[NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
Jody ianuzzi
thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
Fri Mar 3 21:28:04 UTC 2023
I have also heard that you can use toothpaste to stop the bleeding
JODY
To Boldly Go 🖖🏻
thunderwalker321 at gmail.com
"What's within you is stronger than what's in your way." NO BARRIERS Erik Weihenmayer
> On Mar 3, 2023, at 1:32 PM, Julie Johnson via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
> Flour can stop a bleeding nail, but you have to press it and hold, just like anything else where you are stopping bleeding. Corn starch and baking soda also work. You are essentially helping to form a clot.
>
> I have been trimming nails for years and years, maybe 35 now? I have quicked nails when I first started trimming them. Incidentally I was sighted back then. I haven't drawn blood for decades now. Anyway, I use a finger on the opposite side of the cutters, where the nail pokes through, to know how much I'm cutting. I prefer to cut less and do it morej often. I'd suggest buying a quality pair of cutters meant for big dogs.
>
> I do have a dremmel and prefer to use it, except that getting it out and the extention cord is kind of a pain, so I usually use the clippers. The grinder I have does not have a guard. I prefer that so I can feel exactly what I'm doing. I grind at a low to moderate speed, so if I touch the grinder with my finger nothing happens. If you leave your finger on there it will get hot and eventually do damage, but you have plenty of time to move. It will grind your nails as well as the dog's. So if you have long fingernails yourself, this will likely make the process a little more tricky. I grind only the tip of the nail. I start slightly under and roll the grinder up and back a bit. This makes an arc shape over the tip of the nail. Each nail takes maybe 2 or 3 seconds. It goes really fast. If you leave the grinder still on the nail it will get hot. It's important to move the grinder as you work, slowly and deliberately. If 2 or 3 seconds on a nail doesn't trim as much as you want, leave it and come back to it so it can cool a bit. I usually go over all the nails on a foot, check that they are the length I want, then go back over any that need a bit more taken off.
>
> I think the hardest part of nail grinding or trimming is getting the dog to cooperate. It's easiest if you start young and they grow up accepting it. If your dog needs some refresher training, there have been some good suggestions already.
>
> Somewhere I have a youtube video on nail grinding. I'm using the grinder I used to sell, but all the concepts are the same. I'll go see if I can find a link.
>
> Julie
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Mar 3, 2023, at 5:14 AM, Steve Cook via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Another trick my trainer told me about is if you do trim their nails and it starts to bleed. Take a little flour and sprinkle on the end of the nail to stop the bleeding.
>>
>> Steve Cook
>> If you would like to join the Computer Science & Technology Division for the NFB of SC list serve, please send a message to SC-cstd-subscribe at nfbnet.org
>>
>> National Association of Guide Dog Users Board Member
>> President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the National Federation of the Blind of SC
>> 1st Vice President of the Columbia chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of SC
>> 1st Vice President of the SC Association of Guide Dog Users Division
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Joy via NAGDU
>> Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 9:54 PM
>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: joy.relton at icloud.com
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> The one thing that you need to be mindful is that you can cause the dog to bleed if you cut too short and the quick. It is wise to error on the side of caution. I took escalators on a regular basis with five of my seven dogs and never had problems with their nails getting caught. The real issue, as I understand it, is the pads of their feet which is painful and can cause serious pain. AS long as you put something on the claw/toe nail immediately to stop the bleeding it shouldn’t be fatal. However, it is something to be aware of when considering how to trim your dog's nails. We learned more about problems trimming nails of pets when our rabbit would catch his nail and pull them out. When I have cut my dogs nails I only cut a little off of the end of the nails. In general, dogs nails should ware at appropriate levels if they are worked out on the streets and sidewalks. Vicky is the first of seven dogs who has had any problems with nails. She does get worked and it fed what the others were fed but we haven't found her personal balance. The fish oil supplement seems to be helping. I go back to the vet next month to check progress.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Al Sten-Clanton via NAGDU
>> Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 1:27 PM
>> To: Tracy Carcione via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Al Sten-Clanton <albert.e.sten_clanton at verizon.net>
>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
>>
>> Well, this is yet another job I didn't know blind people could d, or do very well, so cool!
>>
>>
>> Does anybody here think a regular nail file would work? I'd obviously need to be careful about the point of the file, but that's what I use on my own nails.
>>
>>
>> Thanks for any thoughts!
>>
>>
>> Al
>>
>>
>>>> On 3/2/23 15:28, Tracy Carcione via NAGDU wrote:
>>> I trim the nails so that the tips are slightly upturned, and the nail
>>> is about the same length as the fur around it. The first few times it
>>> might be a little longer; I forget. My goal is to keep them short so
>>> my dog can be as safe as I can make him when we need to use an escalator.
>>> My understanding is that, if you keep the nails consistently the same
>>> length, the quick also stays short. The quick grows longer as the
>>> nails do, which is why I do them weekly. The quick has the blood
>>> supply, and I know from personal experience that cutting or breaking a
>>> nail into the quick hurts like crazy. But, as the dog's nail quick is
>>> staying short, and I'm always trimming about the same amount, I think
>>> it's no more bother than trimming my own nails is to me. They're not
>>> super-keen on the vibration, but they can deal with it.
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Janell via NAGDU
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 2:57 PM
>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: nellie at culodge.com
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
>>>
>>> Tracey,
>>>
>>> I love your technique with the nail trimming. I am patiently awaiting
>>> for my 3rd guide dog, and I will keep this in mind! Thanks for the
>>> suggestions, Janell The one question I have is: how do you know when
>>> the nail is short enough, and I don't want to get them too short?
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tracy Carcione via
>>> NAGDU
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 1:39 PM
>>> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Cc: carcione at access.net
>>> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
>>>
>>> I have been grinding my dogs' nails for around 25 years now, and never
>>> hurt a dog in the least. I have to be careful not to catch the paw
>>> pad, but that's easy to avoid. I do nails every Sunday, so they never
>>> get very long, and each paw goes pretty quickly. I bought a plug-in
>>> nail grinder from Amazon, because I got tired of the battery not being
>>> charged when I was ready to use it. It also has a variable speed knob,
>>> so I can set it to the speed I want and change it if it doesn't seem right.
>>>
>>> I started doing it for Igloo about a year ago, and this is what I did,
>>> as best I recall. Most of it is what I still do.
>>> I put a handful of kibble in my treat bag and hooked it on my waistband.
>>> Then I command Igloo to lie down where I want him to be. When he's
>>> down, I hold a kibble a little back and to the side, so he turns a bit
>>> onto his side to get it. Then I tell him to rest. I start the
>>> grinder and do the 2 back paws, which are sticking out nicely to the
>>> side. I give him a kibble when we finish each paw, and I don't stop the grinder until the paw is done.
>>> Then I do the front paws, which are a little harder because he won't
>>> lie totally on his side. When I'm doing the paw nearest me, I put my
>>> foot behind his elbow so he can't move it. When we're all done, he
>>> gets the jackpot--a nice handful of all the kibble that's left.
>>> I think, when we started out, I might have only done one paw the first time.
>>> If he started jumping, wiggling or complaining, I scolded him gently
>>> and reminded him to rest. I want him to know that doing nails is
>>> something I want him to do, and I'm not taking any silliness. Within
>>> a couple weeks, I was able to do all his paws, and now, when I get out
>>> the treatbag and the grinder and call him, he comes running and flops
>>> down in the spot ready to go.
>>> It probably helped that my old dog Krokus lives with us, and I did
>>> Krokus first the first few times, so Igloo could see what was
>>> happening and how his packmate was handling it.
>>> Igloo is a lab. Some of my friends with shepherds have to work harder.
>>> Some shepherds are such babies! :.)
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Marj Schneider via
>>> NAGDU
>>> Sent: Thursday, March 2, 2023 9:21 AM
>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>> Cc: Marj Schneider <marjschneider at bellsouth.net>
>>> Subject: [NAGDU] advice on nail grinding
>>>
>>> Hello All,
>>>
>>>
>>> Can those of you who use nail grinders to keep your dog's claws short
>>> give me suggestions on how you accustomed your dog to the experience?
>>>
>>>
>>> I bought a grinder from Amazon, based on the recommendation of a
>>> fellow Seeing Eye grad who uses one with more than one dog. I've been
>>> back from Seeing Eye for about two weeks with my new dog and have
>>> tried turning the grinder on to its low speed and putting it next to
>>> his paws. He pulls back the moment I try putting a claw on the
>>> grinding surface. He otherwise hasn't minded his feet being handled,
>>> though I haven't tried a more typical claw trimming approach yet,
>>> something I need help to accomplish. I'd rather be able to do the task
>>> independently if I can just get my dog comfortable with the experience.
>>>
>>>
>>> I'd appreciate any tips on this.
>>>
>>>
>>> Marj
>>>
>>>
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