When the new FURminator Comfort Edge DeShedding Tool arrived at my door a few weeks ago, I knew just who would be getting a major grooming, my buddy Trooper!
I have to admit, I’m a wee bit jealous of all of Trooper’s glorious hair (he claims he gets his good hair from his mom, the Australian Shepherd). I on the other hand am plagued with Dachshund pattern baldness (it’s a real thing, look it up!), and have to wear coats and sweaters all winter long to keep warm on the farm.
Thanks to our new FURminator mom collected enough Trooper hair to make me a sweater from it! Now who’s good with a loom?
You can check out more great grooming products for pets from FURminator!
Disclaimer: this post is brought to you by Chewy. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your dog will love.
Raise of paws, who likes having their nails trimmed? Raise of hands, who likes trimming their pet’s nails? Just as I thought, no one.
It’s a necessary evil though, because having long nails can cause your pet to walk irregularly which can lead to skeletal problems. And we all know that us dachshunds don’t need any more reasons to have back trouble!
Now if your dog has black nails like I do, I’m sure you spend your life in constant fear of cutting them too short and hitting the quick (a soft cuticle rich in blood vessels and nerves that grows in the center of your dog’s nail). If you nick that tiny little quick your dog will scream out in pain, and yes, there may be blood!
My mom used to trim my nails at home, but over the years I got progressively worse at having them trimmed – so she started to take me to the vet to have them done every few months. Then a few months ago she decided it was high time I got better at having my nails done, so she set out to condition me to actually enjoy having them done!
Interestingly, this new nail trimming method was not with the traditional nail clippers, but instead with a dremel!
Over the past 2 months my mom has been working with me to make me more comfortable with the use of the dremel on my nails. While I wouldn’t say I LOVE it, I tolerate it. It saves me from having to make more trips than necessary to the vet or groomer, saves my mom money, and keeps my nails at a healthy length. It’s a win – win!
So since I’m sure you’re all curious just how my mom trained me to be better about having my nails trimmed, here’s how she did it….
Starting with the nail file, mom used it EVERY SINGLE DAY for 3 weeks to get me used to having my feet and nails handled. She started by picking up a foot and gently sanding my nails for just a few seconds at a time.
Each time I didn’t resist she would use the clicker and then reward me with a small (but yummy treat).
The great thing about these chews is that not only do I love the taste, but they’re also helping to clean my teeth while rewarding me for having my nails done at the same time!
After several weeks of practice with the nail file, mom moved onto the dremel. This time she “sanded” my nails without even turning it on. Again, each time I didn’t resist on a nail she would click and reward me. At the end of the session I’d get my jackpot treat, a Natural Balance Dental Chew.
After another week or so it was time to turn on the dremel. Using a low speed to start she’d do just a few of my nails, making sure to reward me quickly for not resisting at all.
Now once you start using the dremel with it on it’s important to note that you can’t just quickly sand your dog’s nails down in one sitting to the desired length, even if they are ok with it. The quick inside grows with your dog’s nail. So my mom likes to only work on sanding my nails once a week to allow time for the quick of my nail to shorten after the last trimming. (see diagram above for more details)
How short should you keep your pet’s nails? According to the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation they should be short enough that they don’t touch the ground when your dog is standing on a flat surface, but long enough to aid the dog when climbing up a hill or digging.
Hear that mom? I need them for digging!
While I still have a ways to go to get mine back to the ideal length, I’m happy to say that after weeks of practice I’m now much more tolerant of having my nails done by dremel. While I very much wish I had gotten a video of the “before”, here’s how good I am at it now…
How is your dog about having their nails trimmed? Have you ever trimmed your pet’s nails with a dremel? Do tell!
Handy Tip: If your dog is resistant to even having their feet touched start without the nail fail and just reward them for letting you touch their feet without pulling away. Also, using a treat that your dog goes crazy over helps too, the better the treat, the more willing they will be to try.
Disclaimer: This post is meant to be informative, but please keep in mind, what works for me may not work for your own pet. Please consult an expert if you are unsure about how to train your pet. Use caution when using a dremel around your pet, and we are not responsible for any injuries that may occur.
Nail Trimming, it’s the arch nemesis to many of my four-legged friends – including myself. According to my mom it is a necessary evil to prevent ingrown nails, and trimming them allows me to put my full weight on the ground – instead of my nails, which could cause a deformed gait.
So despite the fact that I really don’t like to have my nails trimmed I’m here to share with you my opinion on some of the best and worst nail trimmers out there.
Below is a break-down of some of the tools I have tried.
The guillotine style nail trimmer is my least favorite type. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but it makes me cry! Mom also says she finds it awkward to hold and get into the right position and it doesn’t seem to make a clean cut, perhaps that’s why it hurts when it trims my nails.
The scissor style trimmer is at the top of my list because it’s quick and painless as long as you don’t trim the nails too short.
The particular scissor style trimmer that I have is made by JW Pet Company and also has a protective guard on it to help avoid cutting anything else (like little doxie noses).
The PediPaws nail sander works fairly well, but I’m not a huge fan of the way it vibrates my nails. I can only tolerate it for so long before I just won’t sit still any longer. It also seems to take a long time to trim the nails. The one nice thing about the pedi paw though is that it has a guard on it with an opening just big enough for a nail to fit through. This helps to make sure nothing else accidentally gets sanded.
The dremel tool isn’t something sold specifically for trimming dog’s nails but it’s practically the same thing as the PediPaws. The only difference is that this sands the nail a lot faster, but this also means it spins at a higher rate (and without a nail guard) so you have to be extra careful when trimming with it.
Now if it was up to me, I’d be trimming my nails myself.
But, you’d be surprised at how difficult it is when you don’t have opposable thumbs.
So to get my fabulous mani/pedi look, this is how my mom does it for a difficult nail trimming patient like myself…
She’s super sneaky and waits until I fall into a deep sleep then quickly and quietly snips some of my nails with the scissor style trimmer, making sure to cut my all black nails just before they begin to curve as to not cut the quick. If I happen to wake up (which I always do for my front nails) she feeds me some cookies and leaves me alone until I fall asleep again or sometimes waits until the next day to finish my nails. If she thinks some of her snips weren’t quite short enough, then she’ll break out the dremel or pedipaws to sand them down a bit further. I typically only tolerate the sanders for about 5 minutes so sometimes this is broken up over several days as well.
As much as I hate getting my nails trimmed I know I look fabulous when it’s all said and done.
So now I want to hear from my fans – what nail trimming secrets or products do you use?
Disclosure: I was not paid or perked to write this review, I just thought it would be helpful to share my nail trimming tips with everyone.
I decided to have a little fun today via one of my new favorite sites, Pinterest. So while looking for something fun to share with you guys for my Friday Fetch, I decided to search “dog wedding” (you know, just for fun). The result looked a little something like this:
Click on each image to find their source.
Magical right? Sadly I didn’t get to attend my mom & dad’s wedding (I was born the very next day!) – but I suppose it would have looked a little something like this:
Yes, I’m quite jealous that Minnow got to attend the festivities without me. He even got a very important job!
He was the “flower pony” and had to walk down the wedding isle tossing flowers as he went. He was such a good “flower pony” that I was thinking maybe I should hire him out. I can see it now, “Amazingly talented pony tosses flowers at wedding for big time celebrities”. I’m totally gonna be rich. hehe.
wedding photography above by Dan Williams Photography
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