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Old July 12th, 2009, 12:08 AM
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sasha101 sasha101 is offline
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Dogs claws...

Hi Im new so please bare with me until I get to know how operate this forum lol. I have recently taken in a Lab cross, which was abandoned in our neighborhood, or at least the vet thinks he was possible dumped. He is about 7months, beautiful dog, but my question is has anyone trimmed black claws ? Ive always taken care of my other dogs, where I can see the vein, but with solid black claws its difficult, I sure dont want to quick him. If need be Ill take him to the vets and get him to do it, but I just wondered if anyone can advise.Nice to meet you all :-) and thanks in advance.
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Old July 12th, 2009, 12:29 AM
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Several years ago I had adopted an adult Dal x Lab with all black nails, I cut them myself and after doing it a few times you sorta get a feel of how much you can take off, my dog would also let me know when I was getting close to the quick by both his body language & vocally. If your dog will allow just go slowly cutting small portions on each nail until you've taken the desired amount off before reaching the quick. You can also get a metal dog nail file to manually file in smaller increments.
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Old July 12th, 2009, 12:36 AM
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If his nails are open on the bottom, then if you stand over him and hold his feet as if you were shoeing a horse, you should be able to see how far the quick goes up the nail. I use a scissors-style clipper and trim all the dogs' nails this way. I've only nipped a quick twice in all the years I've been doing it.

If the nails are closed underneath, you have to proceed more carefully in small increments, as growler suggests.

Welcome to the board, and if you have pictures to share with us, we'd love to see them! Good luck with the nail trimming. It sounds like you have a lovely boy.
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Old July 12th, 2009, 06:23 PM
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Thanks Hazel and growler, Ive got A new computer which is running vista, As soon as I can get the photographs sorted and how to download them I will sure post some of my guys, thanks for the welcome and adviced, if in doubt Ill let the vet do them, I have been looking at those new things that were advertised on the t.v petco also has them. You put the dogs claw in it, and a little file spins around at a fast rate of knots, not sure Beau would be amused but may be worth a try lol.
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Old July 12th, 2009, 07:17 PM
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I thought about those grindy things, too--but I know my crew would freak at the sound and vibration But I know others on the board have tried them. Keep us posted!

Also, my sympathy as regards the Vista issue.... I just had a crash and had to replace my old machine (XP) with a new computer (Vista). 'nuff said.... The good news is that as my memory of the relative ease of XP fades, I'm gradually getting used to Vista...

Do you have any specific questions on how to deal with the photos? Having just puzzled it out for myself, it's sorta fresh in my memory yet
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Old July 12th, 2009, 09:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sasha101 View Post
I have been looking at those new things that were advertised on the t.v petco also has them. You put the dogs claw in it, and a little file spins around at a fast rate of knots, not sure Beau would be amused but may be worth a try lol.
I purchased a Pedi-Paw and only use it AFTER a good old fashion nail clipping. One must be careful placing your pups paw into the chamber of the spinning file or the fur COULD end up winding around the spindle. My groomer advised me to take an old nylon stocking and poke holes in it first, then place it on the dogs paw BEFORE using the Pedi-Paw. They do help smooth out the edges but the old fashion way is a lot quicker.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelrunpack View Post
I thought about those grindy things, too--but I know my crew would freak at the sound and vibration But I know others on the board have tried them. Keep us posted!

Also, my sympathy as regards the Vista issue.... I just had a crash and had to replace my old machine (XP) with a new computer (Vista). 'nuff said.... The good news is that as my memory of the relative ease of XP fades, I'm gradually getting used to Vista...

Do you have any specific questions on how to deal with the photos? Having just puzzled it out for myself, it's sorta fresh in my memory yet
Believe me Sasha101--if you need to find out anything about that darn Vista Operating System, you might want to ask our dear friend Hazel! We think she's a pro at it now!
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Old July 12th, 2009, 09:52 PM
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Sasha- If you put the nail inbetween your thumb nail, and forfinger nail and squeeze, and you dog pulls away or jumps. you pinched a part of the nail with the quik an you should know not to cut there. move your finger nails out further and squeeze. If nothing happens, Clip the nails a little tiny bit away from where you squeezed and she didnt pull away. Just to be safe. The quick is very sensitive and if your pinching a part with the quick, the will try to pull away or something to show you that is a discomfort to them.

Good luck! My yorkie has black nails as well and I have cut the quick only once.

Oh and , When you do clip them, make sure to have a bit off flower very close by to clot the bleeding fast, just in case.
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Old July 13th, 2009, 05:39 PM
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Thanks for nail clipping advice, Ill try the nipping thing and see if that works, Im just really paranoid about hurting him, and at the same time getting my nose ripped off lol (big teeth).The vista is coming on, the problem was attatching a pic to an email, couldn't find my pics anywhere, my picture folder had gone awal. Ill private message our Hazel before throwing a new pc out the window though lol thanks girls x
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Old July 13th, 2009, 06:49 PM
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a good measure is trimming flat with the pad, lift the foot in the air, and see how much overhang is going past the end of the paw ( i.e. the part repsonsible for making the click click on the floor) you should be safe trimming fluch with the foot, and what I do with dogs that have black nails that I don't know well, when grooming..

Also, trim a bit off, and take small amounts off, when you are getting close you will see a dot in the middle of the nail, take a bit, look take a bit look.. when you see the dot, you have gone far enough stop. Keep some quick-stop or cornstarch around just in case..
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Old July 16th, 2009, 11:22 PM
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Ok call me a coward :sad: I backed out and took him to the groomers lol , wasnt bad, he had a nice bath, blow dry and his claws cut, maybe by the time he's due again Ill have gained more nerve lol, no problem with Sasha my senior she has clear nails, the black ones just spook me a bit
thanks for all your suggestions, Im going to try each of them in turn and see what works best for us.
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Old July 16th, 2009, 11:24 PM
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Oh, well. I'll bet he's beautiful, though! Time for pics?
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Old July 16th, 2009, 11:32 PM
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The next time the nails need cutting you can always ask the groomer if they will let you watch & have them give you some tips. If the groomer won't you can ask a tech at your vet to show you - it is always easier if you see it done at least once.
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Old July 17th, 2009, 11:02 AM
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Good luck to you with the nail trimming. Both my girls have black nails and it's not easy. My lab's nails are fairly easy to clip, but the Akita X's nails are incredibly hard (as in concrete hard) and difficult to clip due to that. I did buy a doggie dremel, but it isn't very quick for sure and she gets impatient with it. My suggestion to you would be now that you've had them trimmed back, once a week (like Sunday nights or sometime you can make it a regular event) just trim a tiny bit off of them. Do it faithfully and you shouldn't end up having to do a large clipping where you need to worry about going to far back. Then you could have them done professionally like twice a year or something and just regular "tipping" done yourself.
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