Fluffy Dog Problems: Dremeling Dog Nails

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There are few tasks I dislike more than doing the dog’s nails.

I know that it’s all a part of good dog ownership, but I hate it. Hate it like poison. I don’t think my dogs enjoy it any more than I do.  In fact, I know they don’t.

Since my dogs have dark black nails, I gave up using guillotine clippers years ago. It’s tough to know just how far to clip when you have a dog with dark nails and because Felix’s nails were poorly maintained before we adopted him, his quicks (the veins inside the nail) are unusually long. More than a few times, I tried to cut his nails and “quicked” him, making him bleed. {Insert shame face here.}

Nearly six years ago, we switched to the Dremel.

Aside from some initial problems, our switch to the Dremel has been overwhelmingly positive. Dremeling dog nails  allowed me much more control over how far I trim my dog’s nails. I never get them too short, the edges are nice and smooth (not sharp like cut nails can be) and the dogs don’t fight it as much as they do clippers.

I have Fluffy Dog Problems.

Even with how much easier the Dremel was, I was still scared as woof to use it – especially on Felix. You guys! That boy is SO FLUFFY. I was terrified that I would get his paw fur wrapped around the Dremel head at high speeds, pulling it and ripping it out.

I swear he HAS nails. They’re just frequently hidden by his massive amounts of fluff.

No joke, you guys. I got MY hair caught in it once and it was so painful! I would never forgive myself if I did that to Felix. Some interweb searching suggested that you could cover your dog’s paw in old pantyhose, but we didn’t have much success with that. A: I don’t WEAR pantyhose, so I had to go buy a pair especially to try (and those suckers aren’t cheap!) and B: it didn’t work. I ended up getting the pantyhose caught in the Dremel. It was better than getting Felix’s fur caught, but still, less than ideal.  I knew there had to be a better way.

Who knew the solution would be BABY SOCKS? Seriously folks.

The pantyhose people were onto something great, but the idea just needed a bit of refining. I stumbled across the answer wandering the dollar store one day: baby socks. Small enough to fit snugly against the paw and made from an elasticy material to hold them on, Baby socks are the perfect way to keep your dog’s fur out of the way while you Dremel their nails.

All I had to do was cut a small hole (or multiple holes) in the tip of the sock. I used Fray Check to keep the sock from unravelling. Once the Fray Check is dry, just slip the sock on your dog’s paw, poke their nail through the hole, one at a time and Dremel until short & smooth.

Reward with lots of treats, kibbles and snacks.

Do you have any tips to make cutting or dremelling dog nails easier?