[nagdu] petty paws

[Jenine Stanley]

I too use a nail grinder, I'd have to look at the package to see its brand,
but I won it as a door prize at some convention or other. Nice door prize.
<grin> 

I love it though and Swap takes extremely well to having his nails done once
a week. 

Yes, they can generate a lot of heat from friction. In one way this can be
good though if you happen to cut the quick. The heat will cotterize the
wound. Chances are your dog will never let you grind its nails again, but at
least it won't bleed everywhere. 

I've found that the best way to grind the nails is to come from underneath
the nail up over the top. It's hard to explain in writing. It would be as if
the dog was walking on the grinder, that part of the nail, is where I grind.


I say this because I started out grinding by going down over the top of the
nail to the underside. This ended up taking off a bit in front but not the
part that hung over and made the nail long. 

The other warning about grinders is to make sure, if you are using a battery
powered one, the batteries are well charged. 

I've used an emery board and even a specially designed dog nail file, but
unless your dog has nice thin nails like my Lab/Poodle had, you need to
press hard to really get the filing done and many dogs don't like that. 

Jackson, my husband's dog, has very thick nails. He also hates to get his
nails cut. We get the job done by bribing him with bits of cheese. Kent
holds the cheese just out of his reach while I either clip with these
clippers that resemble bolt cutters, or grind. I try to grind his nails once
a week also, but it takes two of us and it's harder with him as he has very
shaggy feet. That's the other big warning. If you have a Golden or any dog
with a lot of fur around its toes, be very careful. The fur gets caught
easily and stops the grinder. If you have long hair, tie it back because
it's no fun when yours gets caught either. <grin> 

 Jenine Stanley
Sorry, I don't have the authority to save the world today.
jeninems at wowway.com