How short should nails be?

[Kananga]

I've been using a grinder that's made for pets. Can't remember the brand, but it'll shut off when you put too much pressure on the nail. My B seems to allow me to grind his nails down. The device doesn't scare him. Best part is I can monitor how much i'm taking off at a slower pace. You have a lot more control.

[JazzysMom]

I use a grinder also. Jazz just lays back and lets me do whatever I want . Keoki flips and flops and wiggles the whole time. Needless to say, Jazz's nails always look better, LOL, though neither is great because trimming them neatly is simply not a talent I have

I will say, that if too much time goes by w/out a trim and the nails are longer, I will cut the tips first and then grind. Otherwise it's just too much grinding.

My general rule is, trim 'em 'til I can't hear them clicking on the wood floor.

[BDawg]

I recently bought Pedipaws- the grinding thing for pets. My dogs were SUPER tolerant of it, even letting me put them on their backs and taking each foot at a time. Definitely think it's worth it to try– I got mine on ebay for about $15 (came with 13 extra emory bands). Miles HATES nail clippers and will try to bite (my hubby, not me!) if you come near him with them. So I wanted to find a less stressful option. This definitely did the trick. And I do like that it shuts off if you put too much pressure. You just have to monitor how short the nail is getting (which you can do easily) and also how hot the nail tip is getting since there is friction between the nail and the emory board.
Hope that helps!

[Sanuye_Zonta]

@etzbseder:

Yeah, Medjai just doesn't like me holding his back feed, and can kick harder with them.

I have heard of those new nail clippers, but detest them. I believe they're made by 'Bamboo'. I love their brushes, but the fancy sensor nail clippers are the guillotine kind, and those are the worst on the nail because they put a ton of pressure on the nail. The scissor kind is next, then the grinders.

Thank you for this information - and the rest posted about Pedipaws!!

Between that and the booties I read about … Bisa will be "'sittin' purty"' ! :p)

[kiroja]

I use a good old Dremel. It seems a lot sturdier than the products specifically made for dogs. Plus it's nice to have the additional uses around the house. Although if you go with the doggie ones, the PetiCure seems like a better built product. http://www.peticure.com/ Plus they also make attachments for most Dremels if you like the bonus features of the enclosed top but already have a Dremel or want something more versatile.

Also instead of the sanding bands, I use a grinding stone. You have to use a slightly higher speed to take off the nail, but it's nice not having to change bands all the time! I think this is the one I use. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=952 It has the same material as what's on the surface of the sanding bands. Plus these are great for puppies, you can put them on the low speed and it takes such little bit off 2/3 week old babies. The sanding bands are usually too harsh when they're that small unless you constantly flip to the fine sandpaper.

To make the nails nice and short so they don't clickity clack everywhere, you gotta do them every few days for quite a while. And it really helps to grind, instead of cut. Once you've got them short they're much easier to maintain. I like them short for the shows, but I also leave them longer at times because it's better for coursing and other performance stuff.

[mauigirl]

I have another question about this. We'll call it "technique". I usually work two nails at once, so grind 8 nails one right after the other and then back to the beginning. I grind two different areas…..the part of the nail facing the floor where it can be dirty and/or jagged from growth and then I bring back the tip. Does anyone else do this or do you just sand the tip squarely, like perpendicular to the tip of the quick (without touching it obviously) On both of mine I don't typically round the nail. If they have been done recently you can tell because looking from above the end is a straight line across.
I'm just curious how other people do it....I realize this might be challenging to put into words.

Zip's nails are sooo long. I really need to do them more often. I think it's a case of not so compact feet but I know that in the past I was able to keep her nails shorter.

[kiroja]

My boy has flatter feet, and for a while it was hard to keep them short. But at first I didn't grind and didn't do it often enough either. A little bit of religious effort later kept them looking nice for shows and he built up his feet a little bit. Then when he matured he started maintaining so easy. I rarely grind him now. They don't grow nearly as fast and while they're much thicker nails than the girls, they stay short a lot easier and his feet look better. It's funny, the girls' nails used to stay so short and be easy to maintain, and now it's the opposite. But they have nice feet to start with at least.

As far as technique, I grind mostly from the tip and then angled back on the top half of the nail towards the foot. That will help get the quick back a lot faster than going at the same angle as the tip of the nail. Once I grind all the "tops" down, then I go back and do the underside of the nail where it can be kinda jagged like you said and give it a quick smoothing out. There is a picture somewhere showing the proper angle to trim at, but I have no idea where. lol I think it was posted in a Basenji mag a few years ago, but I believe it's online too? Well I looked around and can't find what I want, but this gives an idea:

I use a little more vertical angle than the line they draw on the nail.

[Nemo]

@kiroja:

I like them short for the shows, but I also leave them longer at times because it's better for coursing and other performance stuff.

This is really good to know. I hadn't thought about this before but it makes sense. So how much longer do you keep them for performance related events? "Clickity clack" long or shorter than that?

[kiroja]

It's hard to say. Clickity clack long probably, but not so long that the nail starts curving south much or getting very narrow at the tip. I usually just do them when I remember to and it's convenient, which is about once every two weeks maybe? lol

I've got such a dillemna right now, we are pulling this weekend (on snow), but showing next week! lol

[mauigirl]

@kiroja:

I grind mostly from the tip and then angled back on the top half of the nail towards the foot. That will help get the quick back a lot faster than going at the same angle as the tip of the nail.

Good to know! SO glad I asked. I will try that next time. Thank you.