# Keeping nails longer in winter - thoughts?



## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I was going to grind my puppy's nails today but I'm having second thoughts. While we were out playing, I noticed that he's using his nails to claw into the ice and propels himself with them. I don't want to take away traction, so should I keep them a little longer? Our yard is a frozen tundra right now, with the snow packed down, and the ground frozen solid. The area where we play is actually pretty cool - the snow/ice/dirt/ has been scraped so much that it now resembles sand. 

His nails aren't *long* long, still a tad shorter than his fur, but they're starting to click on the floor. But I don't want them to split either. Do SAR dogs keep their nails longer? Am I worrying too much, lol?


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

Do you ever walk him on asphalt or concrete? Most of the time Larger active breed dogs do not need their nails clipped. I took Zeus into get his nails clipped at the vets and the guy just looked at me stupid and said he didn't need it and as long as he was as active as he his now he will never need it. He is almost a year and a half and his nails are not long at all. My vet said walking them on concrete files them down? Dunno the truth behind it but kind of makes sense.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

And if ya would fill me in. Whats a SAR dog? Dunno what that means. Im new here lol


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

SAR is 'Search And Rescue' and I wondered if those dogs, having to climb over all sorts of terrain, used their nails more. Of course, like you say, they probably get ground down naturally doing that, lol. We don't have any concrete here, but when I had dogs in the city I never had to clip their nails. Right now it's all snow and even if I was to find a nice hard surface to walk him on, it would be covered in salt, ugh.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

I do continue to clip nails throughout the winter, I want the quick kept low. Neither of my dogs has any trouble getting traction with shorter nails.

I do not believe that larger breed active dogs don't need their nails clipped. Maybe if you ONLY exercised them on concrete, but then I would be more worried about joint impact than nails.

My two Shepherds are very active (2-4 hours a day exercise, classes, endurance training, swimming), and I clip their nails about every 3 weeks. Their nails stay short on their own for a longer period of time, because they are active, but I still need to clip them. That said, the only time they are working on concrete is when we are working streetproofing, and running beside the bike for 2-3 minutes on our way to the trails.

If I can hear the clicking on the floor, for me they are too long. If the dog can't scratch themselves successfully (provide relief of the itch) then the nails are too short.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

You can see his nails in the pic. They have not one time been cut in a year and a half and they are not long. I walk him around the block every night but thats all the time he spends on concrete. You can believe it or not but here is some proof for ya 

And I hear no clicking on my floor


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Is my dog the only one that has fast growing nails! I take Bear every two weeks to have his nails dremmeled (he won't let me do it, believe me I've tried!) We walk more than a mile every day, 2 times a day on concrete/asphalt surface and his nails still grow like crazy! I would rather have my dog's nails a little shorter than longer.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

Wonder if the weather in some areas may have something to do with it? Like Colder weather nails grow faster? Im not sure what causes some to grow faster than others but hopefully someone might know.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

bryant88 said:


> You can see his nails in the pic. They have not one time been cut in a year and a half and they are not long. I walk him around the block every night but thats all the time he spends on concrete. You can believe it or not but here is some proof for ya
> 
> And I hear no clicking on my floor


This is about double the length I keep my dogs nails, they just peek from under the toe fur, so maybe we just have different opinions about what short is :crazy:

Either way, as long as the dogs feet are healthy and the nails are good, then whatever works for the dog and handler.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

That's about the length my puppy's are. They don't touch the ground when he's standing but they do make a slight clicking sound when he walks. To me they seem like they could be taken back a tiny bit. I'm grinding about every three weeks too.


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## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Sorry Balnketback, I don't mean to sidetrack your thread but I was wondering. 
If you let the nails grow longer then does the quick grow with it? Meaning you will only be able to trim the nails just so because of the quick? Does that make sense?

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I always tried to keep the nails short because if you let them grow too much you will only be able to cut them back so far.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

N Smith said:


> This is about double the length I keep my dogs nails, they just peek from under the toe fur, so maybe we just have different opinions about what short is :crazy:
> 
> Either way, as long as the dogs feet are healthy and the nails are good, then whatever works for the dog and handler.


Maybe Zeus's is to long then. Does your GSD have longer hair than mine? Zeus don't have much toe fur at all. If I don't hear clicking on my hard wood floor they can't be to long right? I was just going on what the Vet said but now you got me thinking they are too long lol. Especially if yours are half this long. I feel like if I was to cut anything off what he has id get into the quick. We got a small taco bell dog and we have to cut his nails every couple weeks but they get freaky long.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

Yeah, the quick will grow with it. That's why I want to keep them ground back. But then I was thinking he might be be more likely to wipe out on the ice, and hurt himself.


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

I keep Rocket's nails much shorter than in that picture too. He goes in a lot of brush and rock and I don't want them cut or torn. That is too long for me personally.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

This is some great info yall. Thanks. I may need to do it myself if he will let me. Or find a vet that will.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

bryant88 said:


> Maybe Zeus's is to long then. Does your GSD have longer hair than mine? Zeus don't have much toe fur at all. If I don't hear clicking on my hard wood floor they can't be to long right? I was just going on what the Vet said but now you got me thinking they are too long lol. Especially if yours are half this long. I feel like if I was to cut anything off what he has id get into the quick. We got a small taco bell dog and we have to cut his nails every couple weeks but they get freaky long.


My female is a short stock coat, so shorter than your boy. And my male is about the same coat length.

I also grind the ends so they are flat, I just find they are less likely to get clipped on anything.

As for how short you can clip, chances are since he hasn't had his nails ever done, his quick is quite long. You can cause it to slowly retract by cutting nails every week religiously, until you can get them to the length you want. Each time you might take off a tiny sliver, but always take some off. I find grinding pushes the quick back a lot faster than just clipping because you can take your nails shorter with less risk of quicking the dog.

Take your boys paw and flip it over so you can see the underneath of his nails. You might be able to see a small triangle that runs along the underside of the nail, this is his quick, so you know that is "about" how much you can take off. If his nail is basically a large cylinder shape(rather than being hollow on the bottom, thinning to a hook at the tip) then you won't be able to see the quick, it is encased in the nail.

I would start slow and work your way down doing small cuts straight on, then taking down the sides. As you get closer the quick, you will notice his nail will start to show a shiny, softer black area in the middle of the nail. When I notice a this small circle (looking at the cut on the nail straight on), I take a little more off, then stop there. Then I always finish off with dremeling the nails to a flat front.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Bear GSD said:


> Is my dog the only one that has fast growing nails! I take Bear every two weeks to have his nails dremmeled (he won't let me do it, believe me I've tried!) We walk more than a mile every day, 2 times a day on concrete/asphalt surface and his nails still grow like crazy! I would rather have my dog's nails a little shorter than longer.


Keefer's nails grow very fast too, and they're very hard - it's like dremeling concrete! Fortunately, he's very cooperative about having his nails done because it takes easily twice as long to dremel them down as it does to do Halo's. 



N Smith said:


> This is about double the length I keep my dogs nails, they just peek from under the toe fur, so maybe we just have different opinions about what short is :crazy:


Zeus's nails look long to me too, that's the "before" look for my dogs, and even after I dremel, Keefer's still usually clack on the floor a little. Maybe it's the way he walks.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

bryant88 said:


> Wonder if the weather in some areas may have something to do with it? Like Colder weather nails grow faster? Im not sure what causes some to grow faster than others but hopefully someone might know.


I don't know if it's the same for dogs, but for horses their hooves grow slower in colder months. Hmmm!


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

N Smith said:


> My female is a short stock coat, so shorter than your boy. And my male is about the same coat length.
> 
> I also grind the ends so they are flat, I just find they are less likely to get clipped on anything.
> 
> ...


Awesome. Thanks

Im gonna take some off his then. I don't want them snaggin on anything. Thanks for the helpful info. Ya you would think you would be able to hear him walking across the floor but you cant. And I have only hardwood and tile in my home. No carpet. Must be how he walks.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Keefer's nails grow very fast too, and they're very hard - it's like dremeling concrete! Fortunately, he's very cooperative about having his nails done because it takes easily twice as long to dremel them down as it does to do Halo's.
> 
> Zeus's nails look long to me too, that's the "before" look for my dogs, and even after I dremel, Keefer's still usually clack on the floor a little. Maybe it's the way he walks.


My husky has concrete nails as well, and I am super thankful he falls asleep during nails, because they do take me a while, but I make sure to do them often to keep the quick as short as it will go.

I think its just that my husky, as my first dog 10 years ago, I didn't know the things I know now, so I never made sure to keep his nails super short. Then as I learned about these things, his nails had already hardened quite a bit and his quick was already long, once its done, its hard to go back, which is why you have to do it really often.

With my Shepherds, I have always done the nails religiously, so their nails never had a chance to harden and the quick always stayed short. Their nails are like butter to cut through, vs my Huskies metal rebar nails...LOL


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

Off the subject but can anyone tell me how to post a video on here?


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

bryant88 said:


> Awesome. Thanks
> 
> Im gonna take some off his then. I don't want them snaggin on anything. Thanks for the helpful info. Ya you would think you would be able to hear him walking across the floor but you cant. And I have only hardwood and tile in my home. No carpet. Must be how he walks.


My Leonberger is the same, I just think that she has different foot structure. Whereas my Shepherds tend to stand pretty straight up and down, and almost a little forward, she tends to have a straight foot that has thicker toe pads that elevate her paws in the front a little, so even if her nails grow out a little, you can't hear them on the floor.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

bryant88 said:


> Off the subject but can anyone tell me how to post a video on here?


Upload a video using an online site (youtube etc) then just post the link into a post.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

N Smith said:


> My Leonberger is the same, I just think that she has different foot structure. Whereas my Shepherds tend to stand pretty straight up and down, and almost a little forward, she tends to have a straight foot that has thicker toe pads that elevate her paws in the front a little, so even if her nails grow out a little, you can't hear them on the floor.


Thanks again for the info. Ya'll have been a BIG HELP. Im not new to being a good dad to my shepherd but I am new on getting good information to help me be a better one on this site.


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## bryant88 (Jan 22, 2013)

N Smith said:


> My Leonberger is the same, I just think that she has different foot structure. Whereas my Shepherds tend to stand pretty straight up and down, and almost a little forward, she tends to have a straight foot that has thicker toe pads that elevate her paws in the front a little, so even if her nails grow out a little, you can't hear them on the floor.


Btw I just watched a video I have of him walking across the floor and I can kind of hear his nails hitting the floor a little. Guess I im just so use to it I don't pay attention. Im deff gonna take some off his nails.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

When a dog is standing, his nail should NEVER be protrude past his pad, therefor hitting the floor (when they walk they still may click depending on how high and at what angle they lift their feet). If a dog's nails are that long, they end up walking on their nails, causing an uneven gait that can cause limb injury/soreness. I have seen this first hand.

Personally, I keep the nails as short as I can. Once that kwik lengthens, it can be a pain getting it down short again. Even dogs with short nails can flex their paws and grip you/other objects. A dog with short nails will have no problem in the snow. 

This is the longest the nails should ever be allowed to be


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

Jerry's nails always click when he walks - I guess he drags his feet? Is that something to be concerned about?

He just had his cut and Dremeled and they looks like this:










His back nails stay pretty short, but the front nails need to be clipped about once a month.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

SueDoNimm said:


> He just had his cut and Dremeled and they looks like this:


That's AFTER they've been cut and dremeled?


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

Yes, he had them done a week ago. Do they look too long? Looking at them closely, they look pretty rough, much rougher than my little dog's nails. It's like they're dry or something. It looks like the nail part only extends a few millimeters past the quick.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

This is Halo's paw after being dremeled:


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

It's not so much that they're long, it's that they're pointed, although for just being done a week ago they are pretty long. That point is the part I take off, like in this drawing: 










This is how I do it: How to Dremel Dog Nails @ DoberDawn.com


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

Oh, I see what you mean. I take him to the groomer to have his nails done. She clips them at the angle in which they grow and Dremels the bottom side, not the front.

I clip my little dog's nails myself, but I haven't tried Jerry's yet. His nails are lighter than my other dog's, but it makes me nervous to do it. Especially since he's so well-behaved during nail trims - I don't want to hit the quick and mess that up.

His nails probably wouldn't click if they were done like Halo's.

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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

First off, I am JEALOUS of Halo's nails! Haha even with dremmeling, many don't get that short (or I just don't have the patience to do Zeke's nails often enough to shorten them that much :blush: )

That being said, Jerry's nails ARE short enough to not cause problems, even though the tips could of been done in more to shorten them. I would not be concerned with that length, that is usually what I keep Zeke at. If you place your hand or another straight edge along the bottom of the pads, imitating how the food would look if it were standing flat, you would see that his nails do NOT protrude past the pad. Therefor, no physical problem when walking


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

SueDoNimm said:


> Oh, I see what you mean. I take him to the groomer to have his nails done. She clips them at the angle in which they grow and Dremels the bottom side, not the front.


Can you ask her to do it the other way? You can actually take quite a bit more off the nail without risking cutting into the quick if you do it the way Doberdawn suggests on her website. I do it myself, but if I were paying someone else to do it I'd definitely want them to do it as short as possible, so I didn't have to do it as frequently. The nice thing about the dremel is that even if you do hit the quick there's not the gush of blood you get with clippers, and it doesn't seem to hurt the dog either. I've accidentally gone a little too far with the dremel and didn't even realize it until I was a nail or two past that and noticed a tiny ooze of blood. No shrieking and yanking the paw away like there would have been if I clipped too short. 



Anubis_Star said:


> First off, I am JEALOUS of Halo's nails! Haha even with dremmeling, many don't get that short (or I just don't have the patience to do Zeke's nails often enough to shorten them that much :blush: )


Oh, don't be - she's a drama queen and hates having it done, so it's no picnic for either of us, lol! It takes much longer to do Keefer's since they grow at least twice as fast and are twice as hard, but fortunately he's very cooperative. When Halo's patience with the process is over, we are DONE! :laugh: Consequently, we tend to procrastinate and don't do it as often as we should.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

Thanks everyone for posting the pictures and diagrams. Wow Debbie, I'm impressed - those are great looking nails, especially knowing that Halo hates getting them done! My puppy's look more like Jerry's, still below the fur but needing a trim. I like dremeling them on the angle that Doberdawn suggests, and I don't grind the undersides, just the front tip of the nail itself - with a quick sideways grind to smooth them out.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Halo has become more of a diva as time goes on - she's actually worse about having her nails done than she used to be, so I rarely manage to do that good a job anymore. That picture is from a couple of years ago. 

Found some more pics I took awhile ago, I think this was Dena:










That's what I aim for, but I don't always succeed! And here's Keefer right after a dremel (6 months old :wub: 










His aren't that even, but we were still working on it at that point. Now he's really good about having it done.


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## Piper'sgrl (Apr 20, 2012)

Bear GSD said:


> Sorry Balnketback, I don't mean to sidetrack your thread but I was wondering.
> If you let the nails grow longer then does the quick grow with it? Meaning you will only be able to trim the nails just so because of the quick? Does that make sense?
> 
> Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I always tried to keep the nails short because if you let them grow too much you will only be able to cut them back so far.


The quick does grow as the nail grows thats why its good to keep your dogs nails from getting too long and keep them fairly short. Because if you let them grow too much and then go to cut them, and do so too short. you will cut into the quick and make the dogs nail bleed. It is painful to have their nail cut too short..


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

The dremel is great for that, you can grind off a tiny bit every couple of days, allowing the quick to recede between each session. It's difficult to take a small amount off with clippers, which is why I prefer a dremel. Every 2 or 3 weeks should be fine for maintenance, but you can do it twice a week until you get to that point.


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