Do You Cut Your Dogs Nails?

[aussielover]

Do you guys cut your dogs nails?

I have never cut any of my dogs nails- not even the dewclaw, and I have never needed to.

Mindy gets a lot of exercise which helps keep them worn down and she is a medium sized dog.

Not sure why the dewclaw stays short though? I have seen plenty of dogs at work that have very overgrown dewclaws sometimes curling around into the pad

Maybe it has something to do with the chews my dog gets? she also does agility and regular bushwalking and scrambling over rocks etc so that may help?

Also, if you couldn't cut your pets nails yourself and they needed cutting- would you be prepared to pay a vet or groomer to do it?

[Sandra777]

I dremmel mine if they need it.

Nope, wouldn't be interested in paying anyone to do it

[snippet]

I cut my dogs nails, sometimes I use a dremel also. My greyhound is flat footed so I only have to do his dew claws. There is a Vet nearby who charges $10 per dog to cut nails.

[FHRP]

My dogs get lots of exercise both around the neighbourhood and through the bush. They do lots of dog sports. They still need to have their nails regularly cut or dremelled. No, I'm not intersted in paying someone to do it, my dogs are trained from early on to tolerate their nails being cut.

[oakway]

I dremmel mine if they need it.

Nope, wouldn't be interested in paying anyone to do it

+1

[minyvlz]

I had to when they were younger, now they grind them themselves. If I had to I would cut them myself.

Polar has short nails (nothing to be cut) but they are still very sharp/painful when you come into contact with them

[Esky the husky]

I've never needed to cut Esky's nails

[raffikki]

Do you guys cut your dogs nails?

Also, if you couldn't cut your pets nails yourself and they needed cutting- would you be prepared to pay a vet or groomer to do it?

I do my guys nails, I cut Electra's and file for a smooth finish, but only file Rhino's as he really detests them being cut.

If I wasn't able to do them myself I guess I would try and get someone to help me with them, but if my only choice was having to pay someone, I would.

[Jumabaar]

Mine all do dog sports and get walked on concrete etc but I still have to cut their front nails. I usually do their dewclaws at the same time but they don't seem to grow much. I would guess it hits the ground and wears away when they are lying down or 'landscaping' the back yard.

All of mine learn to sit and present their paws to have them trimmed. It is part of the 'My Paw' game they play- I hold their paw and it is mine until they relax. I try and play it with them before meals when they are growing up so half my dogs actually get excited about getting their nails trimmed! When I am not being lazy I do it 1-2 times per week so I only have to take a little off each time because of their black nails.

[OSoSwift]

Yes, we live in a sandy area so they don't get worn down a lot.

I cut them and dremelled them until the dremel died. Need to get another one

I wouldn't pay anyone as I have no need to.

Our vet charges around $18 I think for a nail trim.

[Weasels]

Fox's nails don't seem to ever need cutting, but Weez's grow like crazy. They both get the same exercise on the same surfaces.

I do them myself. I only do a couple of claws at a time on the foxdog so she stays accustomed to it, but Weez is a 2-person job since a I cut his quick months ago and he hasn't yet forgotten

[Allerzeit]

Some we do, some don't need it.

Feonix's nails grow like nothing I've ever seen before and I'm constantly struggling to keep them under control. I've never had to cut Radar's, Neo's or Molly's nails. I used to have to cut Enya's all the time.

Nova, well she is still getting weekly puppy trims, we will have to see how she goes as an adult, but I hope she takes after her Uncle Radar and not after her mother!!

[TeamSnag]

I also use the dremmel also.. But the older ones i use clippers

I find using the dremmel u also get anice neat cut of the hair on the feet..

[pie]

Mine do agility and are very active but still need nails done, I do them once a week, cut back as far as possible. Kyzers are small anyway but Trixies are impossible, I have cut them weekly since she was a puppy and they always look long - think it's because her feet are practically bald. ETA I don't use a Dremel, just clippers, but I make sure they are sharp so it's more comfortable for the dog, I like the Gripsoft ones.

Both of mine lay in my lap and have it done, they were taught from an early age that it is to be done in a no fuss manner and they lay there still - no faffing about.

I wouldn't pay someone else to do it.

Edited November 3, 2011 by amypie

[wuffles]

I do mine but not very often. I just use clippers on my younger girl who doesn't generally have any issues with it.

My rescue boy HATE HATE HATES it so when I do his I do one at a time They are longer than I would like, but not too bad, so I tend to avoid the stress for both of us and only do them occasionally.

[tlc]

My guys need their nails cutting regularly, I think it maybe because we don't do any walking/running on anything other than grass and dirt, also there is no concrete in our back yard so their nails don't wear down naturally. I do all mine myself after a shocking experience at the vet clinic with my oldest one when he was young, I made sure as young puppies they all tolerated me playing with their feet and clipping their nails although my oldest is not impressed he lets me do it.

[trinabean]

I'm a new convert to the Dremel.

Most of Bruno's nails stay worn down by exercise. A couple of nails on the front paws do get a bit longer though. He was a terrified sooky-lala with the clippers after I accidently cut a little too far up on a black nail once. He's not freaked by the Dremel though and I find it gives a nice finished edge to the nails. Much better for my floorboards too.

Would I pay someone to do it? Well, he was pretty hard to safely clip and I did wonder if that's what it would come to. However a friend (and lots of DOLers) raved about using a Dremel so I thought it was worth a try. I was determined not to give up on doing his nails myself after all, he is only young. Very happy with the Dremel. :D

[fuzzy82]

I cut them about once a week. Long nails are a big pet peeve of mine, and I try to keep them as short as possible on my dogs.

I've taught them to not care if I touch them all over, so I always ask the groomer not to cut Pixie's nails, because I'd rather take care of it myself. But if for whatever reason I *couldn't* do it, then yes, I would pay someone to do it. That would only happen if I got sick and ended up in hospital or similar though, and even then I'd probably let them go uncut for a few weeks rather than paying someone to do it. I would only pay someone to do it if I was away/sick for many weeks.

[tlc]

For the ones that use a dremmel, how quick can you get the job done? Is it more time consuming that just cutting. I have thought about trying a dremmel but I reckon it only takes about 30 seconds to get one dog done.

[raineth]

its interesting isn't it that how much exercise they do doesn't necessarily correspond with whether you need to trim nails or not.

Digby (giant mutt) needs his done very regularly or they grow completely out of control at a ridiculous rate. He doesn't have those lovely tight toes and I think this must be part of the problem because they don't get worn down like they would if his feet had better conformation. But then again I suspect that his toes are flat from his old owners not trimming his nails. When he was surrendered to the pound they were very bad and his four dew claws were curled right around.

Delta (Great Dane) needs trimming as well, but not as much as Digby. She has lovely tight feet and runs around more than Digby does too.

Angie (stumpy tail cattle dog) never needed hers trimming at all, not once.