I got my Harbor Freight grinder 2 weeks ago and have been using it daily on the dogs. I touch a nail or two(barely grind off anything at all) and give them lots of treats. Penny doesn't *like* it but she will tolerate it. Lion, on the other hand, is a nightmare. He screams, thrashes, and bites me. I have my BF hold them while I grind their nails. I can barely get Lion's nails safely because he is constantly trying to bite me, and it has come close to catching his hair/face.

I don't know what to do. I don't let him down when he throws a fit-I continue to hold his paw/touch his nails with the grinder on or off until he stops trying to bite me and then he gets a treat. I have been doing this for two weeks and he has yet to improve.. I think he has actually gotten worse. Someone I know suggested using a dog appeasing pheromone to calm him down but I honestly don't think it is for this type of situation. I want to get his nails shortened soon because they are growing out almost to the ground, but the quick hasn't grown yet so I would be able to grind them back nice and short.

Does anyone have some new ideas I can try?

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Thanks LS!

Oh, I forgot to add that he isn't really afraid of the grinder. I turned it on and off for a few days before touching their nails with it, and he will voluntarily eat treats off of it. I don't think the problem is that he is terrified of it- he will come right up to me for treats while I am doing Penny's nails.

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Thanks LS!

The friction from those grinders causes the nails to become HOT.. this is why some dogs jerk away, it also causes a vibration sensation in addition to the noise that some dogs just cannot stand.

I'm old school proper dog nail clippers all the way for any rough edges I just use a regular nail file gently, works like a charm. I know some people are scared of the quick but honestly the more you do it the more aware you are of how close you can go, it also recedes with time.


Is there a reason you want to use a grinder? They seem like the new trend but my friend who is a groomer says they can be painful for the dogs.

Maybe just use regular clippers on him?
Sorry I'm not much help.

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Thank you Jan for the lovely siggie!

I can't use regular clippers on him.. He jerks his paws around so much that I have cut his nail to the quick a few times because it slips right when I am cutting. He is just as bad/worse with clippers, and grinding is much faster. I only touch the nails for like 1/2 a second and move on to the next, so I don't think it has much of a chance to heat up.

From what I hear, clipping can be more painful because it squeezes their quick. I don't know though, some dogs don't mind it at all.

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Thanks LS!

Yeah I dunno to each their own I guess, I've watched the videos on youtube of those grinders in action and honestly, I can do both sets of front paws in the time they take on two nails with the grinder.

I guess it's just a learned skill. I suppose if he's that reactionary is there more chance of harming him with the grinder if it slips?
If his nails are not very bad possibly you can just file them down if you can get him to sit nicely for you if you offer him some treats?

Some dogs are just bad with nails period!

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Thank you Jan for the lovely siggie!

Oh! and one other thing. Chi's have such wee paws and teeny little nails that you can actually just use human nail clippers! we do on the cats & the dogs.

When I got him Bijou was bad! he would howl.. now he just lays there and lets us do it.

Have you tried wrapping him in a blanket or towel? sometimes that can help calm them a bit, but make sure he can still see/breathe & hear you! years ago I used to go to a certain grooming salon with my poodle and I saw them wrapping a dogs head in a towel one day.. that freaked me out, I thought it was barbaric never did go back there.

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Thank you Jan for the lovely siggie!

Are you talking about the PediPaws grinders and the ones made specifically for dogs? I think those go pretty slow compared to the type of grinder many on here use, which is why it takes so long. I have tried a PediPaws before and while it is quieter, it would probably take a minute or two per nail because it is so slow.

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Thanks LS!

No I am talking about the dremels.

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Thank you Jan for the lovely siggie!