Nail trimming important?

[britishbandit]

I've noticed this a lot, on here and other forums also. So many people post wonderful pictures of their dogs, and often although the pics are totally adorable, the dog's claws in the pictures are absolutely disgusting! I always leave a nice comment, but deep down I really want to say "Holy crap, would you trim that poor dogs claws!".

Personally I think nail trimming is very important, and it's gotta be soooo uncomfortable for these dogs to have claws that are so long they're actually curling under! I just don't get it, even if the owner themselves aren't comfortable trimming thier nails, it costs very little to take them to Petsmart or a groomer to get it done. Is this just laziness? That don't notice or don't think it's a big deal? And am I the only one who notices it? LOL It also makes me wonder if these dogs ever go for walks. I really don't think it would even be possible for my dogs to get long claws. I'm not a fan of trimming, but I do it when it's needed. But I walk them on cement a lot, even if it's just going to and from the park each day, and they just don't get long.

So, does anybody else notice this? And how do you guys feel about keeping your dogs claws trimmed?

[Winjammin]

Obviously for show dogs it should be very important, but it is still important for everyone. However, you still see VERY ugly feet on a lot of show dogs, and we have never figured that one out. After all, when you evaluate breeding stock, you are looking at the WHOLE dog, which does include the feet.

Somtimes, the owners just may not know any better, or they think that when the dog fights back a little that they are hurting the dog....I'm not sure. Some dogs just cannot have their toes done without putting them under. My uncle has a GSP that is that way. Our Samoyed used to take 5 people to hold him down to do his toes. He just didn't like having it done, and we used to try to do his every week or two, and started when he was a puppy.

As far as why to do it...It can break down the dog's feet and make it hard for them to walk....that much I do know. We have also had our dogs get a nail stuck in the carpet and rip it out when they were playing. Talk about a bloody mess aand a ton of pain for the dog.....

We always trim nails no less than once every two weeks, more on show weekends. Even the non-showing dogs get their feet done...fur between the toes trimmed and nails done. We get rave reviews on how nice the feet look on our Corgis.

If one of them does get longer toes...yes, life does happen once in awhile and we forget to get them trimmed, the dogs let us know about it. You can really tell the dogs feel better after they get their toes done. They get the zoomies! LOL

[3doggies2love]

I agree, Bandit. Though my Opie has super-long claws (his quicks are super long), I'm getting him to accept me using an emery board on them and then eventually a dremel. When we rescued him he had horribly long claws! Same with my Holly Bug.

[Ritz459]

Rose's nails aren't that bad, but Blackie's has never had his trimmed before. We used to not have a problem with it as I walk them on pavement, but now that he is becoming less active, I really need to get them trimmed. I trim dogs' nails when I bathe them at work, but seeing as how he is my baby, I'm scared to do them. lol At work if I make a mistake and cut the nail to short I don't feel bad (quick dab of syptic powder and all is well), but I don't want to make that mistake with Blackie. And since is nails are longish and black....I'm going to take him in to where I work and make the groomer do them. lol

I totally agree with the fact that their nails need to be kept trim and tidy. My ferrets (different species, I know) get their nails trimmed about once a week to prevent snags and stratches.

[trainingrixie]

Trixie gets hers done whenever I start to hear them on the hard wood floor...about every 2 weeks or so. (i can't stand that clackity clack of dog's nails on the floor). I just use clippers right now, but I'd like to learn more about using dremels as they see to make a much neater look. and then I wouldn't have to go back and file them, which she HATES!

I have to admit though, that I don't do the hair between her toes. She's only been to the groomers once, and I made sure they did it. I'm just not comfortable with it.

Shelby.....she has super long quicks. She had really bad feet for a while..very sore pads. So my mom didn't want to further irritate her little paws, so she went like 3-4 months without a trim, and it seems like the quicks grew like wildfire!!!

Anyway, I love cutting their nails, and they don't mind it....except the filing part.

[rmci]

I have to admit my Baxter's are longer than I'd like. I've been trimming them once a week (for the most part) but the quick hasn't receded very much.

Rusty's wear down from walking, but I trim his dew claws.

I agree that a lot of photos show dogs with longer nails. IMO it's laziness. "the dog doesn't like it so I stopped" kind of thing.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

All of my dog's nails tend to get long in between trims. Not curling around long or to the point where it affects how their foot lays on the floor, but yes, long. I pretty much have a phobia of trimming their nails regardless of whether I can see the quick (lol), so sometimes the nails do get longer than I would like them. Especially Ollie's because his grow really, really fast! I like to take them to the next town to get their nails done because it's cheap (only $5!) and the lady does a great job, but we're only out there once a week (and I can't go every week because it's the day I work), so that's when the dog's nails start to look neglected. We also walk on dirt, so regardless of how often we walk it just doesn't do much.

While we're on the topic... Has anyone heard of those boards you can make with sandpaper (or some other surface) that you teach the dog to scratch on to wear down their own nails? I'm always looking for a new way to keep the nails trimmed that I can be comfortable with, and so far only filing has made the cut (haha!).

[IceyBlueSibes]

I see this at work ALL of the time. Especially if they have front dew claws. I take particular notice when the dog jumps up on my back and I feel them dig into my skin. I scratch and bruise so easily it looks like I get mauled!

Anyhow, I try to keep my guys trimmed as well as I can. Denali, Ike, and Kelso's nails tend to stay short because they run so much on the concrete out back. Lugar's nails seem to be growing a bit and not wearing -- so he needs to go in for a trim. Sheiba doesn't really do much, so her nails grow like weeds. I trimmed hers with the dremel (the quick receded so far back too!) and within 2 weeks her nails looked like they hadn't been done for months. I have the hardest time keeping her nails from growing!

While I'm at work though, I cringe when I look at them. I want to put a dremel to their toes and tell the owner "Bring them back in about 2 weeks to get a second dose" LOL Gosh! Our nail trim is $10.

[Cassiepeia]

It's hard with some breeds, the nails grow so quickly. Jesse has super fast growing nails. And combine that with the fact that he won't (and can't) go for 'walks' it doesn't help his nails keep trim on their own. However, I clip them back as often as I can and dremel them when I'm able to. But it doesn't take much for them to look like they havent' been done in ages. It's a pain in the butt and not my favourite job (mostly because of his long quicks).

I give nail trimming my vote for the worst task when caring for a dog. I'd rather pick up poop.

Cass.

[Rivsky]

Thanks for the reminder - I need to check River's nails again!! Every time I've taken him in to get them down I've been told that there hasn't been much to take off them - maybe like Jesse he has long quicks - I never even thought of that - thanks Cass!

[Beryl]

Latte & Boo get their nails trimmed every 2 weeks on schedule. Latte gets his face & feet shaved at the same time.

I don't think Boo ever had it done with his previous owners (9 months ago). They said that he "didn't like anyone messing with his feet". I noticed him drawing back too but I played "this little piggie" with his toes every day. (I know, it's corny but he is my dog. )

It worked. I still don't think he likes anyone messing with his feet but he has resigned to the fact that his feet will be played with and nails will be clipped.

[KennelMom]

One of my biggest pet peeves is long nails. There is simply no reason, only excuses, for letting them grow too long. Our dogs are dremeled every 7-10 days.

[rottielover]

I do cut harleys nails, and let me tell you, it is a full out battle, but he has very long quicks, always has, so they are not as short as I would like them, but they are better than long. Ever since his toe amputation he has a complete phobia of feet touching, so it is muzzle time for nail trimming

[Swiftwind]

I can't stand long nails either, if they have obviously not been tended to for ages. Though I understand some dogs have exceptionally long quicks. When I worked at the dog grooming salon we had a maltese cross come in and I swear that it had the longest nails I've ever seen! I was trimming its nails and decided to start by just taking a fraction off (he had black nails so I couldn't tell where the quick was), anyway I had taken the slightest bit off and I soon discovered his quick was right at the end! His nails must have been about 3cm long!

Abby's nails need trimming about once every two months, and Harley's don't need much trimming at all (thank god, cause he's viscious when it comes to nail trimming!). They do a lot of walking on pavement, so I think that's what helps to keep their nails short for long periods.

[Shelties]

Those are one of my pet peeves. Casey's claws are kept nice and short. Chloe on the other hand is a bit long but i try to clip it as much as possible, she has all black nails and i get alittle nervous that i may knick her one day. So i've been doing alot of filing, i should get a dremel one of these days.

I remember seeing a rottie at petsmart oneday and that dog had super long nails the poor thing was practically walking on them!