toe nails

[2rottiesmom]

My puppies nails are too long. He is 8 weeks old. I am afraid to cut them with dog clippers. (I have never used them before). Someone told me to use a nail file. Is this safe enough and how long should they be?

[Rottnlove]

That would make me nervous to even file them down. Maybe you could call your vet and ask, sometimes they will demonstrate it so you can do it right. Good luck! ;)

Lisa

[fbkeays]

Shame on the breeder for not doing the nails before you took him home.
At this age you can use a human nail clipper. Use two people if you can- one to clip the nail and the other to coo, rub his chest/tummy and feed treats.

[2rottiesmom]

The vet showed me how but he cut one of his nails too short. It was so sad. There was blood everywhere. It scared me to death. I went out and bought some quick stop so that if I make a mistake I can stop the bleeding. Not a great experience.

[Rottnlove]

So sorry to hear about your horrible experience! :( The vet gave the lesson, but it was obvious the WRONG LESSON! I personally wouldn't go to this vet again, they should know what they're doing when it comes to a little nail trimming! I think you did the right thing in getting the quick stop for him.

Keep up the good work! It sounds like your'e doing a great job with this little guy! :)

Lisa

[Miabella]

Make nail clipping a fun, positive experience for your pup. If you can get him to tolerate it when he is little, you won't have to struggle when he reaches 90 lbs or more. I adopted my dog at age 2, and apparently nobody ever worked with her on this when she was young. Clipping her nails is a two person job, complete with lots of whining and struggling, even though we have never nipped the quick. I just bought a Dremel tool last weekend, so I'm going to try filing instead.

[domme5]

Would it be too soon for her to introduce him to a Dremel? Hunter is 4 mo. and I use one on him, but what about a 2 mo. old?

[Judi W]

I'd say get over all this timidity. Weekly nail care is a responsibility. Whether you use clippers or a Dremel, figure out the most successful way of doing them and do it. BTW, I have never heard of a dog bleeding to death from a clipped nail. If you are worried about that look at the nail from the bottom and you can see how far the horn is extending. With the Dremel bleeding is not an issue. Switch to the Dremel when the nail is too large and hard to accomodate the human toe nail clippers.