Is it necessary to trim nails?

[basilboy7]

So I was just wondering about trimming nails since the vet asked me if I wanted them done when Basil gets neutered. Our 13 year old lab mutt has had awful nails the past few years of her life as she's not exercised very much… she has bad arthritis and can hardly walk so she has to have her nails trimmed all the time. But Basil's nails look like they're fine, he doesn't make a sound with the nails when he walks (which my older one does) and we walk and run on pavement every day which I heard is good for trimming the nails. Should I trim his nails anyway? Or should I just wait until I notice that they need to be trimmed? Any opinions on this?

[eeeefarm]

If he's on pavement a lot you might not need to bother, but you should make sure he is used to the procedure and accepts it without difficulty. I think I would do a little touch up from time to time for this reason alone.

[Shaye's Mom]

My B mix bites her nails on her front feet, but the back need trimming, even with walking on cement. The pure B's nails need trimming pretty regularly. I think it's a matter of checking them from time to time and trimming when they start needing it - each dog is different.

[Kipawa]

As Kipawa is on cement for many walks, it seems his back toe nails are always at a proper length. As for the front nails, I use a dremel to take them down a bit and keep them from getting too sharp. One nail dremelled = one wee treat. It takes very little time this way to get ten nails done.

[basilboy7]

Okay, anybody know where we can get a nail trimmer? We always get our older dogs nails done by a vet.

[eeeefarm]

I would think any pet store would have the regular ones. I know quite a few people on here use a dremel, but I just use the "guillotine" type, and then I usually file them smooth. Lots of information about types here:

http://www.dognailclippers.org/types-of-dog-nail-clippers.html

[tanza]

I use a dremel, to me less stress then the nail clippers for both me and the Basenjis. By the way, I dremel the girls nails once every week. Making it a part of a daily/weekly routine…..

[krunzer]

I find the dremel is a wonderful tool. You can't quite 'cut' the quick like you can with a pair of nail clippers. You can get their nails way shorter and more shaped than you can with a cutter. I find that there is always a risk of cutting the quick with clippers just because B's move so much….you will be ready to clip and then all of a sudden they are jerking back or putting pressure on clippers. The only thing is that they may be afraid of the sound of the dremel itself. I picked one up at Home Depot for like 70 canadian.

[thunderbird8588]

Our first Basenji never had his nails trimmed, they were always a perfect length.
We do trim Malaika's and Kwames, particularly the front ones. Apparently if you don't trim the quick grows down to the tip of the nail ??????

[basilboy7]

@thunderbird8588:

Our first Basenji never had his nails trimmed, they were always a perfect length.
We do trim Malaika's and Kwames, particularly the front ones. Apparently if you don't trim the quick grows down to the tip of the nail ??????

Really? Is this true?

[krunzer]

This is what I have heard also and if you look at dogs feet who's nails are never clipped their quicks are very long. Tucker has really nice feet and nails, where Becca's nails are longer and her quicks are longer.

[wizard]

I used to use a clipper and was always nicking one or two quicks. Now I use a dremel and never have that problem. I think the dremel shavings help clog the vein so there's no blood even if you get close to the quick.
But it does take some work to help them get used to the noise and feel.

[basilboy7]

Could you use a human nail file to file down the nails a bit?

[eeeefarm]

@basilboy7:

Could you use a human nail file to file down the nails a bit?

Yes, I do that all the time after I use the clipper…....I like to smooth the nail.

[basilboy7]

I wonder if I could do this in place of cutting the nail just to get him used to being handled and prevent the quick from getting too long?

[eeeefarm]

Sure, why not? Although I must mention that my guy dislikes the filing more than the clipping…..