thinking of grinding my dogs nails instead of cutting them?

Question

I found this site that goes into great detail on how to do it:
www.doberdawn.com. for those of you that have made the switch... is it worth it? I would be doing this for 4 dogs. I don't own a dremmel so I would have to buy one.

Answer 1

Hi there! I suggested this for your last question, and I firmly believe grinding is worth it. I have two dogs and grind both their nails. While you will have to get your pups used to it, many dogs (at least in my experience) really take to the grinding better than clipping--a lot of them don't care for the pressure they feel when you squeeze the nail clippers. Plus if you have hardwood floors I think it is definitely worth it. Much cheaper to invest in a dremel now than refinishing your floors in a couple of years :). Dremels aren't that expensive--I got mine on an overstock website. It's cordless and rechargeable, so it's very easy to use. Practically every dog in my salon gets his/her nails dremeled instead of cut, and the owners all rave over the results. Yes, for dogs with long hair you have to be careful, but it's not a big deal (I have two long-haired dogs). I just take the index finger of my foot-holding hand, brush the hair back so the nails are exposed, and go from there. Good luck if you decide to go this route--you'll love the results!

Answer 2

Grinding is the only way to go! I do all of mine, my parents do all of theirs as well.

I do mine about once a week. If they are very long you can trim them first and then soften the edges with the dremel. You do have to be careful as the nail can get pretty hot so what I do is one side of all nails on all feet and then go back and do the other side. Also, if the nails are long, you can remove the outer shiny surface part way up the nail and the quick will move back faster.

If you have hairy dogs, you have to be very careful as the hair can get wound around the drum.

BTW - get a good one, the cheap ones just don't work very well. I have a Dremmel cordless. My cordless does all my nails without running out of power, but I suppose it depends on how much nail you have to grind.

Answer 3

I just switched to a different groomer and she used a dremel on my dog. He's really little, so trimming his nails with the clippers is a bit more difficult. I noticed that when she used the dremel, she could get a shorter "cut", which is good for the dog because it'll encourage the nail to actually grow shorter. Also, when she used the dremel, the nail was much smoother and didn't hurt when he walked on me anymore. Plus, it was really quick. For 4 dogs, I'd say it's definitely worth it. I'm going to buy one for my 1 dog! Just make sure that you don't go too short (just like clipping). My mom owns a dremel and she recommends getting one with a cord, not cordless, because the corded one has more power. The cordless ones run low on the battery very quickly. Kind of a bummer if you are doing 4 big dogs with thick nails!

Answer 4

My groomer grinds my dog's nails, and she seems to tolerate it pretty well. It does decrease the chances of chipping or splitting the nail, but it also takes more time per nail than normal clipping.

Dremels are relatively inexpensive, and the replacement discs are cheap. Make sure you're getting the right type of disc for the work - there are lots of different grinding wheels out there for different tasks.

Also, if your dogs have never had their nails ground, the noise of the Dremel and the feel of the wheel will likely freak them out. Introduce them to the Dremel slowly, let them get used to the noise *before* even touching their feet with it. It's a brand-new experience for them, and has the potential to be a really *bad* brand-new experience (especially if you make the mistake of grinding the nails too short, on top of the noise and the vibration!).

Good luck!

Answer 5

you could just purchase an automated fingernail file for fake fingernails on humans and see if the dog will tolerate that first. A dremmel seems a bit harsh, if you were to make a mistake and grind down too far.

Answer 6

i would not do it. it is very hard not to get hair cought in the dremmel and it you do it will hurt the dog really bad. i think that clipping the nails is all the dog really needs, if it is the sharpness you dont like try just using a people nail file on the nails after you clip them.

Answer 7

Many groomers can do this. We have had to get it done when I paid attention to my wood floors. Its too late for my floors now. But try to save yours. And you are less likely to grind them to far as you are to snip with the cutters to far.

Answer 8

i'd just get them cut at the vet its not much money hope u got your answer