier for you.  Unfortunately all of Sydney's nails are black so it was a little tougher for me to get the hang of it.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

ok I will defiantly look at finding a diagram and I surely never would have though of a dremel tool to file! My husband suggested filing but i was sitting there looking at my nail file going....yea...nope..lol Lela's nails are kinda odd some are clear some are black..some are both ill take a photo but i will warn you know they are really long she hasnt been trimmed since her last vet visit last month and ive just been to paranoid.


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

Trimming nails is super easy. Not just boxers, but ALL dogs should have short nails. 

I never get why people get a fear lol. its not a tramatizing thing, its easy to do. grab and take a bit off Since she has some white ones, you can see the quick in those (the pink part) clip a little under there, and for the black ones clip about the same amount you clipped off the white ones.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

well when my mother in law trimmed my grandmas dog she clipped it way to much and it just bled terribly. and she was using one of those clippers that claim to only cut so far back so I just got really nervous about it. I know its not traumatizing lol but I just don't want to make a mistake


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## Tankstar (Dec 30, 2006)

yup you may cut the quick, not the end of the world. Just buy some quick stop and have that on hand. I dont see how any nail clippers are made no to cut the quick, as all dogs nails are different. I had a dog today with about 1.5 inch nails, and all I could cut off was a few slivers, since the quicks we massive, didnt even look like I cut the dogs nails. Just do small amounts at a time. eventually youll just know how far you can go, clipping often makes the quicks reside more, dremeling is another good thing to try, no cutting quicks.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Also, another tibbit that might help since his nails are already overgrown. The quick is supposed to recede approximately 3 days after the nail is cut right up to it (abrasion of the now slightly exposed quick is what makes it recede, hence why dremel is better for long nails) so if you can get in the habit of trimming/dremeling every 3 days you should be able to get them back to where they should be in not too much time.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

So I got this pet paw pedicure tool. It is basically a dremel with a puppy paw on it. I was only able to get the front paws and not very much at all she hates this thing. I don't think it is the noise but it skips on her nail for a second until i get the motion of it. I will say it did help some as far as getting some rough edges off and maybe taking a down a tiny bit, but I just don't know if either of us can go through the stress of this, it is the only thing she has ever "fought" me on . She whined she wiggled she sighed. I tried giving her treats in between nails and when she got fussy but she lost interest after the first paw. I am thinking because of how she reacted I am gonna call a groomer see what it takes to get them cut down to size and then desensitize her to the dremel by keeping them nice and filed. I do like the dremel it dosent hurt I hit my finger with it several times it just kinda startles you, I made sure to keep my fingers protecting her pads so she has no reason to dislike this other then the fact its new and scary. I felt so bad making her go through it she wasn't happy at all ..I just called a pet groomer in town and I am floored..they do it as a courtesy free of charge, she said Nail trimming is one of the most important grooming habits that can effect the dogs well being so they see no purpose in charging in it! Makes me think I will go back for a puppy spa day just for their kindness. So tomorrow we are off to get her trimmed I will post after pictures but just as I promised here is what the poor pooch is dealing with, I feel terrible 









This was before , this is her back feet it kinda is starting to curve which isn't good for her feet at all.









I tried to file the curve away and get some of those sharp rough edges off that were doing the most damage on her front feet.

And her displeasure in me is very obvious


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I would start taking her to the groomer like once a week as long as they will continue doing it for free. But I would also try to get the hang of it yourself as I think it's an important skill. 

Sydney also hates having her nails trimmed no matter how I do it but in the past several months we've gone from so afraid I literally needed someone to hold her down while I did it and she yelped with each nail (using clippers) to being able to trim all her nails by myself with the help of generous amounts of high value treats chopped up small. She still tries to get away sometimes but with lots of praise I get through. My hope is this will improve more over time. She is becoming desensitized and I am becoming more skilled. 

As far as the dremel you got, it might not be high enough powered. I know the pedipaws can't get through Sydney's nails, which is why we got an actual woodworking dremel. You also want to make sure you keep it at the highest setting--it sounds counterintuitive, but it actually skips less on the higher settings. Also, if you press more firmly on the nail it should skip less. Also, it helps if the dog can't see what you're doing--I'm not sure how you'll want to accomplish that with a larger dog, but with Sydney I lay her on her back in my lap in such a way that my upper arm blocks her view.

From the image it looks like you can get a lot more off. It looks like the quick (pink area) only goes about halfway into the nail, but you should take a good look at it yourself and then trim as close as you can to the quick. Oh yeah, and Sydney tolerates having her back nails trimmed MUCH better than the front ones, so you might try to learn on the back ones.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

I appreciate the post . I am going to watch the groomer do it tomorrow, seeing it will make me a LOT less nervous. When the vet did it she pulled them out so fast and snipped snipped done I didn't have a chance to see it lol. I will consider getting a better dremel, they shouldnt be too expensive. This one is rather ...wimpy i touched it to my nail and it shaped it quite nicely which means its pretty delicate. I was pretty soft with it though I just didn't know how hard to press and she was wigging out already. I kinda scooched her to the couch put my around her shoulders and kissed her head while i held her paws she did let me do it for a while but then she would panic again id have to give her treat and console her and then try again for another 40 seconds or so. IT was a lot to ask for a first time honestly. I don't really want to be totally dependent on a groomer to do it in case i ever need a quick trim I dont want to drive 15 miles to do it and my husband is the driver so only tuesdays are ever free around to get things done, so I do want to be able to do it myself. I also was wondering about the fur in between the pads I read that can cause discomfort should I consider getting this groomed?


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

http://www.amazon.com/Dremel-750-02...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1296499815&sr=1-1

Here's the one I have, but it was under $30 so I would look for it elsewhere. I don't know why the price increased so much...


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

My husband works with computers and he said he has a dremel at work he is gonna bring it home and I am gonna see if it will work.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

OK so we just got back from getting her nails trimmed. It was an ok place, I may consider another groomers only because it was kinda farther away then I hoped.

Just for comparison purposes I have put before and after up

















First one is before the second is after, that is her front paw

















Same thing first one is before the second is after, that is her back paw.

So it is better but still not what I would like to call acceptable. There is still some jaggid edges I would like to smooth off and it is still a bit longer then I would like. So we got more work to do but the important part is she isn't stabbing me when she jumps up lol


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

You should be able to easily dremel away the jagged edges. I would just keep working with her every couple of days to get her acclimated and you should be able to tease that quick back to a more reasonable length within the next few months. I'm glad the groomer was able to help you.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

she was nice she let me hold when she was uncomfortable and I preferred that. She did growl at something I don't know if it was a shadow or if maybe she clipped wrong, she just growled a second then put her head down on my shoulder and licked my ear. I don't can a growl be non aggressive but agitated? Prolly not much sense there. I guess I have been pestering a feet for two days she is a bit irritated with it.There we also other dogs there and there was a big black dog she kept " eye ballin" but she has never shown aggression to any other critter not even my gerbils or the cat outside .Shrug But she really couldn't have done better then if she had been doing it her whole life. She let me hold her and she was stillish. I did try to dremel when we got home and again..stillish..but just had this "enough already" look in her eyes and she was falling asleep she had a really busy morning so I just let her alone lol. Sometimes a girl can only take so much primping in one day.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

amavanna said:


> I don't can a growl be non aggressive but agitated? Prolly not much sense there. I guess I have been pestering a feet for two days she is a bit irritated with it.


Yep, she was most likely just expressing her discomfort. I wouldn't push her too hard after she growls and wouldn't correct it either. It's important for her to be able to tell you when she's at her limit.


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## sandydj (Sep 27, 2010)

I use the dremel on my two dogs now..they are both pretty good with it. But , I use to have a JRT that was IMPOSSIBLE about it lol Even the groomers wanted to sedate her to do it. She is the only dog I had ever sought professional help training. Anyway , she had a high food drive , so the trainer stuck a blob of peanut butter on the fridge and went to work while she worked on the PB. It was a life savor! It would probably not work for all dogs..but if they are into a PB treat enough they may just let you work while sucking it off your fridge. 

I have that pedi paws thing for my dogs now. They just lay there while I do it , lucky for us. But I have been there with a nail clipping nut so I know how you feel! Hang in there , and good luck


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

kafkabeetle said:


> Yep, she was most likely just expressing her discomfort. I wouldn't push her too hard after she growls and wouldn't correct it either. It's important for her to be able to tell you when she's at her limit.


Completely agree. Artie grumbled at me when I was trying to get a bit of debris out of his whiskers and I stopped each time he complained and went back to work again as soon as he stopped fussing. It took me at least 10 tries to get the thing out but he was satisfied I listened to him. Me, annoyed as heck but it was his body. If I had something like that on video perhaps I could see how he allowed me to work on the thing for longer each time but at the time it was just so annoying to have to be patient when each time the thing was nearly free. Later the same for his nails, not that I could get them very short. He supervised so closely I was concerned about grinding his nose with the dremel! 

It really builds trust when you can stop and wait, hard as it is to do.


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

I didn't reread the thread but whoever suggested to use peanut butter as a distraction you are a doG-Send. I put my kong in my lap full of peanut all be it was messy lol but she let me dremel her front nails with no issue I didn't even have to do any kind of restrain or anything. I am giving her a break and will do her back paws tomorrow so as not to stress her out. But I wanted to say thanks for this fantastic suggestion! 



> He supervised so closely I was concerned about grinding his nose with the dremel!


She does this too! But mine has a cover on it and I only have to put her nail in a hole so if she gets to close she is just sniffing the plastic from the cover I would be scared to death if she hit it with her nose she would never let me do it again!


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## sandydj (Sep 27, 2010)

That was me with my JRT I use to blob it right on the fridge and she would let me work away ..messy , yes lol

It was my trainer who taught me that. He was a wonderful trainer..I wanted to use him for my new Mastiff Greta ( shyness) , but I found he had passed from throat cancer years ago  

Of all the dogs I have had in my life , my JRT was the only one that ever made me seek professional help


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

aw that is a terrible shame about your trainer  But his advice lives on! As we can see! I am going to keep up with the fileing and we are going to get another trim just for measure on Tuesday. I hope soon to have some lovely set of claws to show off for you guys!


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## amberly (Feb 6, 2011)

ALL dogs should have decently short nails. If they grow out to long it can cause many issues. 
Reguardless try not to be to scared. Dogs can sense that it can cause your baby to be more tense/scared herself.
Also sometimes tying the dog with the leash to someothing but to where you won't corner her helps because than she won't run around from you. Even doing one nail here and there once in awhile till you feel more comfortable and her as well.
You can also take her to the groomer monthly and ask them if you can go and watch for a few months till you feel ready to try at home. It'll give you a good feel of things and how she reacts to the nail trims. You won't beable to do the dremmel probly right away, some dogs are great and some dogs won't let you touch them with it. Also I find it much better to clip the nail than file with the Dremmel after wards to round the nail back even further but if you can see the quick don't put the dremmel on the exposed quick/vein it can be very uncomfortable towards the vein/quck and she may associate it that way every time.(Ask the groomer to show you where her quick ends and what it looks like once she has it exsposed after shes clipped her nail. Theres different tricks for dif colored nails.) I wouldn't recommend Dremmel only because once the quick is exsposed to the oxygen itll slowly help it shrink back over time. since the quick grows with the nail the longer the nails generally the longer the quick but not always. Also buy some quick stop for that just incase moment if you nick her it'll help stop the bleeding and the pain. Even the best of the best can sometimes accidently nick a dogs nail. some dogs are jumpy and it makes it more diffult. But go and talk to a groomer most groomers are nice and if you explain the situation with them they should be willing to work with you. if not ask someone else lol. I would rather see someone willing to do their dogs nails at home than the dog not having them done or barely ever having them done. Check out what style nail clippers they prefer. Me personally I wouldn't use the Guillotine style. I also like the smaller/med sized clippers. I have small hands and I feel more in control with them and the nail. I use them even on large dogs such as boxers. Some larger clippers are harder to squeeze. And lots of walks on sidewalks help too  with naturally grinding the dogs nails down.
Just don't give up you'll get the hang of it, its not as scary as it seems.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

amberly said:


> I wouldn't recommend Dremmel only because once the quick is exsposed to the oxygen itll slowly help it shrink back over time. since the quick grows with the nail the longer the nails generally the longer the quick but not always.


I don't really understand this logic. You can expose the quick to oxygen just as well with a dremel as with clippers. I actually find it a bit easier to get up really close with a dremel.


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## amberly (Feb 6, 2011)

I personally feel with the clippers its a much faster less tedious approach for the dog. instead of a constant vibration that can be very unnerving against a vain once you get close and that your rubbing at it. I like to take the clippers I can get smack down to the quick in a second and than i round up the rest with the dremmel faster smoother approach with my exspirences and most dogs take to it better than with the dogs that is just a pure dremmel. Exspecially since most owners don't keep up with the nails as well as they should.


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## dantero (Feb 2, 2011)

One thing I didn't see mentioned yet in this thread is friction. Keep in mind when dremeling your dogs nails that you are creating friction, which can create heat. If you have a lot to dremel off, you need to touch for a few seconds, then stop, touch, stop, etc. Or do a little on each nail, then start at the first and do a little, start over again, etc until you do them all. Building up to much heat can be one reason a dog holds still at first then starts trying to pull away. 

Also, when doing the really long nails, don't just dremel the tips. Look at the underside, if the nails get to long they kind of curve around until the entire quick is surrounded. Dremel the edges of the nail that cover the bottom of the quick off, or you can sometimes even just peel it off with your own nails. Exposing the quick along the bottom of the nail can also really help the quick retreat faster.

I dremel my dogs nails, but if they do get long between pedicures I will clip most of the excess off, then dremel the rest down. Just makes things go a little faster, and when you are dealing with over 100 toenails ...


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## amavanna (Nov 20, 2010)

I will say that with how I let the nails the first month just dremeling with this particular dremel at low speed and low grit just wasn't going to cut it..pun not intended ?  I did have her nails trimmed at the groomers and I have done her first follow up dremel on her front paws and will be doing her back paws tomorrow. I haven't bought clippers yet and will be getting some within the next two weeks, until I do I will be taking her back to the groomer Tuesday for another trim and then we should kinda be where we need to be on them . 



> Also, when doing the really long nails, don't just dremel the tips. Look at the underside, if the nails get to long they kind of curve around until the entire quick is surrounded.


I indeed noticed this today and got a really good file under it which to my surprise seemed to be where those sharp edges were hiding cause her scratch was less ..scratchy after that  

She really did well with the peanut butter trick she responded almost none at with me doing her nails pausing every few moments to sniff it out in which I would cut off the dremel rub her nails and give her a "good girl" and refill her kong ( we used just alittle peanut butter at a time) I think my biggest concern was how she was going to react and my nervousness got worse when she wasn't too happy. I keep forgetting how good she is with new things though lol. I am less worried about the whole ordeal. I will get the quick stop and the right kind of clippers before clipping at home, but honestly I feel more comfortable with the dremel I feel more in control with it, and if I can get her used to it without much stress which is seeming not to be too big of deal then I would rather dremel once a week then cut once or twice a month. The only ones I might not dremel are her back dew claws because they are floppy and would prolly be easier to trim those instead of putting pressure on them. 



> One thing I didn't see mentioned yet in this thread is friction. Keep in mind when dremeling your dogs nails that you are creating friction, which can create heat.


i do take often pauses and breaks if she seems even slightly uncomfortable and this dremel really has zip on power so I am not doing much on the form of serious friction but when I see nail dust I know I got a good motion and I stop after a few seconds to check my progress.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

amberly said:


> I personally feel with the clippers its a much faster less tedious approach for the dog. instead of a constant vibration that can be very unnerving against a vain once you get close and that your rubbing at it. I like to take the clippers I can get smack down to the quick in a second and than i round up the rest with the dremmel faster smoother approach with my exspirences and most dogs take to it better than with the dogs that is just a pure dremmel. Exspecially since most owners don't keep up with the nails as well as they should.


I guess I just think this is kind of a generalization. For my squirmy dog the dremel is much less tedious for both of us because you don't have to be so precise. I get all her nails finished much quicker than with clippers.


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## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

Love my dremel!!!!


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## chubby (Aug 18, 2011)

With both my dogs I found 2 important things to keep in mind,

1. You have to remain calm - if you are nervous about cutting her nails she will sense that and get fidgety/scared. If you approach it very matter of factly, and decisively, really not making a big deal out of it, she will sense your energy and respond better.
2. I find that some people may move to clipping too fast - you have to start with just handling her nails - hold each of them as if you are going to cut it, and then release and treat (do each step over a few days). Then, touch each nail with the tool you are going to use, whether it's clippers or dremel, and then treat when she's still. Then, put the nail between the clippers but don't clip, and then treat. lastly, you can clip each nail, treating as you go, and eventually they will be really desensitized to it, and even enjoy it if the treats are good!

I trained my maltipoo and bichon the exact same way, and I find this technique works for brushing hair, teeth, bathing, etc. It's about introducing them to these things slowly. Weird enough, my Bichon butters is completely cool with brushing hair and clipping nails, but she hates it when I touch her face to get eye boogers out lol!


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