# Shortening length of nails



## FrancoD13

Hello...haven't posted in a long time. Bryce is. Ow 4 years old and is everything my research said a Vizsla would be. He now has two human sisters who he adores (if they only sometime adore him back). 

One question though...how long should his nails be. 4 year old male. Even after they are trimmed, they just seem long. Some of this is on me, as I don't trim them as often as I should. Does the quick grow if not maintained? Is there a way (with continuous trimmings) to make it shorter again? His nails. Especially the front legs just seem long. 

Thanks


----------



## lilyloo

Their quicks can get quite long and interfere with appropriate nail length if not regularly trimmed, yes. We're guilty of this with Ruby as well. She doesn't like her nails clipped but tolerates the dremel better than clippers. If you want to shorten them, do so gradually and frequently. Nail trimmings every 10 days or so should help shorten the quick so that you can eventually have them at an appropriate length. You shouldn't be able to hear their nails on a hard surface floor. If you can, they're too long.


----------



## Bob Engelhardt

lilyloo said:


> Their quicks can get quite long and interfere with appropriate nail length if not regularly trimmed, yes. We're guilty of this with Ruby as well. She doesn't like her nails clipped but tolerates the dremel better than clippers. If you want to shorten them, do so gradually and frequently. Nail trimmings every 10 days or so should help shorten the quick so that you can eventually have them at an appropriate length. You shouldn't be able to hear their nails on a hard surface floor. If you can, they're too long.


I agree, but I'd like to add a bit about when they're too long.

There are 2 situations where a dogs nails will "click" on the floor. If the nails are REALLY long, the nails will click when the foot is placed down at the end of the forward walking motion. This condition is also evidenced when the dog is standing still & the nails touch the floor. This is the worst (although the nails can actually grow longer and curl under - that's pathological). It's bad because it puts twisting strain on the nails & toes and also makes the nails more susceptible to breaking. And it greatly reduces the grip the dog has on hard floors, allowing her to slip/fall and possibly do joint damage.

The second condition for clicking is when the nails are too short to touch the floor while standing, but touch when walking. This happens when the dog is lifting the foot prior to bringing it forward. The foot rotates just before it lifts and the rotation brings the nails down. On a hard floor it will cause a click. I do not consider nails to be too long when this happens, although some do (show dog's nails are often shortened to nubs - an aberration, I think).

Long answer, but I hope it helps.

Bob


----------



## zigzag

Vizsla nails are noriously long. Use the dremal every 10 days. Keep working on them and they will eventually get shorter. So short they don't click on the floor. Good luck with that. One way to help the process along. 1 Chucket ball thrower. 1. Tennis ball. Take Vizsla to tennis court. (When it is not being used for tennis of course.) Throw repeatedly around enclosed tennis court. Vizsla will dremeal own nails. Plus you get the piss & vinegar out of them.


----------



## Spy Car

I'm convinced by the mounting evidence that it is important to keep the nails of canine athletes (like our Vizslas) short.

With my V a once-every-10-day Dremel routine would not really serve as a maintenance routine, much less a shortening routine. More like 6-7 days. And to shorten long nails would mean something closer to every 3 days (over an extended period of time).

Sorry to say, but shortening nails that have gotten overgrown takes diligence and sustained effort. Worth it IMO. Long nails are implicated in all sorts of joint problems.

When grinding one should not just grind across the nail (in a perpendicular fashion) but rather bevel back the top of the last portion of the nail from the tip to get as close to the quick as one can safely. This helps encourage the quick to recede.

A dog should be conditioned to a Dremel prior to it being used (many good articles and videos online explaining the process). 

Bill


----------



## NutterButter

Good info here we have been trimming Sadie's nails every 2 weeks since we got her, but we can safely just remove a tiny amount at a time, and although we have made some progress, they are still way too long.


----------



## MCD

I have 2 cats and 2 kittens whose nails I can safely cut with help from somebody holding them. Dharma on the other hand, goes to PetSmart every 2 weeks and gets either a cut or a grind. It does seem like vizslas have incredibly long and quick growing nails. Keeping their nails short is important to their leg and foot structure and the whole well being of the dog in general.


----------



## harrigab

I think the frequency of trimming nails can also depend on how much roadwork/walking your dogs get, my friend lives in a town so has to walk his dogs far more frequently and further on a road or pavement than I do with my two ( we live out in the sticks), hence he very rarely trims his dogs nails as the road walking tends to keep them very short.


----------



## Anida

harrigab said:


> I think the frequency of trimming nails can also depend on how much roadwork/walking your dogs get, my friend lives in a town so has to walk his dogs far more frequently and further on a road or pavement than I do with my two ( we live out in the sticks), hence he very rarely trims his dogs nails as the road walking tends to keep them very short.


I really miss our concrete patio we had at our other house in the backyard. Our beagles nails stayed nice and short because of it. Now that we've moved and our yard is pretty much all grass I've had to keep on top of trimming them myself. They are slowly warming up (becoming accustomed) to the dremel.


----------



## Vizsla_Luka

FrancoD13 said:


> Hello...haven't posted in a long time. Bryce is. Ow 4 years old and is everything my research said a Vizsla would be. He now has two human sisters who he adores (if they only sometime adore him back).
> 
> One question though...how long should his nails be. 4 year old male. Even after they are trimmed, they just seem long. Some of this is on me, as I don't trim them as often as I should. Does the quick grow if not maintained? Is there a way (with continuous trimmings) to make it shorter again? His nails. Especially the front legs just seem long.
> 
> Thanks


Hi! I'm a bit late in on this but wondered if you made any progress with shortening the quick ?

After making a good start my V developed a deep fear and loathing of nail clippers which led me to my discovery of a group on Facebook called "nail maintenance for dogs". It's been a game changer!

Their position on it is that the dog's nails should not click on hard flooring when walking. Of course, if they move faster you'll hear them but that's OK. 

To shorten the quick you'll need to get as close as you can to the quick which is safest and easiest to do with a dremel every 2/3 days. 

Since my boy is still being desensitised to the dremel and hates the clippers, I stuck a piece of 80 grit sand paper to a block of wood and hand filed his claws. I do this in exchange for breakfast every day and his claws look great !
[IMG]

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk


----------



## Spy Car

Brilliant Vizsla Luka!

Bill


----------



## Canadian Expy

Since my boy is still being desensitised to the dremel and hates the clippers, I stuck a piece of 80 grit sand paper to a block of wood and hand filed his claws. I do this in exchange for breakfast every day and his claws look great !









Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk
[/quote]

Brilliant indeed! I'm going to give this a try  I've long since given up on taking my older V to the groomers to have his nails clipped, he just doesn't trust them. We've made good progress with me clipping his nails, but he still fusses. I had a groomer suggest a nail file to me, but the file wasn't abrasive enough. I never considered sand paper!


----------



## einspänner

Emery boards might be another good option.


----------



## Canadian Expy

einspänner said:


> Emery boards might be another good option.


Perhaps stupid question, but is an emery board different from a nail file? I tried a nail file I have on hand that has 3 different grits. I don't think it was abrasive enough for my guys nails. Would it be more abrasive? 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk


----------



## texasred

Emery boards have grit, and files are metal.


----------



## einspänner

When I think of nail files, I think of metal ones, but I wasn't thinking you can also call emery boards nail files. I pictured the really coarse ones that basically look like sandpaper glued to popsicle sticks. The only advantage it might have over sandpaper is a more convenient shape. I found these 60 grit ones and there is even a review from someone who uses them on her dogs' nails. Like you she found every other nail file useless. 

A couple years ago, I read about someone training their dog to scratch a board on which they had put adhesive backed non-slip tread, like you would put on stairs or in a factory. I made the board and clicker trained Scout and my sister's dachshund mix to scratch it. The dachshund got the idea, but of course that digging motion is instinctual. Scout on the other hand tended to slap the board more than scratch. Sandpaper would have worked better than the tread, but I scrapped that idea.


----------



## Canadian Expy

Good to know. I'll try finding an emery board then! I've never been one for manicures. Learned something new


----------



## FrancoD13

there is a lot of good stuff in this thread, very appreciative. I used to try a sturdy nail file, which I stole from my wife, but for numerous reasons had to stop that one. I'm going to try the sand paper idea though, get him used to that. My fingers are crossed


----------



## adkmayfire

For years I used clippers and an 8-inch flat ******* file (Yes, that's what it's called. The name refers to the coarseness of the file.) from the hardware store. 

With my new puppy I plan to switch to a Dremel tool. I'm still trying to decide on the model. Anyone have any recommendations?

Edit: Geez Louise! The site censored the name of the file! I'll try again. It's a bast_rd file. Insert an "a" in the space.


----------

