# Nails - how short?



## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

I would really just use a dremel and get as close to the quik as you can without cutting it.

Some dogs who are used to having their nails done every week..or sometimes twice a week can have much shorter nails than dogs who go longer between nail trims.

So giving you a photo of a dog with very short nails could be misleading to you..and if you tried to just snip it that short it could quik the dog.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

my sister's spoo puppy has nails that stick out longer and look closer to the ground than my spoo puppy
but then after reading a thread about feet, i realized that her dog is flatter footed (if that's the term) than my spoo. Temperance looks like she walks on tippy toes more.
i am also more diligent about taking her to have them trimmed too.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I'm obsessive about keeping all my animals nails short (and mine) and if I even see any points starting to form (normally after a week) out come the clippers and I shave off the ends of them all. When you do your dogs nails, don't just cut, start shaving off the end little by little, the inside of it will start to get softer and a different texture and color. Stop there. Vegas will normally let me know when I'm getting close and whine a little (he's sensitive.)


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## AgilityIG (Feb 8, 2009)

I do Vinnie's nails weekly - If I can hear them on the wood floor, they are too long :biggrin:


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## Cornishbecky (Nov 21, 2009)

A pet hate of mine is dogs with to long nails.
But IMO from experience there is such a thing as to short, becuase i used to trim my GSD's nails weekly, and they were very short, but i started to notice after a fairly long walk active walk they were bleeding a little bit, but I know it was not because i had cut the quick.
so I dont do it as often now but they are still not long.
Bec


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## highhorse (Sep 17, 2008)

Inca has black nails and I cut them weekly, usually as they are forming points. My other little girl absolutely hates her nails doing and I took her to our vet nurse to see if she was better for her. I was told that nails that I thought were too long, didn't need cutting. I think this was because I got used to seeing "extremely" short nails in the show ring.


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## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Aidan said:


> I would really just use a dremel and get as close to the quik as you can without cutting it.
> 
> Some dogs who are used to having their nails done every week..or sometimes twice a week can have much shorter nails than dogs who go longer between nail trims.
> 
> So giving you a photo of a dog with very short nails could be misleading to you..and if you tried to just snip it that short it could quik the dog.


Sorry, should have been clear ... I do Dremel his nails now (black nails + clippers = one of us is unhappy ).

At the moment, I Dremel down to where you can see a good bit of nail when he is standing normally, but it is nowhere near touching the ground. But when he moves (wood floors) I can hear them. I need to take a photo!


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

if you can hear them i'd be working them shorter.... the quick might be long- so just work it back shorter and shorter each time. 

My dogs are driving me nuts- we have no power at the house so it's been 3 weeks since we did nails OMG driving me NUTS NUTS NUTS !


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

highhorse said:


> I think this was because I got used to seeing "extremely" short nails in the show ring.


Yeah, how do they get those super short nails? I've noticed this too. I want my dogs nails that short, rofl.


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## Raena (Sep 20, 2009)

dremal every couple of days it makes a huge diff, Zulus are pretty close to that short.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

yup, to get them as short as show dogs, you need to dremel them every 2-3 days to GET them back that short initially, and then keep ontop of them religiously to KEEP them that short. I might do an experiment and work Paris' nails back to being really short, cos they're really long right now! I'll make a wee 'log' of photos.... hehehe


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Some show people will actually have their dogs put under anesthesia and have all the nails clipped super short. Cruel IMO.

Here is a great link on how to dremel nails!!!

How to Dremel Dog Nails @ DoberDawn.com


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

Ok, I've started it; the toe nail project!!!

I will grind Paris' nails every 1-3 days (depends on what I'm doing really, and if I remember!) to work them right back to being short lil nubs like I'd like, and I'll take photos (with the date stamp on them) every time I do them to document it...

You can see in the first set of photos that when I grind Paris' nails and want them to be shorter, I grind right up to the quick, and then I grind AROUND the end too; so the quick is really quite 'exposed' (without ACTUALLY being exposed of course!) in theory making it recede quicker/more? We'll see!


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## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

Love your Toe Nail Project, fd. I'm going to start doing Jackson's every day. Here he is today.


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## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

Fluffyspoos said:


> Yeah, how do they get those super short nails? I've noticed this too. I want my dogs nails that short, rofl.



A technique called a "Whack and Pack". its basically quicking the dog, then using quick stop to stop the bleeding. Then they are dremeled each week to keep them short. This is of course if people do not keep the nails maintained. If you start when the dog is young (or well before a show) and you dremel the nails often,the quick doesn't grow long. but a lot of people still quick the dogs instead of maintaining them I saw it on a show grooming DVD


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I know there's a surgical procedure called a 'cut back' where they cut the nails back when the dogs under and seal them off.. but I would never quick a dog on purpose when them awake. =/


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

new pics from today are on the toe nail project..... 

I have heard of nails being quicked on purpose (and then using quick stop or something to clot the bleeding) to get them short.... both under anaesthetic and awake... :/ TBH I don't like it if the dog is under anaesthetic and it's done cos they ARE tender afterwards, and it really doesn't help all the work I put into getting touchy dogs to allow me to do their nails!!!! 

It's only been three days and Paris' nails are far better, why on earth put a dog through pain like that!?? :doh:


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## amerique2 (Jun 21, 2009)

The links to the How to Dremel article and the Toe Nail Project are so helpful. Thanks!


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

I love short nails too. Mitch came to me with TALONS, but they're finally getting to an okay length.


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## passion4poodles (Apr 11, 2009)

I have been having to dremel Tynks nails every 3-4 days since she got home from Cali, I failed to let my sister in law know she needed to do this at least once a week while she was there so now here nails are WAY to long. When she got here was mortified. Her nails grow SUPER fast and so it is sometimes hard to keep up with them so now I am paying for not telling Jamie what was needed. 

Kiara however had full access to a back yard that had mostly sand in it, so her nails were ground naturally while she was there!


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

the toe nail project is going along nicely!!! There are more photos in the facebook album, and I still want them shorter, but thought I'd show so far here too...

What I started with:









and 5 days later, after three grinding sessions, this is what we have now:









You can see the length compared to the old nail polish still on her nails (lol!) so HEAPS has gone off the ends. They have grown a little too, but not heaps (it's only been 5 days!) and I've also shaved her foot so of course they look longer from the base with less hair to hide them! lol!

Like I said, I am still going even shorter, but I think that this would be pretty acceptable by many people, so it doesn't take long for them to go back if you make sure you get on to it a few times within a week!!! Note that there is NO way I could get them this short this fast without a grinder though...


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

flyingduster said:


> Like I said, I am still going even shorter, but I think that this would be pretty acceptable by many people, so it doesn't take long for them to go back if you make sure you get on to it a few times within a week!!! Note that there is NO way I could get them this short this fast without a grinder though...


What kind of dremel do you use ?? My boy has very ticklish feet, my regular Wahl clipper vibrates too much so I use my Arco on his feets. I have a hard time doing his nails, especially as his nails are black. I woinder how he would react to a dremel, probably wouldn't be too happy.


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## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

I'm not sure what type it is sorry... It is loud and fast and powerful though, so you do need to be confident and firm with it or you'll just tickle even more!!! lol. You need a fair bit of power in whatever grinder you use on big dog nails, ie those 'peticure' ones especially made for pet nails are far too weak for much more than cat and tiny dog nails from all the reviews I've heard of them!!


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## suntea (May 27, 2010)

I need to learn to trim Mia's myself. This was prior to her grooming. Talk about TALONS


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

flyingduster said:


> the toe nail project is going along nicely!!!
> 
> What I started with:
> 
> ...


How is the toe nail project going ???


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i'd love to do my dogs nails myself, but i'm absolutely intimidated by the process. 
i think a dremel would be less intimidating for me, but not sure about the dogs .. heh.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

dremel's make it much easier. And i find the dogs on the whole a lot more accepting of it then the nail clippers. 

Dremel makes a good cheap one- go cordless. I'm cheap i have a dremel (HUGE ONE) that has a flexible end attachement- so i use that cuz i'm too cheap to go spend $20 on a new one *L* though now with 4 dogs i might crack out the $$$ for one. 

Even the small ones are more then power full enough though i borrowed a friends during our move just the cheap cordless dremel pet one and it did a great job


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

suntea said:


> I need to learn to trim Mia's myself. This was prior to her grooming. Talk about TALONS


YIKES - those are long! My poms have long ones (not that long LOL) the little dogs grow like crazy though!!

The dremel is AWESOME! I am afraid to use the nail cippers.


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## Beach girl (Aug 5, 2010)

The dremels are great. Here in the Outer Banks, there is a woman at the Farmer's Market every Saturday who sells dog bandannas and things. She used to have a stand-alone business but couldn't make it work over the winter. Anyway, she does quick nail trims with her dremel for us every Saturday. $5 for both dogs - $2.50 a piece. Can't beat that! Come October I will have to get back to doing it myself once again. 

Neither of my boys absolutely loves it, but Pippin tolerates it better than Casey. Both of them are used to it now and I give a tiny treat after each foot. They put up with it.

She would charge another $10 I think for nail polish. I have been threatening to do an irridescent green but hubby says "NO!!!!!" So guess I'll skip that part of it.


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