Nail Trimming

[Susie's Mom]

How often do you trim nails? I have two 5 month Dachsie pups who have access to the backyard via doggie door. They hate nail trimming. Is every week too much? Going to the vet is so traumatic and I really would like to do this at home. I have never clipped too much to make them bleed, but they hate to see me coming with the clippers!<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm25.gif" border=0>

[Lili's Mama]

I know what you mean about the nail trimming. Lili runs when she sees the clippers. My vet's office uses a dremel tool with a small sanding disc to file off the ragged edges. I have found it is a two person job.....one to hold the wiggle worm and the other to actually clip and sand. It works great and if you do the sanding often there is no need to clip. Lili thinks it's right up there on her list of things to hate along side toothbrushing.<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm43.gif" border=0>

[Krista]

While they are little and their nails are easy to cut, I would do it once a week. Just "tip" them. If you have not made them bleed, you are doing it just fine.

My 1 1/2 year old mini is AWFUL to do since the vet tech quicked him the first time. It takes at least two people if you want to clip more than one nail at a time to do him. When I got my younger boy, I started clipping his every week at 4 mos old. nearly three months later, and he is easy to do. He does wiggle a bit, but he knows I'm not going to hurt him, and he knows he gets a treat after each paw!

For an adult, I like to do Rudy's every 3 weeks or so. But, Dogs that walk on concrete a lot often need it less than those that don't since the concrete files the nails a bit.

[Oscar's Mom]

Oscar needs a trim every 2-3 weeks. At the vets, they bring him in the back room so not to take up an exam room and they are having more of difficult time every time and last time they made one bleed. So now, I just bring him to petco or petsmart where I can stay with him and feed him cheese or hot dogs while they trim and this works great. I've tried to trim my self but he will not stay still even with someone holding him.

[dutchman]

How often their nails need trimming differs from dog to dog. Generally the front nails (especially the dew claws if your dog still has them) need to be trimmed more often than the rears. If the dog spends a lot of time on concrete they will tend to wear the nails down more. Tanner my mini needs his nails tipped every 2-3 weeks. Frank my standard (no dew claws) can go well over a month w/o trimming especially since he started running. On the advice of someone here I have started using a soft muzzle (actually a Velcro strap) when I trim Frank's nails since he is the fighter. Before using the strap the best I could hope for was 2-3 nails at a time. With the strap the last time I finished both front feet. The rear feed didn't need to be trimmed that day.

Tom