Cutting nails

[only_me]

Hi

Does anyone cut their dogs nail themselves?
Our dog has been Stiff and slightly lame after playing fetch/ball/golf as never gives up lol. We think it's her nails and I've cut them however are they meant to be cut just straight across or should they be at more of an angle?

She has clear nails so I can avoid the blood vessels.

She also really hates them being clipped - any tips on how to make it Better?

Thanks

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Do you have proper clippers which have a guillotine action?.

 

[only_me]

No I have the scissor type clippers but they are proper dog clippers

 

[s4sugar]

Curved scissor types are much better than guillotine types.
As a groomer I do nails daily.
Clip off where you can see it is clear of teh quick & angle doesn't matter.

 

[Umbongo]

Doesn't really matter what angle you cut them at, so long as you don't cut the quicks. I taught my dog to not mind me cutting his nails by giving him praise and treats (for him his treat is a tennis ball, he is not food orientated) every time he was good for it.

I have not heard of nails causing stiffness before however, unless they are very long and affecting how she walks? More likely will be muscle/joint stiffness. The forces involved in running, stopping, twisting etc when playing chase or catch can be quite a lot on their joints. So you may just need to rest her, and possibly pop her on a joint supplement. My border collie used to play a lot of catch and would never give up, I noticed him getting a bit stiff as he got older and put him on to yumove.

If it continues then may be a vet jobby

 

[only_me]

I think the stiffness is partly due to the quick stops and twists which isn't helped by her long nails, so hoping that the pressure will change slightly and relieve the lameness. It looks like sprain type lameness but she isn't actually sore when I check her legs. Will see if shorter nails make any difference

Glad to know angle doesn't matter, thank

 

[{97702}]

I do my own nails.....sporadically.... not as often as I should, as most of my dogs have black nails so impossible to see where the right point to cut is. I have never heard of long nails causing stiffness etc though

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Stiffness more likely underlying issue eg arthritis/pulled muscle.

I noticed Bear's fore dew claw was at a 90 degree angle this morning, right by the root, out came the clippers and I held his head just in case it hurt. Poor boy was so good! Can't believe I missed it, it wasn't fresh cos the quick had retracted.

 

[only_me]

Since she is 4 it would be unlikely to be arthritis, it is more likely to muscle damage from tetanus.
But if her nails are long it would affect how she placed her foot when stopping/turning etc. and would affect the angle that the muscles worked at which may not be correct and then could tighten which may cause the stiffness.
I've seen muscle tightness cause the stiffness in humans but it isn't true stiffness its more like the muscle is so tight and not working correctly so it alters the gait wich can cause that movement that mimics stiffness.

But that's just ime, I'm hoping that shorter nails will help correct her foot placement which will correct angle of muscles and reduce the stiffness

But i also think its muscle damage from the tetanus which makes it easier for her to strain the muscles, which cant be cured.

 

[paisley]

I do my whippets every week, he isn't spending any time on concrete so they don't really wear down. Plus I'm from a horsey background and the obsession with correctly balanced feet seems to have transferred over to this! I follow this page as a guideline:

http://www.thefurnanny.ca/how-to-nail-trims/ but its obviously down to the individual.

You can get doggy nail files from Pets at Home, and just do a tiny bit now and then until they're a bit more comfy with it. I used to let mine lounge around on the sofa whilst I did his nails, it seemed to lessen the trauma!

 

[maxapple]

I do my jack Russell's with dog nail scissors. They get a lot of road walks so nails wear down quite naturally anyway.

My boy has lots of black nails so I only trim a bit off the ends each time.

Both mine are fine having them done. Lots of silly voices, praise and treats afterwards have helped them decide it's not so bad to have them done.

 

[Bellasophia]

I dremmel my st poodles nails every two weeks..it takes under two mins a foot...he doesn't mind it at all.The dew claws are cut with nail clippers and he hates that,but too much hair around to risk the dremmel.