My Thoughts – Nail Grinder by FURminator®

Posted in Doggies, Reviews on 20. Aug, 2012

Nail care is an important part of your dog’s grooming process. Taking care of your dog’s nails helps maintain a healthy pet and also keeps them safe and comfortable. Not keeping up with nail trimming can cause problems for your dog in the long run such as pain, especially when walking and running, breakage and bleeding.

FURminator® carries the products you need to keep your dog’s nails properly trimmed: Nail Clipper and Nail Grinder (around $30). Most pet-parents have their dog’s nails trimmed at the Groomer but you can do them yourself! Not all dogs like to have their paws touched and in fact, a large number of dogs hate having their paws touched, so most owners leave it for the Groomer. However, introducing your dog to Clippers and Grinders can help your dog to trust that you won’t hurt them.

Let your dog smell the Nail Clippers and Grinder. I then put the products near their beds or just leave them around the house, where your dog can smell them and see them to help them get used to the products. During this process, touch your dogs paws and if they don’t jerk them away, treat with a very small training treat. If it takes more than 2 chews to get the treat down it’s too big. Your training treat should literally be bite-sized. Typically, I recommend touching your dog’s paws when they are puppies but not everyone, especially those involved in rescues, has the dog when they are just puppies. So, even if you didn’t raise your dog, touching the paws are an important step towards trust. I sometimes turn the grinder on and just let them hear it.

Here is a video from FURminator’s YouTube Channel:

The biggest challenge with clippers is trying to not clip the quick, which is the name for the blood vessels and nerves that supply the nail. Cutting the quick can cause bleeding and will cause a great amount of pain dog. It is far better to cut small bits off of the dog’s nails and do it more frequently than to try cutting too much and running the risk of hitting the quick.

I then use the grinder to smooth over each nail. Now, some people will use the Nail Grinder only to clip the nails and that’s fine. I just prefer using the Nail Clipper first and then the Grinder.

Taken from FURminator’s site:

Nail Grinder

Two-speed cordless grinder includes two replaceable grinding bands and operates for 100+ hours on 4 AA-alkaline batteries (included)
Automatic LED light ensures safety and maximizes control
Tool design ensures nail trimming is safe, efficient and painless
Ideal for all dog breeds
Anti-microbial plastic helps keep germs and bacteria at a minimum
Regular nail trimming (recommended every 3-4 weeks) promotes comfort and health
Eliminates sore paws, legs and hips

Riley did great when I used the FURminator Nail Grinder on her and we didn’t have any problems using the product! I love the LED Light because it helps me see the nail. Because her nails are so dark, I usually have a hard time really seeing how much I am grinding down.