PipsMom

Hmm now That is interesting! I had read some where to try baby oil, tried it - nope... But never heard laser light!

Back in the day when we were still working hubby had a laser pointer.. Let me see if he has Any idea where it is, he throws Nothing away! should be easy enough for me to try if he can find the thing! Missy too doesn't have that many black nails either just and few and those doggone dew claws are black and they are claws for sure since the scare me to death! Will start nagging him today!  

Great Vicki, sure hope he remembers where they are at 

can you post a pic of this laser youre speaking of Crystal?

I haven't seen it....when my friend tried it on her finger she only used a children laser pen, she don't remember the make.

Maybe it's all the years of grooming, but I rarely hit a quick on ANY nail...and if I do, that's what Kwik-stop is for lol.  Many dogs have one quick that's longer than all the rest, and of course that's the one you're going to hit every time.  I got one of Tai's last week.   Just packed it with Kwik-stop and no more bleeding.  He barely noticed.

I've nipped it only twice and a pin point of blood barely appeared...

I've got a whole bottle of kwik stop and thank goodness never used it but it's on standby every single time I get the clippers out. Just a nervous mom I guess 

Ah bad news on the laser pointer... Hubby reminded me there is a huge warning on it that it will blind anyone who looks at it, it's a super power green laser. Yeah not even gonna look, they way Missy swings that head constantly makes me shutter to think...  Noticed just now your post said a child's one, that makes more sense, something low power. Sorry but glad he remembered that.

I have a stylus that has a pointer on it, but all I see when I shine it at my finger is . . . a red dot.  It's probably not very powerful, though.  I'd be afraid to use one fumbling around with a dog's nails because I'd probably shine it in their eyes.  And I think even with a low powered one that would not be a good thing.

I just stick with a Dremel.  All but one of Yogi's nails are black. I do a quick (pun!!) touch up once a week to keep them in fairly good shape.  Takes a couple of minutes.  I can't imagine being able to go a whole month w/o doing nails!

I asked my vet once about getting quicks to recede, mostly because I've never had much luck making it happen.  He said that on many dogs you just can't get them to recede much no matter how often you do it.

I wondered about that cuz I've been trimming Missys nails every week for at least 5 months and her quicks haven't receded at all..  

I Dremeled our late Brittany's nails every other day for years (yes -- years) before it occurred to me to ask the vet about getting quicks to recede!  That dog had the naturally longest, fastest growing nails I've ever seen.  I always felt SO embarrassed that they were so enormously long.  Until I asked the vet and he pretty much told me not to worry about it.  He said some dogs' nails are just like that and "I know you trim them a lot."  And (rather stupidly) I asked him how he knew that.  He said because the tips are always flat and smooth, not grown out and pointy.  It was a big "duh" moment for me (LOL) plus a really big relief to know that it really wasn't my fault for not being able to get them to recede.

And really, sometimes I think dog people have gone a bit overboard in the quest for short nails.  When it comes to food and behavior many people are quick (pun!) to compare dogs to wolves, and I've got a sneaking feeling if we could go out and corral a pack of wolves to examine we'd find that their nails are relatively long.

58 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

And really, sometimes I think dog people have gone a bit overboard in the quest for short nails.  When it comes to food and behavior many people are quick (pun!) to compare dogs to wolves, and I've got a sneaking feeling if we could go out and corral a pack of wolves to examine we'd find that their nails are relatively long.

I think a lot depends on the breed and the shape of the foot, and (as usual) elitist thinking creeps in EVERYWHERE! 

I know someone who walks her Labrador a lot, and takes tremendous pride in the fact that she has never had to trim his nails.  It made me blink, because her implication was that anyone who does clip their dog's nails isn't walking them enough.  (this is a dog that needs to lose about 20lbs in weight and lumbers around like an obese hippopotamus).

She obviously hasn't looked closely at the design of some dog's feet.

If I never clipped Cato's front toes ever again, his middle and ring fingernails would just grow and grow and grow twisting sideways in a rather odd spiral.  They would never wear down.  Some of his other nails would, but not those.  So I clip regularly.

Mind you, their groomer is an Artiste at the clipping.  I always look in awe at what she has achieved each time they go.  I am seriously considering asking her for a Masterclass.

1 hour ago, Crinkly said:

I think a lot depends on the breed and the shape of the foot, and (as usual) elitist thinking creeps in EVERYWHERE! 

I know someone who walks her Labrador a lot, and takes tremendous pride in the fact that she has never had to trim his nails.  It made me blink, because her implication was that anyone who does clip their dog's nails isn't walking them enough.  (this is a dog that needs to lose about 20lbs in weight and lumbers around like an obese hippopotamus).

She obviously hasn't looked closely at the design of some dog's feet.

If I never clipped Cato's front toes ever again, his middle and ring fingernails would just grow and grow and grow twisting sideways in a rather odd spiral.  They would never wear down.  Some of his other nails would, but not those.  So I clip regularly.

Mind you, their groomer is an Artiste at the clipping.  I always look in awe at what she has achieved each time they go.  I am seriously considering asking her for a Masterclass.

 

I totally agree.  I walked our Brittany for miles each day on concrete sidewalks (unless it was really yucky out).  It did absolutely nothing for his nails.  But I've noticed that Yogi's walks, which are usually shorter than that, do seem to help a bit.  Except, like you say, for those middle nails.  But now that we've been in our new neighborhood for about a month--where there are no sidewalks--nope.  The walks on grass and a bit of asphalt aren't doing anything at all for his nails.

I've noticed on the table ...with those middle nails make the whole finger joint turn over to one side in a twisting position. I'm concerned if allow to grow to long and he jumped off the sofa or bed and the toe turned in that position it could break or twist a toe joint 

Have you noticed this twisting of the finger with full weigh on the front feet?

The twisting happens MUCH more with Cato than with Tara, but then he has very bowed front legs, and she does not.

I suspect (not an expert, but if you look at pics of short coated Shih Tzu you will see this is widespread) the more bowed the legs, the more their feet/fingers twist.  I also suspect that they are going to be MUCH more prone to shoulder, elbow, hand and finger issues in old age - one of the reasons that I make sure Cato is getting a diet rich is cartilage and omegas, etc NOW.  Just like I would give a human chondriotin and glucosamine if I thought they were likely to develop arthritis in old age.

Having said that, human finger nails do not always grow even, or straight, and they are not weight bearing.  So I could easily be talking absolute rubbish!!