I've ordered a dremel pet tool - apparently the normal dremels can get too hot (although the lower powered ones look absolutely identical to the pet dremel). It's a few days off arriving though, but looking forward to training Charlie to get used to it. I'll have to train him to lie on his bac to use it properly I think.....
I do my two in different positions. Shadow is a natural tart and throws himself on his back for tummy rubs at every opportunity - especially when he sees a pot of raw meat treats come out. Don't worry, there is no way this could be mistaken for submission. He's just a soft fool. I've been doing some work with him trying to get him upside-down between my legs like in the Kikopup video, because otherwise he's a bit squirmy. I actually often hijack him when he's sleeping on me, too. He's not really bothered by it. When using distraction, Willow is best done, sat on the sofa on one hip. J will sit next to her and hold a baby pouch of mushed sardines over her head so she can't see what's going on. I crouch on the floor in front and snip away, but she does shake her paws a lot to try to get me off. I like this position with the black nails because I can see the underneaths without pulling the foot around too much, which means I can see when I'm getting closer to the quick (the nail gets darker in the middle close to the quick). When doing my desensitisation, though, it's just me and I sit sideways on the sofa and have her lying down facing me, again on one hip. I think I would struggle to teach her to be happy on her back. It's not a natural position for her, unless she's sunbathing.
Not a dumb question at all Lisa, I reckon we all have a different position for nail clipping. I watched the Kikopup video and I just couldn't clip nails with a dog in that position. I have Charlie lying down on our bay window seat, I sit beside him, he puts his paw on my lap and clip them from a looking down at them angle, clip & treat, takes me a few minutes to front and back. I file the edges with an emery board which Charlie loves and he roles over onto his back in an extremely relaxed state whilst I give him a pedicure x
So, it's really odd. Charlie's nails are definitely short "enough" now, and my vet says he wouldn't take them any shorter himself. But I can still hear them when Charlie walks on a hard floor? Huh. I thought that if nails are short they can't be heard on a hard floor... paw and nails by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
For me, dog is standing up, I'm standing over him facing his tail. I can hold his neck between my legs, mostly to keep his head from blocking my view. I pick up his feet as I would a horse and this position gives a very good view of the bottom of the nail which is where I need to look to see the quick. I do the front feet and then I do the back. Mr. Waggy often gets in the way at the back. It works best outside on the deck where I have lots of natural light and I don't have to pick up the clippings. My friend wears a headlamp which also helps to see. ONe treat, a good treat, per foot and I do this every Sunday before a walk. It's come to be anticipated as the event that precedes a walk, which I think helps.
I think a lot depends on the shape of the claws - how they grow on the individual dog. Shadow's claws are a lot stubbier and come out at a different angle to Willow's, which are far thinner. When Shadow came to us, his claws were really short and didn't make any noise on hard floors at all. Willow's always have a little bit, even when at their shortest.
I find this too. Oban has nice, round compact feet, good feet if he was showing, and his nails do not click but they do grow fast. Oh, I should say they grow quickly. Jet had hare feet and even at the shortest they would click, but hers grew much more slowly.
Looking at the photo Charlie's nail are definitely short enough and I wouldn't be taking any more off myself. I never do Tarka, her anatomy is such the claws never grow too long. For Lochan I'll either do her asleep on the sofa next to me when she rarely bothers to even open an eye, or I'll use the same technique as lifting an equine hoof ie dog in standing position, me standing to one side, lift paw with left hand and clip with right. I know I have the advantage of training and experience doing this in lots of breeds, but none of the gang has ever been upset about claw clipping, they just let me do it. I suspect a good, painless technique using high quality, sturdy clippers and confident, matter-of-fact approach are key to getting this right. The bit about the clippers is important - if the clippers are blunt or don't have enough leverage you run the risk of crushing the claw as you try to clip, which is painful and may lead to longitudinal splits in the claw and a dog which definitely won't let you try it again. If you have decent clippers, each claw is done quickly and painlessly with no need for remedial filing and operator confidence improves so the procedure gets quicker and easier each time. In terms of which brand of clippers to choose, I'd have a chat with your vet and see what they have - they'll almost certainly order you a pair in if you wanted to buy them.
That's a good point, Julie. The thing Willow seems to object to most is the noise and the leverage necessary. Maybe a better set of clippers would pay dividends. I've just done a session with an emery board. It's nowhere near abrasive enough to do any real filing, but I figured anything touching her claws is a good thing. She was still a bit twitchy but nowhere near as much as with the clippers and she got to the point where I could do six swipes of her nails before giving a treat. This is a big improvement on the clippers, so I might just get J to bring home some coarser sand paper and I'll have a go at making a difference. I'm going to go down the Dremel route, and will be buying one when I'm in the UK, but I'm just a bit confused as to which one to go for. I can understand the problems with heat, but my thinking is that a lower powered one will have to be against the nail for longer, and so will have more time to get hot. As opposed to shorter bursts with a higher-powered one.
I have good clippers, I think, they are sharp. They have a guard on them, but that didn't stop me getting the kwick (or quick - which is it? ). So lack of confidence here is a BIG issue. Luckily Charlie doesn't seem to care how much I fuss and agonise over each snip, so long as the sea biscuits keep heading his way....
I wonder if the heat energy transferred is likely to be the same, higher energy = more heat generated, except less heat dissipation in a smaller time? I wouldn't put anything on a claw for long, anyway. I was planning to rotate round the claws...returning to each after a little while.
Can anyone recommend some good clippers which are sharp? Looking at the photo of Charlie's nails, I don't think you need them to be any shorter. My dogs' nails are much longer and when I take them to the vet to have them clipped, the vets always say they don't need doing! I do try to do them on my own, have no-one to hold them, so I thought a really good pair of nail clippers may help.
Sorry, I can't recommend the ones I have - they certainly seem sharp enough, but I wouldn't get the ones with the guard again. It's too far away from the clippers and so just sort of gets in the way of me clearly seeing what I'm doing.
Just had my second session with Willow and the emery board. I have progressed further in two session with this than I did in two weeks of sessions with the clippers. Really, really pleased. J's going to make me a doggy emery board tomorrow, and I'll await my Dremel when I'm over.
Thanks for your input on the position question, everyone! Interesting how we all have different techniques!
You can get a nail file made for dogs its metal and has a curve to so it really gets into the rough areas its made by mikki or minki I got one and its really good.
Cannot find how to buy the Mikki nail file! Have been on numerous websites and they don't seem to have it, Mikki do but you cannot buy direct for them and the search for a store near me selling the file, revealed that there wasn't one! Help?
