Dog grooming question

Specifically toenail trimming.

Our Great Dane has toenails that seem to grow overnight. Besides the issue of our hardwood floor getting totaled, it's expensive to keep taking him to the vet/groomer to get them trimmed. I've always been nervous about trying it myself, but am willing to take it on to save the $$$.

Given that, how do I go about doing so? What tool(s) do I need and how do I prevent injuring him?

TIA.

What color are the dogs nails? The darker the nail the harder it is to see where the quick is. If you cut the nail to the quick the nail will bleed, just be careful.

This site has a good write up:
http://www.dognailclippers.org/

I perfer the Guillotine-Style Dog Nail Clippers to the other kinds, I think it is easier to judge where the cut is going to be. Also be sure to get some Styptic powder. At some point you will probably get a nail too short and it will bleed. Its not the end of the world, but the powder will stop the bleeding fairly quick.

I think the hardest part is holding the dog still, my wife and i usually do it together with me holding the dog and her doing the clipping. Its really not that bad.

Let him dig some holes in the yard.

when mine comes back from the groomers, her nails are always jagged and sharp from the clippers, but after a couple of days walking on the sidewalk (townhouse, so she gets walked outside every day two-three times), her nails are smoothed out and don't mark things (like my leg, and the couch) up.

maybe the key is more making the nails less sharp rather than keeping them short?

I got one of the rotary trimmers and it works well on my dog. Although not nearly the size of yours, she's a toy poodle that tips the scales at 6lbs. She does have the dewclaw that grows in a circle and it handled that well although I needed someone to hold her while I sanded/filed it down.

With our cats, I just cut the tips off, as I'm freaking terrified of hitting the quick.

Try a dremel tool and a sanding drum.......

I hate the guillotine type clippers because one small move wrong and you're in the quick -- and your dog is making that "Ow E36 M3! That. Hurts. Why. Did. You. Do. That. To. Me." noise.

Dremel is nice because it is fast and if you do get to the quick, the spinning drum will cauterize the quick.

Go with a cordless. And use 2 people at the beginning -- one to do the trimming, the other to hold the dog and distract him with some treats.

Hope this helps....

In reply to orphancars:

That's just what the rotary tool is with a shield to hold the nail in place.

81gtv6 wrote: What color are the dogs nails? The darker the nail the harder it is to see where the quick is. If you cut the nail to the quick the nail will bleed, just be careful. This site has a good write up: http://www.dognailclippers.org/ I perfer the Guillotine-Style Dog Nail Clippers to the other kinds, I think it is easier to judge where the cut is going to be. Also be sure to get some Styptic powder. At some point you will probably get a nail too short and it will bleed. Its not the end of the world, but the powder will stop the bleeding fairly quick. I think the hardest part is holding the dog still, my wife and i usually do it together with me holding the dog and her doing the clipping. Its really not that bad.

Black as can be unfortunately.

wlkelley3 wrote: I got one of the rotary trimmers and it works well on my dog. Although not nearly the size of yours, she's a toy poodle that tips the scales at 6lbs. She does have the dewclaw that grows in a circle and it handled that well although I needed someone to hold her while I sanded/filed it down.

Is this what you mean?

When I had a pitbull (inside dog), her nails would get long and I'd have to trim them. I used the guillotine type. The rotary type weren't out then, so I have no experience with those. You have to be careful to just get the end and not get into the blood filled parts. She would get her nails trimmed, then get a cookie. She tolerated the trimming because she knew the cookie was coming. She knew where the bag of cookies was and could have cleaned them out anytime but didn't, until about a week before she passed, then she went to the bag and emptied it. Cleaning up loose ends, I suppose.

Anyway, now my dogs are all outside and they self trim their nails on the boulders in the yard.

Bam. problem solved. You're welcome.

You could probably go the GRM route and use a pair of your kids old shoes, knowing the size of that horse-dog.

In reply to wlkelley3:

Yep -- why spend the bucks on a separate dog-only dremel when you already have a dremel

I've seen the as-seen-on-TV ones at my local PetSmartCo -- they looked like they might not last around here -- we have between 4 and 5 dogs at a time here at the house between our dogs and the occasional rescue/foster pup.

Osterkraut wrote: Bam. problem solved. You're welcome. You could probably go the GRM route and use a pair of your kids old shoes, knowing the size of that horse-dog.

I put some of those on Rufus's feet in the winter because he gets ice between the toes. Bwahahahahahahaha It's like putting tape on a cat's paws.

The idea of running a rotary tool with a...presumably large(?) Great Dane in your lap doesn't sound super appealing to me.

I'm surprised that no one has suggested the obvious: Replace the flooring in any room that the dog spends time in with 100-grit aluminum oxide sandpaper.

poopshovel wrote: The idea of running a rotary tool with a...presumably large(?) Great Dane in your lap doesn't sound super appealing to me.

Large? Yep...165lbs! And I weigh 160lbs! Luckily has no idea how big he is.

His nails are usually a little jagged when he comes back from the vet/groomer, so I'm guess they use the guillotine style. I have a dremel, so I may give that a shot.

Our kitchen table is 29" from the floor.

Where's the saddle?

I had a big Shepard/ St. Bernard mix (115 lbs) that absolutely HATED having his nails cut. He'd squeal like I was butchering him anytime I tried to get near with the clippers. Occasionally I'd cut one while he was napping, then come back for the others later.

Taking him on long walks on pavement also did the trick. I walk my current dog 3-4 miles a day and have never had to trim his nails.

we use (well, my wife uses) the scissor-type trimmers on our two greyhounds (75-80 lbs). Our female has light nails that are tapered and easy to cut; our male has black nails that are much harder and also very thick (constant ~1/4" diameter). fortunately he's more patient than our lighter-colored female. we have them lay on their sides in their beds (which is where they normally are anyway). I have the "distraction" job, which involves rubbing their heads and occasional supplemental holding of feet/legs.

the dremel works well on the male, but the female is petrified of it, so that is a non-starter.

you can't necessarily rely on pavement/rocks to wear down a dog's nails (at least not ours), and they do need to be kept short. regular wear might work on dogs with thin naisl, but likely not on a Dane. our hounds need constant trimming even though we live in the city and they get walked on pavement/sidewalks 3 or 4 times/day...an average of 45-60 mins of pavement walking per day.

I knew a girl whose dog was mainly an indoor dog and whose nails were never cut; they were hideously long and caused the dog a lot of discomfort.

don't have a dog at this time.... but when I did ( they have all been large spaniels or setters) they were all outdoor dogs... we live in the country... almost never had to clip a dogs nails.... guess the constant running through the woods did it for us..

Another vote for the dremel. I have one dog that doesn't like the sound - he gets the clippers (I prefer the standard style to the guillotine style, I have more control). 120-grit sanding drums are the key here.

As to the size of the dog, it really doesn't matter. They lay down, they get the dremel, they really don't mind it at all. No muss, no fuss. Granted mine aren't 165 lbs either, but they are large enough to cause some serious bodily harm.

dyintorace wrote: Large? Yep...165lbs! And I weigh 160lbs! Luckily has no idea how big he is.

You should feed that horse more. It looks hungry and a bit thin to be a draft animal.

914Driver wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: Bam. problem solved. You're welcome. You could probably go the GRM route and use a pair of your kids old shoes, knowing the size of that horse-dog.

I put some of those on Rufus's feet in the winter because he gets ice between the toes. Bwahahahahahahaha It's like putting tape on a cat's paws.

Like uh, Kitten Mittens...You'll be smitten!

dyintorace wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote: I got one of the rotary trimmers and it works well on my dog. Although not nearly the size of yours, she's a toy poodle that tips the scales at 6lbs. She does have the dewclaw that grows in a circle and it handled that well although I needed someone to hold her while I sanded/filed it down.

Is this what you mean?

Yes but mine is battery powered so no cord.