# Nail Question



## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

yeah, its true. im sure wallys nails look pretty long compared to tobys. and even though sprite is smaller than ellie---sprites nails are just longer. its because ellie pulls and trims her nails pretty short (she never needs her back nails cut). i tried doing what you're talking about---trimming them more often....but when i took sprite to the vet, they said that they couldnt cut anything. and i get them cut every 2-3 weeks. i wait till i start hearing them click too. but dont worry about your dogs.







if you watch more episodes of animal precint...you'll see that the dogs nails will start to twist and curl. its really sad. i dont know what they do though. and i've asked my vet about simba (my bros dog) and they said that they'd have to see him every 2-3 weeks to trim his nails little by little (simba has long nails...they're twisting).


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## LoveMaltese6820 (Apr 12, 2004)

Doctorcathy- I saw some animal show where a dog's nails were twisting. It was horrible.


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## TikisMom (Jul 22, 2003)

I agree, that quick will grow if you don't trim the nails, I am sure though that if your vet thought the nails should be trimmed more often they would have let you know. 

I have a friend with an Irish wolf hound (Coco), she didn't even know Coco had a dew claw and wasn't trimming it; it curled around and it was discovered because Coco was chewing at it. The vet gave her a local and clipped the claws, then used something else to stop the bleeding..... Now I wasn't there, so I don't know the details and all this may be different for the regular claws (?)









For Tiki I very seldom have to trim his claws. He goes for a walk on lead about 3 times a day.... at least once a day we will walk past a yard with other dogs that are going crazy, running up and down the fence, barking. Tiki won't bark back, but he will try to pull and run along the fence. I have him on a harness so I just keep it tight; sort of like he is running in place. I started doing this because the vet said that the less I react, sooner or later he will give up and just walk by these yards. Anyway... because he does this he files his nails on the side walk





















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I check them after every bath though and if they need trimming I do it while he is wrapped in the towel one paw at a time. 

Judi


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## Brittany Lot (Jun 24, 2004)

I was reading an article by some famous maltese groomer (I forget his name) and he was saying that if the pup's nails get too long and the quick grows you must cut the nail into the quick and it will grow back shorter. Then you can clip the nails on a more regular basis to keep the quick short.







This seems like it could really hurt!
But he also went onto say that you should never try this by yourself, but rather have your vet or a professional groomer do it after consulting your vet.
I would talk to your vet about it and see if s(he) thinks there is any problem.
Good luck


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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

you guys might think im cruel (cuz everyone else does) but we got gruffies dew claws removed....its sorta like a thumb (it has a nail and everything). i heard so many scary stories about how the dew claw can get ripped or something and it would have to be trimmed more regularly than the regular nails....so i got it removed. it was done during his neutering. he doesnt seemed bothered by it at all now. and there've been times where i see him running and i think "if he had a thumb, hed be hurt now". so im happy with my decision. 

books and magazines say that if you cut the quick...it feels like you're cutting part of your finger. like theres a lot of nerves and stuff there.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

The breeder that I got Lexi from removed her dew claw before I saw her for the first time. I saw her when she was 7 weeks old so I am not sure how old she was when it was done. I have also heard a lot of stories about dogs getting them caught on things and ripping them.


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## Mystify79 (Apr 6, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

i always thought their nails turned black because i accidentally stepped on them. but someone on MO said that they're born like that. i dont know though. sprite wasnt born with any black nails. with gruffi---the only reason i can tell his dew claw was removed is because he has a scar and the hair is black near the scar. i dont know how to tell on a maltese. you should call the breeder and just ask. im sure she wont mind you asking.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## doctorcathy (May 17, 2004)

Everyone thought i was mean because i got it done when he was 5 months old. i wanted to get it done sooner but we needed him to get his rabies shot first and then we wanted to have enough money so that all three could go in for something....so sprite and ellie got their teeth cleaned while gruffi got neutered and his dew claws removed.


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