Toenail / footcare

[steerpike]

We're two weeks into life with Hector now and he's been an absolute joy.  He is still clingy (especially we me as his primary car giver) but is starting to be more relaxed ~ i.e. not always following me upstairs and downstairs every single time (though he still does this 80% of the time).  

I have a question regarding footcare.  Regarding toenail trimming, I've found some useful advice here: https://www.greysave.org/nail-trimming.html. I just wondered how / how frequently others are doing this?

As regards feet in general, I'm finding these autumn mornings and evenings provide plenty of wet grass to get a free clean on the way home, but I expect I should be brushing / washing his feet every so often as well as checking for grit/stones etc....

Advice always appreciated. 

[HeyRunDog]

Grace's nails are quite long and she has them clipped every three months by the vet at her quarterly check-up just so they clear the ground. It's a two person job because at some point before I adopted her she had had a bad experience around nail clipping. Luckily for her the vet used to work at the greyhound tracks so she's greyhound savvy and the nurse who helps has around nine sight-hounds she's adopted over the years. If you are a bit unsure about using clippers have a look at nail grinders.

The only time I wash Grace's feet are if the are muddy, a quick dry off with a towel should remove any grit and keep your floor clean.

[MerseyGrey]

As above, I hardly ever clean Buddy’s feet, and probably would only do this if he was caked in mud (rare - Buddy is quite fastidious about avoiding puddles and muddy areas). If I had to clean him, I would do it with a soft cloth and warm water.

I have a nail clipper which I use only on his dew claws. I am not confident enough to use them on his other claws, which I keep trimmed with a grinder. I have to do it every week as it doesn’t take much off each time and there is a limit as to how much handling of his paws that Buddy will allow. Treats are liberally dished out with each paw he allows me to complete, and I find it a nice way to spend a bit of time together. I’m not sure that Buddy agrees.

If you’re going to clip Hector’s nails, make sure you have either a styptic pen or have some flour on hand - both will work to stem any bleeding in case you catch the quick

[BatterseaBrindl]

We don’t clean our boys feet either!

It is a good idea to handle Hectors feet regularly as this will make nail trimming easier.  Many dogs don’t like to have their feet handled.

If you quick a nail you can stick it in a soft bar of soap….less messy than powders! 

I like to use a dremmel but the sound and feel of it usually takes some getting used to.

Kibo, our Spanish Galgo will not tolerate the dremmel at all, so he gets his nails snipped off. He was a street dog and came to us at 2 years old so did not have regular foot handling. 

[steerpike]

great advice as always guys, thank you so much - I've learned an amazing amount in just 2 weeks!

[cleptogrey]

If they step in poop or run thru mud a wet microfiber cloth works wonders. Dare I say most dog owners have gritty floors, hence all the posts on this forum about vacuum cleaners.

[palmettobug]

I have a bunch of clumsy carls, they occasionally step in their own poo/each other's poo. A damp paper towel or two.

Gum-tree balls and acorns are just the right size to get stuck in between their pads. Roman will walk with them still stuck in there and not say a word and bring them in the house; Fuzzy flicks them out herself; but poor G flips out and gets aggressive.

I leave the dremmeling to our trusted kennel owner, they all love her. She grinds them at a slant to get the quicks to retreat, that keeps them shorter in the long run.

[carrotcait]

This probably isn't the norm, but re: cleaning paws, we actually wipe off our boy's paws with an unscented baby wipe every time we come in from outside, kind of like how we take our shoes off at the door. He doesn't mind having his paws handled so it doesn't take long. It's actually been helpful because we notice any issues with irritation, etc. right away. It doesn't seem to dry out his paws too much, but we do put on Aquaphor at night every so often to keep them from getting too dry.

[duckduckgoose]

16 hours ago, carrotcait said:

This probably isn't the norm, but re: cleaning paws, we actually wipe off our boy's paws with an unscented baby wipe every time we come in from outside, kind of like how we take our shoes off at the door. He doesn't mind having his paws handled so it doesn't take long. It's actually been helpful because we notice any issues with irritation, etc. right away. It doesn't seem to dry out his paws too much, but we do put on Aquaphor at night every so often to keep them from getting too dry.

Our boy regularly pees on his front paws and I got sick of being whacked in the face by his stinky pee-paws when he roaches next to me on the sofa 😂

For that reason I also do a quick once-over of his front paws with a baby wipe and a spritz of Animology Stink Bomb after walks to keep them smelling fresh!

[carrotcait]

5 hours ago, duckduckgoose said:

Our boy regularly pees on his front paws and I got sick of being whacked in the face by his stinky pee-paws when he roaches next to me on the sofa 😂

For that reason I also do a quick once-over of his front paws with a baby wipe and a spritz of Animology Stink Bomb after walks to keep them smelling fresh!

Baker is also a very messy pee-er -- I may have to get some of that!

[steerpike]

thank you all, much appreciated!