# Chihuahua nail cutting?



## Jazmin (Oct 1, 2011)

My chi needs his nails cutting and alot of my friends have told me i can do them myself? Im not too sure on this as i have never done it before and i would want to cut them too short? Does anyone have any advice?
I thought it would probably be better to take it to a dog groomer but there prices are extremely high...

Jazmin x


----------



## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

You could always ask your vet,they can show you how to do it safely


----------



## Jazmin (Oct 1, 2011)

loads of people have said to do them myself but im not confident enough.
Jazmin


----------



## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Or me,i just take the tops off which isn't enough ,i'm scared i might get the quick


----------



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Have your vet or an experienced dog owner show you how to do it  I use a nail grinder myself and find that quite effective, less risk of cutting a quick and causing bleeding, but it does take a bit to get the dog used to it.


----------



## mooberry (Jan 31, 2011)

Bijoux nails are white so I do her's but lincoln are black those get done by a groomer. Bijoux is very use to me playing with her paws so she doesn't even care if I do it which I think makes the biggest difference because she doesn't fidgit so i'm much more confident when I cut them.


----------



## luvmytiger (Jun 18, 2011)

does anybody know if cutting nails is any different for a two month old puppy?


----------



## LostLakeLua (Sep 6, 2009)

The youngest you can start them at trimming nails the better; because if they're calm about it it's a lot easier to avoid cutting to short when they aren't squirming. 

This sounds like overkill; but my advice would be to trim just the tip off; so that you don't worry about doing it to short; but do it like once a week. This way, the quick recedes every time you do it so you're less and less likely to snip it on accident.

Been doing that with Tequila; luckily she's got white nails and my chi's are a tan color so it's easy to see. Once you get them as short as you'd like, then you can go longer in between trimmings. Like now, I only do it maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Since the quicks are so short now I don't worry about accidentally cutting them. And there's no clicky sound on my hardwood floors lol!

If you can you can ask a groomer to show you how to do it the first time. You'll only have to pay them once then and you'll know you're doing it right. Heck if you want to drive all the way to Illinois I could show you for free LOL. For mine, I usually flip them on their backs in between my legs with their heads resting/supported by my knees. Then I hold each foot and as I do it I talk excitedly in "baby talk" to distract them. If they start squirming I say, "No! Settle..." firmly and the MOMENT they freeze and stop moving; I go right back to the happy baby talk. So they learn very fast what gets happy praise; and what will get them the 'naughty voice.' All the while doing 'snip snip' on each toe. Since all my dogs are little; I actually use "cat" toenail clippers. They're like scizzors with rounded tips. I really wish my battery charger didn't die; I'd be happy to record a small vid of my trimming one of my pup's nails so you can all see how my responses/corrections are. Whenever I do nails and someone happens to be visiting they're always like "Oh my gosh, my dog would never let me do that..." lol but it's not that hard once the dog learns what's going on!

Edit to answer: As far as doing a 2 month old puppy; that's best to start then!! At that point, the nails have a very obvious sharp point. They start to corve a little where they get really pointy; and that's really all you need to cut off. Just the little hook/point at the end. And if you keep doing that just once a week; the nails will stay really short and once they get older you won't need to do it nearly as much; plus it'll be really easy since they'll be used to it! After each nail trim I also reward by saying 'All done!! yaaay!' and then either give a treat or play with a toy or something to let them know they did good.


----------



## Ren (Oct 19, 2010)

I use to take my dogs to the groomer to get there nails done. Now my mother dremels Rocky's nails. But I've learned to do Ren's (my chi) nails myself. I took her to the groomer once and she freaked out the enitre time like she was being hurt. I guess the lesson there is no matter how much noise they make just to keep on going. But now I just pick her up into my lap and do her nails. I found it simple for me. I think my cat gives me more issues then my dogs do lol (I have to literally sit on my cat to pin him down to do his nails, ugh, what a chore!)


----------



## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

OMG I'd be poor if I had to have someone else do my dogs nails. Seven dogs every week or two? Eeks! So saying that I do my dogs nails. Also use a grinder which leaves their nails MUCH shorter & "cleaner" (not sharp or jagged) and definitely there is less of a risk of hurting your dog by cutting too short like with clippers. You could have someone show you how...or even look on youtube for some videos. There are loads of them.


----------



## Jazmin (Oct 1, 2011)

Thanks to everyone!! I found a women close to me (pinchbeck, UK) who does them.. I took him to her and she also cleaned his ears out, which took a whole tub of cotton buds!! and bathed him for just £5!! She is great with them too!!
I later took my boy to the out of hours vets and he has an extremely bad ear infection which he is now getting treatment for!!  
His ears now appear to be sitting more on top of his head and he is also walking around alot more!!
Next task: What to feed him on!!! lol
Thanks, Jazmin. x


----------



## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

I do my chis, but she has clear, white nails where I can see the quick. I would never attempt to cut them if they were black as you can't see the quick. Whenever I take her to the vet I welcome them cutting them cause they automatically do it. She's ready for a nail cut right now which she hates.


----------



## Dixie Belle (Apr 9, 2011)

I was a dog groomer for several years and I am ashamed to admit, Dixie is one of the hardest dogs I've ever clipped nails on. All it took was a nick on one black nail and she's never forgiven me. It takes 3 to do her nails. One to hold, one to pet and distract and I do the cutting. Occasionally, I can attempt to do one or two nails by myself at a time.


----------



## Jazmin (Oct 1, 2011)

My chi's nails are black.. the groomer said he was in a state and his nails where curled over..
I took him to the vet and she has gave me all the right medication and i have also contacted the owners who paid the vet bill because they didnt know he was in this condition....


----------



## roughhouse (Mar 1, 2009)

I just cut all of my dogs' nails tonight. I have been cutting Neeci's nails since we got her and she still screams like she is being killed and acts like she is going to bite. (if she makes contact she just lightly touches us with her mouth though. She knows not to bite). Ellie used to be really good at it but tonight she cried. Chloe is the easiest because not only are her nails light colored but she doesn't care that we are doing it. Cali was good for me but her nails are all dark so harder to see. Ami was a pretty good boy. I always have someone help me by holding them so I can get a good look at what I am doing. I have never cut anyone's quick. I used to use a dremel for a short time but they never got used to it and I couldn't do it as quickly. I loved the way it worked though.


----------



## bayoumah (Nov 30, 2010)

_hi i clip busters it makes me so nervous and then he is nervous ive never hurt him but im real slow its an ordeal i get the vet to trim them as often as i can_s


----------



## POOCHPOOCH (Oct 12, 2011)

My chi has always had really long-looking nails but when I take her to the vet they say she's fine. I wouldn't want to try it myself, I think it will end in tears!


----------



## Lollipopsmama (Oct 17, 2011)

As a few other people mentioned a grinder is very useful, we have a pedipaws & it works very well! I have one dog who is very anxious about being groomed/nails clipped and she is fine with the pedipaws.


----------

