How To Dremel Your Dogs Nails

Exciting Update: I am launching a new, affordable, in-depth, at-your-own-pace "How To Dremel Your Dog's Nails" online master course! Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified when the form is alive. By subscribing to our newsletter you lot volition besides become infrequent updates about new posts on Thousand&E:

Dremeling dog nails is a fantastic culling to the traditional method of clipping. It is non surprising that many dogs react poorly to nail clipping. Fifty-fifty if you do not cut painfully into the quick, the movement of clipping still pinches the sensitive nerves inside of the smash. Dremeling is a great fashion to maintain healthy nails and to lessen stress for anybody involved. You lot don't take to be a professional to do a good job, but, there are some of import steps involved in properly Dremeling nails.

Choosing a Dremel

- Speed/RPM : Ideal dog nail grinding happens at between 10,000 – 15,000 RPM (a.ka. it's speed -the sanding drum's rotations per minute). Anything RPM lower than 10,000 RPM will be besides slow, and anything college than 15,000 is TOO HOT and volition cause likewise much heat to generate equally you Dremel. If y'all are new to Dremeling, information technology is ideal to first out at 10,000 RMP. If you have questions about models and RPM, please comment below, I am happy to help!
- Corded, or Cordless? I prefer cordless. Cordless is less tricky for yous to maneuver, and much less confusing to the dog. Just recall to re-charge your cordless Dremel battery nigh once every 2 weeks.

In my stance, these are the iii to choose from. They are all cordless:

Dremel'due south Pet Model. I am putting this here because so many people inquire about it, but information technology is my least favorite. Model has ii speeds to chose from: 6,500 or 14,000 RPM. The wearisome speed is nether x,000, which is too boring for dog boom Dremeling, making the faster speed it'due south simply useful speed. Platonic nail Dremeling happens between ten,000-15,000 RPM, making this model'due south speed of 14,000 on the faster end of that spectrum. Please note if you are a tentative beginner, this speed can be a little fast. I have gone through a few of these for travel purposes considering they are inexpensive and I wouldn't mind if I lost one. They don't accept the all-time battery life and they die later on well-nigh 2 years in my experience. These exercise the task just fine, but if you want to salvage coin over time, the below models will terminal longer (the beneath models toll effectually ii.5x the price of the pet model).
Dremel 7760. This Dremel has one setting for dog nails – "2" (14,000 RPM). Ideal boom Dremeling happens between ten,000-xv,000 RPM, making this model's speed of xiv,000 on the faster stop of that spectrum. Information technology is a bit sturdier than the pet model.
Dremel 8220. This cordless model is the only one that has an actual "sliding scale" for speed (5,000-35,000 RPM), with tiny adjustments bachelor to your exact liking. This ways if y'all are a nervous Dremeler at showtime, you can slide the speed to your comfort level and yous learn and get more experienced. I learned on this one and loved it. It is heavier than the other two listed above, but the adaptability in speed is unparalleled. In my experience this model is extremely durable and different the other two is unlikely to demand replacing. Fifty-fifty though information technology is heavier I would just really notice that if I had arthritis or wrist problems.

Necessary Supplies

Sanding Bands, threescore Grit, Dremel product #408 (one/2″ diameter): This is the drum yous will use to shorten the nails. It is a courser grit. Replace once a calendar month.
Sanding Bands, 120 Dust, Dremel product #432 (1/2″ diameter): This is the drum y'all will use to polish out the nails after shortening them with the courser grit first. These are essential for going over each nail 1 concluding time to smooth them out. No more scratched mankind or couches from dog nails! Replace one time every month – 2 months.
Dremel Ez-Drum Mandrel, Dremel product #EZ407SA. This cheap function makes switching between the 2 types of sanding bands a breeze. This tool (shown below) allows you lot to swap out sanding bands instantly. It doesn't come with the Dremel kit, merely almost all hardware stores carry it in the rotary tool / Dremel section.

Optional Supplies

Prophylactic Glasses, to keep dust out of your eyes.
Dust mask or respirator, if you take asthma and/or are sensitive to dust.
If you are nervous about grinding your dog'south nails down too much, a focused headlamp will exist an invaluable tool for Dremeling — and for walking your domestic dog at nighttime! My all-time favorite is the Petzl headlamp.

Dremel Training

Miles is a dog that absolutely cannot stand having his nails clipped. I cannot emphasize how passionately he used to fear nail clipping! No amount of food or training could convince him to tolerate nail clipping. It was terrible. With training, however, he is completely content to relax while I Dremel his nails. This is considering I introduced the tool slowly and carefully, and because I apply it properly.

Because you volition exist using this tool in one case or twice a week for the rest of your canis familiaris'south life, it is critical for both yous and your canis familiaris that there is no fear or strength involved. For many dogs, the whirring sound of the Dremel can exist suspicious at beginning, and understandably and then! If you train your canis familiaris that the Dremel isn't a scary thing long before you use it on their nails, there is a much greater risk it will exist a tool they won't mind for life. Please work with a experienced trainer who uses "force-costless" methods if y'all are unsure of how to arroyo this task — update — see the showtime of this postal service!!!

Positioning

You tin can do putting your canis familiaris in "Dremeling" position for curt periods of time while giving them treats before you introduce the Dremel. In combination with Dremel training, your dog will realize that the sound and vibration of the tool, along with this position, are routine, and not at all scary.

For a medium or small dog, I recommend that you identify the dog belly up on your lap, or on their side on a comfy dog bed. A large dog can exist laid on his or her side on the floor in front of you, ideally on the burrow or on a dog bed.

Safely Sanding

Plough your Dremel on, and set information technology to to between x,000 and 15,000 RPM (once more, if y'all are unsure what this means, comment below). Concur up 1 paw, advisedly push any fur away, and then select a boom, With your free hand, hold fur away from the boom. While supporting the nail betwixt your fingers, bear on the sander confronting the smash for 1-ii seconds, and then retreat. Never leave the sander touching a single spot on a nail for more than ii seconds, and never utilize pressure. The goal is to smooth little sections off, while never putting plenty friction on the boom to generate any heat. That is why using a Dremel that has variable speeds is very handy for the safety and comfort of the dog, because the slower the speed, the longer information technology takes to build friction, and the more command you take over ensuring the process never creates any heat, or sands the blast downwardly besides fast. Equally long as yous never put pressure, and you gently and briefly smooth the sander along the nail, and never remain in one spot more than than a second or two, you volition exercise just fine. The best mode to Dremel nails is to focus on one paw at a time, rotating between all of its toes.

When to Finish Dremeling

Over time you will larn exactly when to end sanding. A sure indicator of when to stop is when yous begin to come across a little white dot in the eye of the tip of the boom. Too, the tip of the smash volition start seeming a bit softer – and less dry out and flaky. That is because you are entering the "living" role of the smash. That little white dot is the get-go of the quick. The offset time, don't do too much. You can ever try again in a few days. If you don't come across a piffling white dot, but you go too close to the quick, your dog will lightly flinch. End sanding if your dog shows sensitivity, as this is an even clearer indication that the nail is finished.

Finishing The Nails

When you are finished Dremeling all of your dog'due south nails (bottom left), the final 2 steps are:

Smooth the nails with your 120 grit sanding band: Swap out your fibroid 60 grit sanding drum for your 120 dust sanding band (see supplies list at the start of the commodity for details). Then quickly smooth the undersides and ends of the nails. This volition remove any flaky $.25 and keep the nails from cracking.
Oil the nails: The final step is to rub a thin layer of olive or coconut oil over each nail. Doing this seals the nail. Applying a little bit of olive oil prevents the blast from cracking, makes it very smooth, and lastly prevents the nails from arresting nasty stuff outside. If you Dremel properly and moisturize the nails afterwards, you besides won't accept to worry well-nigh your domestic dog's nails leaving marks or scratches anywhere!

How Ofttimes You Should Dremel

Over time, not trimming domestic dog nails often enough can pb to all sorts of wellness issues. Every single part of your dog's body depends on, and is affected past his feet. Nails that aren't clipped often enough will to grow longer quicks over time. This means, if your dog goes for periods where his nails are on the medium/longer side, the alive role of the boom volition as well longer, and that is the role that you cannot cut. Not regularly trimming your domestic dog's nails leads to them being longer, long term.

For almost dogs, Dremeling once a week is a good schedule of how often to trim. If you can manage information technology, I similar to Dremel twice a week.

How ofttimes y'all Dremel really depends on how fast your dog's nails abound, and how often she is running around on rough surfaces, which also can aid in wearing down the nails. For this reason, avoid Dremeling your dog's nails correct before strenuous activity. The soft part of the smash tin exist a flake delicate for the offset few hours afterwards Dremeling.

Additionally, say y'all've just discovered Dremeling, and your canis familiaris has a longer quick area than he should. I have found that if you lot Dremel on a schedule of around every iii-four days, yous can actually get the quick to retreat over time. With this sort of frequent trimming, you will need to be diligent and to trim every 3-4 days on a strict schedule. Once the nails have reached the desired length, you can go back to regular maintenance 1-2x weekly trimming.

Advantages of Dremeling Domestic dog Nails

Ane great reward of Dremeling your dog's nails is that if you introduce the process slowly and positively, the likelihood that your domestic dog won't listen it is much greater than the alternative of nail clipping. I know this because my own dog Miles is extremely sensitive, and couldn't accept his nails clipped, and he is now very accepting of having his nails Dremeled (run into below video).

If yous Dremel using the instructions here, it is nifty because it is:

Not painful for the dog
Very difficult to cause your dog'southward nails to drain
Easier to train the dog to relax than other nail trimming methods
The one method that results in smooth nails that won't crack of scratch people, floors, or furniture

Being able to trim your dog's nails yourself doesn't just save a huge corporeality of time and money, it volition too lead to keeping your canis familiaris'due south nails a good for you length and ensure that your dog volition not be terrified or in hurting.

Overview

Stay between ten,000 and 15,000 RPM for the speed of your Dremel.
Touch the Dremel to the nail to sand for i-2 seconds, retreat, touch on once again, repeat.
Never put pressure on the blast when sanding.
Never leave the sander on the nail for more than 1-2 seconds at a time.
After trimming the nails with your threescore grit sanding band, swap information technology out for your finer 120 grit sanding band, and smooth the undersides and ends of the nails to finish them.
Afterwards Dremeling your dog's nails, finish them by rubbing olive or coconut oil over the nails to seal them and preclude flaking/cracking.
Dremel on a schedule to maintain healthy nails (depending on the dog, that will be once a week or twice a week).