Old Age And Nails?

[cannibalgoldfish]

I have been toying about asking whether dogs nails grow faster as they get older.... But I have recently discovered that it's not just his nails are growing faster, it's mainly one front paw.

Background is... Loki is 12 and doesn't move much during the day these days I have always walked my boys on a variety of surfaces to wear down their nails. Up until now this worked...

I noticed in the last year his front nails seem to be growing faster? Now I realise it's just mainly one foot.

My first thought was, does that mean it's a movement/joint thing? I've watched him a fair bit since I noticed one paw has fast nail growth and he isn't favouring the foot or limping... Guess I want to know, do older dogs grow nails faster, and if one paw grows faster than the other, is it a movement thing (because of wear) and is there something I need to be looking for?

[sandgrubber]

It seems possible that nails change with age. My almost-10 year old still walks with the other dogs, but her nails get too long now. They never used to. Sad thing is that exercise has always kept them short before, and she hates to have her feet worked on.

My own nails have changed with age . . .

Edited May 1, 2014 by sandgrubber

[Maddy]

In my own experience (a 10 year old and a 12 year old), nails do start to become an issue. I'm not sure whether it's because they're less active in general or if it's actual growth changes but I'd guess the former. My old guy has terrible nails- he sleeps for about 23 hours of the day (upside down in his bed) so there's literally no weight on them, which means besides getting no wear, they also grow wonky.

[Salukifan]

In my own experience (a 10 year old and a 12 year old), nails do start to become an issue. I'm not sure whether it's because they're less active in general or if it's actual growth changes but I'd guess the former. My old guy has terrible nails- he sleeps for about 23 hours of the day (upside down in his bed) so there's literally no weight on them, which means besides getting no wear, they also grow wonky.

Agree with Maddy. I actually find hair and nail growth has slowed on my older dog. Less activity and perhaps favouring one foot may explain why your dogs nails are longer and one foot is longer than the other.

[Erny]

If it is only or mainly on one foot perhaps it relates to your dog's gait? Perhaps he is favouring the other side due to even minor discomfort or impediment he might be feeling?

Oops .... realised HDW has already raised this as a possibility.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Erny

[Dogsfevr]

How nails grow tells you so much about your dog ,if its one foot then i would say there is some altered movement there .

Like with older draws who tend to drag there bag legs wear there nails differently again .

This is one thing i always check on our dogs as i now if there nails differ its time for Bowen

[cannibalgoldfish]

These answers may be basically telling me something I already know. Maybe...

Many year back Loki was hit by a car and broke his hip in 2 places. I have often suspected it would affect him later on in life as he got older...

The only thing is, I can't remember off the top of my head which hip he broke.... I suspect it's the same side as the front foot with nail growth.

Now... to let a nail shy dog let me close to his nails...

[Maddy]

These answers may be basically telling me something I already know. Maybe...

Many year back Loki was hit by a car and broke his hip in 2 places. I have often suspected it would affect him later on in life as he got older...

The only thing is, I can't remember off the top of my head which hip he broke.... I suspect it's the same side as the front foot with nail growth.

Now... to let a nail shy dog let me close to his nails...

A dremel, a pocket full of BBQ chicken and patience. Even though it's noisy and it takes a bit of time, I think using a dremel makes it easier for the person doing it because you don't have to worry so much about hitting the quick. Which means less anxiety for you and there isn't that pause before a cut. You know the pause.. "please don't create a gushing font of toe blood, please oh god please" :p

[cannibalgoldfish]

My luck, I'll dremel into his toe quick Do they grow?(nail quicks) I remember how short the nails were, would chopping back to that length be a problem?

Silly question, yes....

[sandgrubber]

My luck, I'll dremel into his toe quick Do they grow?(nail quicks) I remember how short the nails were, would chopping back to that length be a problem?

Silly question, yes....

Silly question, no.

I'd say dremel little-by-little so as to avoid hitting the quick. I suspect that the live tissue grows outward toward the end of the nail, so will have grown further out where nails have been long for a long time. Little-by-little should allow filing back as the live tissue recedes.

This is a guess.

If anyone knows different, please say.

[Maddy]

My luck, I'll dremel into his toe quick Do they grow?(nail quicks) I remember how short the nails were, would chopping back to that length be a problem?

Silly question, yes....

Silly question, no.

I'd say dremel little-by-little so as to avoid hitting the quick. I suspect that the live tissue grows outward toward the end of the nail, so will have grown further out where nails have been long for a long time. Little-by-little should allow filing back as the live tissue recedes.

This is a guess.

If anyone knows different, please say.

This is correct. The longer nails are left for, the longer the quick gets in the nail, which in turns means you can't take as much off on the first go (you have to train the quick back). Having said that, some dogs have really slow quicks that never seem to go far while others have quicks that really have to be watched.

Also worth adding though that the quick tends to grow in a certain direction and not always evenly within the nail itself. I've cut nails that had huge arches over the top with the quick barely covered undeneath, and then nails where the top was very low and the underside was really thick. Whether or not these were initially caused by bad cutting or not cutting at all, I couldn't say although I suspect this to be the case. With nails that have thick uppers, I usually leave those alone as it doesn't seem to cause too much change in growth (although it can make regular cutting harder because of the increased amount of nail to actually get through). Nails with thick lower edges though, I try to grind the underside back up to a more claw shape (if you know what I mean) because as the nail thickens further, the added pressure on it seems to distort the shape and they start growing slightly outwards.

For initial grinding, if the nails are really thick and overgrown, it's best to focus on enabling better wear of the nail, rather than taking length off immediately. I do this by using the grinder to loosen up the tip (breaking up the really hard protein that forms the U shape) and then softening the edges around it. This way, when the dog walks on concrete, the nail will get a bit of natural wear, which in itself will help train the quick back. Oh, and one other thing.. dust mask :p Your lungs will thanks you for it.

Let me know if you need any help or want to borrow a grinder to try.

[Erny]

A tip to help you identify/see the tips of your dog's quicks as you dremmel is to wet the end of the nail - I tend to use a bit of spit if I am not sure. Also, dremmel a little bit and move to the next nail; dremmel a little bit and move to the next nail. Let the dremmel do the work for you - don't press heavily. These last two tips will help avoid the nail bed heating up from the friction.

Haven't followed every post in this thread so not sure if this link has been posted :

How to Dremmel - DoberDawn

I used this as a very good guide when I first used a dremmel on dog nails some 13 years ago, approx.

You will begin a bit hesitant - that's normal. But you do get the hang of it and it becomes easier as both yourself and your dog get used to it. Just start very incrementally. I feed my dog treats in between. When I first began, I merely gave a few treats with the dremmel in my hand (switched off). I then turned the dremmel on low and gave treats. Once my dog was ok with both these things (over a couple of sessions) I then simply 'tipped' a nail, and fed a treat. So, I started pretty slowly, allowing my dog's confidence to grow and simultaneously allowing my own confidence to grow.

Tie back your hair (if you have long hair) when you use the dremmel.

[Poodle wrangler]

I've accidently hit the quick with the dremel, but was fine.

Because you're only taking off a little at a time, it bleeds very little- you'll see a red dot and so will stop, for sure.

[cannibalgoldfish]

Well... as a response this is pretty crap... So far no nails have been cut, he whips them out of my hands in seconds... He is really foot shy! Far more than I realised.. He was always a missy priss about people touching his feet but I never really pushed him because there was never any pressing reason..(yes, pretty silly upon reflection... )

[Maddy]

Well... as a response this is pretty crap... So far no nails have been cut, he whips them out of my hands in seconds... He is really foot shy! Far more than I realised.. He was always a missy priss about people touching his feet but I never really pushed him because there was never any pressing reason..(yes, pretty silly upon reflection... )

I gets lots of foot shy dogs (and own two myself, oh the fun) so nothing to feel bad about. Just start at the very beginning- clicker and some treats. Go slow with the handling and try to avoid pushing too far. If he's really foot shy, you might have to bust out the extra high value treats. I do things like separating the toes (because you'll need to be able to do this, especially if he has hairy feet), applying small amounts of pressure to push the nail out, generally moving your hand around the foot, lifting it, putting it back up again. Basically, getting him comfortable with the sorts of things he'll be feeling when you do make a start on cutting.