[mathdan]

I am thinking of getting the Dremel pet nail grooming kit since my puppy has black nails and it is a pain to impossible to see the quick. However, the Dremel website says it works best for small to medium dogs. My dog is a rot, lab, shepherd, mutt, ? mix so she will eventually be pretty big. Does anyone do their big dogs with the Dremel and if so, how does it work? Also, for Dremel users, am I correct in that there is much less chance of cutting the quick using this method?
Thanks

[MegaMuttMom]

My vet said I could use a dremel and that it should cauterize the wound if you do hit the quick. So far I just use clippers and take a little off at a time. Most of the time his nails are short because he gets so much exercise and wears them down.

[GreatDaneMom]

im switching to a dremmel now for Chloe. her nails are too thick to cut with clippers unless i get REALLY expencive ones. theyre fine on a large or giant breed dog too. Chloes a dane, not full grown yet, but shes already considered to be large. i know a lot of people who have danes, saints, great pyrs, newfs, etc. who use them. theyre great to use from what i hear, and much quicker.

[lovemygreys]

I use the dremel on our greyhounds....some of whom have some pretty thick nails. It works great. I prefer the dremel with the fully adjustable speed rather than the one with "high/low" only settings. It lets me tailor the speed to the size and thickness of the nail. Ours came from a big box home improvement store (lowes, I think). You don't need to get the one they market "for pets."

There's much less of a chance of quicking them using the dremel method for sure.

[mathdan]

lovemygreys
do you use the 1/4 inch "pads" and just buy them seperately? Or do you use a different size?

[lovemygreys]

I use the 60 grit sandpaper wheels. I replace them about every 10 dogs or so that I dremel. The fresher the sandpaper wheel, the better it works.

Here's a link to our site where I talk about how we dremel nails: link

There's a site called doberdawn (google it) who has a very in depth "how to" on dremelling. That's where I first learned from.

[borzoimom]

Originally Posted by mathdan

I am thinking of getting the Dremel pet nail grooming kit since my puppy has black nails and it is a pain to impossible to see the quick. However, the Dremel website says it works best for small to medium dogs. My dog is a rot, lab, shepherd, mutt, ? mix so she will eventually be pretty big. Does anyone do their big dogs with the Dremel and if so, how does it work? Also, for Dremel users, am I correct in that there is much less chance of cutting the quick using this method?
Thanks

Yes we do. The main reason is the big dog nail clippers are so wide that to get a good cut to clear the width of the nail trimmers to not pinch, makes the nails still too long. Its not hard to do but have a groomer show you how. The main thing is to not keep it in one place. I use to have mine done by the groomers until recentely when I had her show me how, and was shocked it was not as hard as I thought.

[Love's_Sophie]

Yep...I use a Dremel on pooch nails on dogs of all sizes; you will just have to replace the head a bit sooner, that's all

[Inga]

Just remember to have a vet show you the right way to do it. The Dremmel can get very hot very quickly. You kind of tap it not hold it tightly. I use it for my dogs and it works great. I just want people to use caution. It also files down quickly so really watch what you are doing. LOL

[briteday]

I use dremels on my little dogs and a couple of neighbor dogs that are large breeds. I recently switched after using clippers for many years. I find the dremel tool much better, less likely to hit a quick (pay attention to the nail bed diagrams on doberdog and you will begin to see the pattern in your dog's nails, the dog will usually let you know when dremeling if you are getting close (there is a nerve that extends 1mm or so out beyond the quick and my dogs will usually pull back if I get that close), if you do hit a quick it is just a light grazing over the tip and is much easier to control the bleeding.

Remember to do short, quick swipes over the nail to prevent the drum from overheating the nail. I use 60 grit. Sometimes I work back and forth on two adjacent nails so I don't work too long on one and overheat. No need to buy "Dremel" brand if you can find a similar tool with a couple of variable sppeds. The sanding sleeves and drum collets are interchangeable from brand to brand (just like drill bits).

[FilleBelle]

lovemygreys, I didn't realize that was you on that site! I looked at both Doberdawn's and yours when I was learning how to Dremel my dog's nails.

You're, like, famous!

[lovemygreys]

Originally Posted by FilleBelle

lovemygreys, I didn't realize that was you on that site! I looked at both Doberdawn's and yours when I was learning how to Dremel my dog's nails.

You're, like, famous!

cool! I was pretty sure no one except my family read our site LOL It's woefully outdated, but I've been bugging DH to get a format that's easier for me to maintain by myself since he has other (nondog) sites he's working on.

I'm glad you found it helpful!

[all4thedogs]

I use a Dremel on my Dane and GSD, and all fosters we have (mostly Danes). I love how it makes the nails look and feel. No rough edges. Also the dogs seem much more relaxed with a Dremel then clipping. Less pressure I guess!