PAWdicure time.....

Over the past couple of months I have had quite a number of nail trimming questions sent to me through my blogs and also a couple of messages from the YouTube nail care video Day and I did awhile back. I thought that sharing an updated version of one of the very first hound inspired 'guest blog posts' I wrote and shared  might help anyone else who was as nervous as I first was to take on nail trimming. And so, here it is... our beginnings into nail care. I truly hope this post might help anyone who struggles with trimming (or even just the thought of trimming) their dogs nails. Healthy paws are incredibly important and I want no one to fear what must be done. Just remember that each pup is built differently and nail shaping will be just as individualized but in taking the time to learn YOUR pups tootsies, you'll have pawdicure time mastered before you know it, I'm certain!



Adventures In Nail Care

Call me wimpy, weak, cowardly, you can even call me ridiculous... but I will gladly and even proudly (though embarrassingly) admit that I am TERRIFIED of clipping Day's nails!!!

I know that Day is used to having had his nails trimmed; having lived his racing years at the track he would have had them done often by sure and knowing hands. Unfortunately, sure and knowing hands in such respect are just not attached to the arms that are mine. It didn't seem to matter how hard I wished that Days nails would just...

.....STOP GROWING ALREADDDYYYYY..... they didn't.

 

"See, Mama? My nails are almost as long as my nose... Dontchya think it's time yet??"

I felt awful for letting them get so long in the almost two months since we had adopted him. I had to get over my fear. I know what you're thinking, it would have been easy to just take Day somewhere to have his nails clipped. And you would be right, there are countless places right here in town we could have gone to, even his Vet or the Technicians at the clinic would have done it with ease. I was definitely and admittedly the biggest hurdle on this one. I didn't want for him to experience an accidental 'QUICK cut', no matter who was doing the clipping and I let my panicked thoughts control me in what was necessary for my Day.

For two weeks I found myself holding clippers like these to Day's nails.....
 

    

 

.... but, I couldn't make myself actually squeeze them.

And pouring over diagrams like this one.....
 

... but seeing the word 'bleed', well, that burst any confidence bubble starting, right there! Now, if Day's nails were clear like this diagram instead of all black, maybe it wouldn't have been quite so scary...

Research and reading had clearly become my enemies on this subject and especially so when searching particularly about Greyhounds who apparently have nails that still tend to look too long even when properly clipped... hence my further growing fear of taking him to get them done when there are so few Greyhounds and therefore, experience, where we live.

I finally reached out to a new friend I had made while going through the Greyhound adoption process and asked if he did his hounds nails himself or where he took him to get them done. He did give me the name of a woman in town who had done the nail clippings for him in the past BUT he also had mentioned that he had tried to Dremel them at first on his own... MAJOR stress relief in that tiny bit of information. His own Greyhound hadn't really appreciated the Dremel the first time he had tried but I was still more than willing to try it for Day and I immediately began researching how to grind nails. Why had I never before heard of this alternative? It sounded almost too good to be true... for a worry-nut like me anyway! Believe me, I know and respect that there are incredible numbers of brave and confident souls who easily trim nails with clippers but as much as I wanted to be one of them, I knew that grinding might just be the answer for me.

It was only a matter of hours before I had this little number bought, charged and ready to go!
 

Ahhhhh... sweet Dremel... where have you been all my life???

I also worked at getting my own self charged up and ready to go...

Don't let the smile fool you... SCARED beyond scared, I was!

Was I still nervous??

Only to the point of ripping out my hair and screaming "I GIVE UUUPPPP!!!"

But, forward we went to back those ever-forming claws up!

I was shaky and hesitant even as I tried to relax. Was I holding his paw correctly? Was I starting at the right angle?? What if I slipped and hit his pad??? What if he freaked out from just the noise of the grinder and became scared for life of me even touching his tootsies????

The first paw was nerve wracking. He was unsure because I was unsure and though he patiently dealt with my inexperience, he also pulled his paw away whenever he felt there was opportunity. 

But, on we went, until.....

... his first paw was finished!
 

Yes, I know, not near enough nail gone and perhaps not the exact shaping desired. However, for our very first paw, I was incredibly happy with the result, and have quickly become much more skilled and confident in taking Day's nails just a little farther back with each weekly manicure since.

By the time we had moved on to paw number two, this is how much Day really cared about what was happening...

Here is a short video that also shows just how much Day cares about nail time now that our routine is, well... routine.

By the third paw he was sound asleep.

And after the fourth paw... I was ready for a sound sleep!

But, together we had made it through and as I sat and massaged some nourishing vitamin E cream onto his freshly shaped nails, I finally breathed easily once again! The cream massaging part pretty instantly became Day's favourite part of the manicure... Now that he knows the massage part happens with the cream, the second he witnesses the cap being spun off the tube, he stretches his legs out as far as he can, spreading his long toes and starts groaning and sighing his comfort and appreciation of having his tootsies rubbed!

All moisturized!

 

And... here he is, the freshly dremelled, massaged paw model, all finished and ready to slip into his boots for a celebratory walk!
 

What had begun as an impossible-seeming ordeal has, in very short order, become a very positive part of our routine. I know I'm not the only one who has struggled with the fear of clipping paw nails, it can be a pretty intimidating experience. But man-oh-man, am I ever thankful to have found a technique that works for us!


*Tootsie Care Update* - Corns are the WORST!
 

It wasn't long down the line when we discovered Day was developing corns on both of his rear paws. He had never been the greatest walker and I don't mean leash-wise... he walks beautifully on a leash, never pulling or rushing ...but he seemed to need a lot of rest and he soon started to demand carry-time be added into the walk time mix. And I kid not about the 'demand' part; he would stop, block and lean until we picked him up for a carry and then he would happily ride along in our arms and sniff the fresh air as we went. Let me just tell you, carrying awkwardly long and fully relaxed Greyhound muscle weight of eighty-two pounds is not the easiest feat. This is a truthful representation of our every walk for quite awhile that first year...

 

I had heard of the corn discomfort many Greyhounds unfortunately suffer through and I kept checking his paws and paw pads daily but nothing visible was out of sorts on his sweet little paws. We took him for x-rays and even our Vet could find no reasoning for his refusal to walk for longer than a block or two without starting on with his carry demands. We chalked it up to his taking his 'retirement' VERY seriously and since we wanted nothing more than for him to have a full and easy life of love... we continued to carry him whenever he asked. Until one day, when checking his paw pads, the tiniest, faintest outline of a circle appeared. The outline grew quickly into a protrusion and I knew that it was as I had feared. Corns had surfaced and we had the answer for Day demanding carry walks.



Day has a few medical issues, including Diabetes Insipidus (Water Diabetes) which we control with daily medication but because of his condition, his body has a very difficult time in healing as we have unfortunately found out with his forever healing time after his mast cell tumour removals. Because of his healing issues he is not a candidate for either hulling or surgical removal, so we choose to manage the same way we manage nails... with grinding. It took us awhile to be able to grind the corns down enough to be able to actually grind slightly inward to help relieve the  pressure for Day when he stands and walks but it really has made an incredible difference and he now only rarely asks for 'lifts'.

We use this Vitamin e cream on freshly shaped nails as well as the corns to help keep all moisturized. Pawdicure time really is a positive experience now that it's become just a regular part of our routine.

 

Shoes are also a HUGE help in the walking comfort department and both my boys wear foot protection when we are out exploring.



Therapaws shoes are very squishy and are more comfortable for Day on longer walks but they
aren't great for our dirt roads at camp where pebbles find their way in.



Both of my boys walk fantastically in their Neo-Paws hiking shoes but since they aren't
as squishy as the Therapaws our walks in these tend to be a little shorter.



For our winter walks, my boys do well in their Muttluks which don't have a lot
of padding but keep them both warm and dry. Day does well with his corns in these
with the helpful cushioning of snow so it all works out well.

My favourite part of my boys' shoe collection may just be washing day... all their adorable lil' tootsie-wear
lined up to air dry just totally melts this mamas overflowing heart!

All in all... paw care is very important to us and and we work at keeping tootsie comfort in complete check! I'd sure love to hear more about grooming tips and techniques that work for others! Please share your own healthy-pup-grooming-routines with us!!