Appropriate Shape Of Nails

[XTRAWLD]

2016 resolution: Get Ryder's nails down to a proper length!

 

I grind his nails. I learned with Kasey that greyhound nails are too tough for me to cut with clippers, and I don't like the splintering either. Ryder is not the biggest fan of grinding but he tolerates it, whereas Kasey used to just fall asleep during his pawdicure.

 

I do not have to grind his nails too far to already get to the quick. We are currently at a 6 week grinding schedule on growth since his quick is really long. I know that the more you do, the more the quick will recede but for some reason, this has not worked on him. I tried grinding a little bit each week, but really I can't get very far until I hit the quick.

 

I'm also thinking I might be shaping his nails wrong, and that might be contributing to the length of the nails, the length of the quick and potentially his occasional limping.

 

Shots of well trimmed normal nails are appreciated, or a diagram of the proper shape a greyhounds nail should look like. 2016 = shorter nails for Ryder with the help of GT

[cleptogrey]

when i have been neglectful i start grinding 2xs a week. yup. doberdawn has the best instructionshttp://www.doberdawn.com/doberdawn/dremel.html. but i would invest in bringing both dogs (with a muzzle in hand) to a groomer, not petco a real grooming shop and start with monthly trimming and grind weekly in-between. unless you are walking for miles and miles on sidewalks or black top(and that doesn't do it for my dogs) every 6 weeks won't make a dent. do invest in a heavy duty dremel and a good extension cord and sanding replacements. it's essential to have good tools. if you do attempt to trim the nails after watching i like using the red handled mars nail clippers. i do the tip and angle around it, then dremel.

 

i had a group of greyhounds owned by an elderly gentleman who used to have me do his dogs every until their nails receded. it was many months of diligent work, 4 dogs every week!!

[philospher77]

If you are on Facebook, there is an entire group (Nail Maintenance for Dogs) devoted to dog nails and the "alternate cut" method. It involves trimming around the quick to help it recede. It might be a good resource for you.

[Guest Lillypad]

Following with great interest. I too am trying to get the nails shorter. My mission for 2016 is to stop paying good money for a job I should man up to and do myself. My question is how do you know when you have ground down to the quick??? I have watched the vet tech grind her nails and it seems to me she stops and moves on to the next nail when Lilly tugs her foot away. I want to add too, that Lilly is very co-operative and not in the least bit stressed, but at some point in the grinding of each toenail she will gently tug her foot away. Prehaps that is my signal and if so that seems easy enough. Any good video links would be appreciated too. Thanks.

Thanks ladies for those video suggestions will check them out. And coooool a facebook, well I should have guessed, LOL there is a group for every need. Thanks

[XTRAWLD]

The nail might be getting too hot which is why she's pulling away. You are hitting the quick when you see blood. I don't do da Facebook so that why I'm asking on here

[cleptogrey]

as i mentioned i angle the nails-

dremel the flat bottom, rotate to another nail, finish the front

dremel the tip, again rotate to another nail

dremel the left and right side, of the tip, rotate to another nail. quick reshape the front of the nail.

 

if helps if someone is holding the dog and feeding them treats

 

the dew claws are always hard to see, do the dew claw on the leg further away from you

you do need to rotate the side that you stand on

i always dremel the two outside nails first, they get the least amount of weight and grow the longest and fastest.

 

you can do the front nails at the beginning of the week and then at the end of the week the rear nails. this way it's less time that the dogs have to tolerate trimming and more sort intervals that they become accustomed to. but clipping the tips first always helps .

 

all of this should take 5 min or so, have the dremel at a good high speed, but not top speed. the dogs get used to the sound.

[XTRAWLD]

I do Ryder's when he is laying down. In the dobe pics pup is standing but perhaps that's to show angle?

[Feisty49]

I dremel Annie's nails every other day. I do a quick 4-5 swipes on each nail and that's it. Any longer than that, and the nail gets too hot. Most of her nails are black and I can't see the quick. That is one of the reasons I dremel so often. It keeps the nails short without having to worry about hurting her.

[philospher77]

If you interested in the "alternate cut" method (which essentially says that you need to be taking material off the "roof" of the nail if you want to get the quicks to recede), here is a good video demonstration. On black nails, too!

 

https://vimeo.com/118336270

[cleptogrey]

that's sorta what i was describing. i now realize that yes, i;m cutting the top layer or roof. nice to have a new term, thanks

[GreytXpctations]

I picked up a flexible extension for my dremel that attaches to the end of the tool and holds the emery wheel at the other end. It makes it much easier to trim the nails because the trimming end is much more lighter and easier to maneuver, plus the noisy tool is on the floor behind me and not buzzing around the dog. My female is a spook with black nails and this is the only way I can keep her nails at the right length. I usually only do 3-4 passes on each nail at a time before moving on to the next one, then work my way back to each nail as necessary. This keeps the nail from getting too hot and keeps me from getting to close too fast with the black nails. I trim once a month to keep the quicks from extending, but when working on a dog with overgrown nails (new dog or foster, usually), I usually trim every week or two to encourage the quicks to recede. Cleptogrey's link above is how I do mine. Sorry, I can't post pictures here.

 

ETA: this all varies depending on how much walk time they get on pavement/sidewalks which will keep the nails in check to some degree. In the north you get less of this in the winter, and in the south we stay away from it in the summer.

Edited January 11, 2016 by GreytXpctations

[XTRAWLD]

This is all good info. I guess I will just have to try again to do them more often, it's just there is nothing that I can grind, it starts to bleed almost immediately.

 

His last dental in Feb 2015 the vet cut back his nails while he was under, and really didn't cut them back that much further. Every one of them had blood smeared on the end.

 

He gets 4 walks a day 10-30 mins depending on the route - and definitely not that long in the winter with freezing temps. I know though that walking on the pavement/sidewalk, does nothing.

 

Thanks all.

[Guest xengab]

my boy has super long nails as he has very long quicks. He also has a sore toe so one foot is out of the running atm as he gets growly if we touch it.

Hoping to start this once he toe heals up as having three feet with shorter quicks might be weird.

[cleptogrey]

unlike other breeds greyhounds do use their nails to grip while running. they can be brought back, but there will be more nail than the average dobbie or lab that's being shown. don't worry about the blood, when the dogs nails are really cut back, yes, the quick is cut. but when we trim we knick the quick, like a paper cut or scraping your knuckles. they hurt a tad but heal. and always do remember that there are a lot of canine drama queens out there.

 

trim away, i'll never forget seeing a poor greyhound whose owner didn't want to her her. the nails were curled under and gross. the poor dog couldn't walk. think about how much safer it is to have well trimmed nails. a nails that breaks and caught on something and maybe ripped out will really hurt.

 

quick stop powder is the best.

[FiveRoooooers]

This is an old pic of angels Pal and Nike but we still do nails the same way here. Once a week everyone gets their toes buzzed - it makes it so much less of a chore when it only takes a few moments per dog because their nails stay short with weekly dremeling. Long nails on any dog make me cringe but especially on seniors, argh.