Wachusett American Eskimos - Grooming Tips and Links

Many of my students have asked me for the easiest, most humane way to keep their dog's nails short and smooth. Many are tired of using a guillotine-type nail clipper; sometimes cutting their dog's nails and having them bleed profusely. This is why I decided to write this article on “How To Grind Nails.”

Because of the therapy work I do with all my dogs, their nails have to be extremely short and smooth. That being the case, I grind their nails on a weekly basis. I use something called an “Oster Grinder,” although a “Dremel tool” will work equally as well on the dog's nails. Both have an attachment used for grinding/sanding and work in a similar manner.

There are a couple of things to remember when grinding nails. The first thing to remember is to NOT PINCH OR SQUEEZE THE DOG'S TOES WHILE YOU ARE GRINDING THEIR NAILS. Pinching or squeezing is NOT necessary in order to accomplish this! All you have to do is to GENTLY SEPARATE each toe and hold it very gently with your dominant hand (in my case, my right hand). And, if your dog has ‘issues' with having their toes separated (in order to grind their nails) you can do some “Raccoon Ttouches” on their nails the week before you actually grind them. Here's how to do the “Raccoon Ttouch” on your dog:

Take your dominant hand, separate one toe from the others and gently “acknowledge or expose” the toenail of that particular toe. Then, all you have to do is to take the fingertips of your dominant hand and GENTLY hold the nail that you are (eventually) going to grind for a couple seconds. Do this with each toe, each nail, and each paw for at least one week before you grind.

Once your dog is comfortable with having “Raccoon Ttouches” done on their nails, you can let them sniff the grinder. Do NOT turn it on at this time! Let the dog smell it first. Rub the base of the grinder with either hot dog, or string cheese and let the dog lick it off if necessary. If your dog is comfortable with this, the next step is to turn the grinder on LOW and let them ‘listen' to the sound. Turn the grinder on low and set it about 10 feet away from the dog. If the dog is comfortable with this, then move the grinder closer. Eventually, you should be able to move the grinder (with it turned on low) right next to his paws. If he is fine with this, GENTLY rub the grinder that is turned on LOW slowly over the dog's paws (being careful not to catch the fur in the grinder). Then move the grinder, turned on low, slowly up and down all of the dog's legs, using only the base (not the tip) up against their skin. If your dog is very comfortable with this, then pick a position where the dog is most comfortable so you can progress further.

If the dog likes his tummy rubbed, encourage him to lie on his side and rub his belly with your hand. Then turn the grinder on low and place it near him (about 5 feet away). IF your dog is very scared of the grinder noise, you may put a cotton ball in each of his ears to ‘muffle' the sound**. Just REMEMBER to take them out after you are finished grinding his nails (This way he will come when you call him!)!

By now, your dog is enjoying his belly rub and is comfortable (or at least a little more comfortable) with having the grinder turned on about 5 feet next to him. Continue to move the grinder closer and closer to him and repeat the process of slowly rubbing up his legs and paws with the grinder on low (dogs that lie with their bellies ‘exposed' are in a submissive posture, so please respect this and be very gentle and respectful of them while doing this exercise).

When your dog accepts this, then take one of his front paws with your dominant hand and GENTLY separate one toe and expose one nail. The KEY is to hold the toe and nail VERY gently, with just enough pressure that would be the equivalent of putting your index fingertip and middle fingertip and resting them lightly on one of your eyelids. This is about a “pressure # 1” in TTouch terminology. That light pressure you feel on your eyelid with the tips of your fingers is the type of pressure you should apply to the dog's toe and nail. This pressure can also be ‘SEEN' – meaning that the top half of your thumbnail should be pink and NOT white – indicating that you are putting too much pressure on your dogs toes before you cut or grind them! This is very important to remember, as it is one of the reasons why dogs “fight” their owners when their nails are being cut. Their toes are being pinched, so the dog pulls back their foot. In the meantime, the owner (or vet, or groomer) is ‘battling' with the dog in order to try to clip their nails with the guillotine clipper. No wonder the dogs get scared and their nails bleed profusely!

When your dog will accept you separating one of their toes and one nail, then gently touch the grinder to the tip of the nail. This is a gentle pressure! Many, if not all, dogs have VERY sensitive feet and toes! Try this on your own toes to see how it feels (keeping the grinder on low). THEN you will realize how sensitive our feet are, as well as our dogs!

When your dog is relatively comfortable with this, then slowly and gently move the grinder around the tip of the nail to grind it to a smooth round surface. Again, very little pressure is needed – both in the actual grinding of the nail and the holding of the toe/paw. Make sure that your thumbnail stays ‘pink' and not ‘white' – indicating too much pressure is being applied. Make sure that you move the grinder in a continuous motion and not keep it in one spot for too long. Otherwise, you could end up grinding down only one section of the nail too much. If necessary, you can also have a second person FEED the dog treats in order to distract him from the sound of the grinder and the feel of it on their foot. Have some relaxing music in the background to help soothe both you and the dog before you grind their nails!

The ‘beauty' of grinding nails is that you can actually SEE the beginning of the “quick” (or flesh) BEFORE you actually cut and bleed it. Therefore, I think this is a MUCH safer method than clipping their nails with a nail clipper – especially if the dog has black toenails. You can actually see the “quick” (or flesh) of a dog that has clear-colored nails. It looks similar to our nails. If, however, your dog has black toenails, than sometimes it can be more difficult to see the quick. However, if you grind them and visually check to see how far down you are to the quick, you can very easily stop before you hit that sensitive part (the quick) of the nail.

If, however, you do happen to hit the quick while grinding the nail, you can easily stop the bleeding by treating the area with powdered “Quick Stop.” This contains the powder that is used in a styptic pencil. I usually take a Q-tip, dip it in the Quick Stop and have it on hand JUST IN CASE I have to use it if the nail bleeds. So far, however, I have not had to use this.

Many dogs have very hard nails. If that's the case, you could grind their nails right after a bath OR gently soak their feet in warm water before you grind them (which will help soften the nail). All manufacturers recommend using safety glasses when you grind your dog's nails and that's strictly up to you. I wear glasses and this is good enough for me. You can purchase an Oster Grinder (or Dremel tool or similar grinder product) from the following websites:

BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: I personally feel that grinding nails is a gentler, kinder, less stressful approach to keep your pet's nails trimmed. You will appreciate the time and effort put into learning this procedure and your canine friends will love you for it! If you have any questions about this article, or would like to schedule a private session with me and your favorite pet (dog, cat, bunny, bird, etc.) please feel free to call me at (860) 399-5634, or email at Cinderbin@snet.net. Enjoy your dog!

**There is a choice between an electric and a battery-operated grinder. I believe the battery type is much more quiet. I understand there is now a compact grinder available. Apparently it fits in the palm of your hand and I believe Oster makes it. Also, Walmart sells a grinding tool for $24.44, which is a great buy! You can also purchase packs of replacement sanding strips for approximately $2.66 each.

Peaceful Paws AAT
Sally Sizer, President
179 Malabar Drive
Westbrook, CT 06498
860-399-5634
cinderbin@snet.net