Trimming nails INTO the quick on purpose?

cezieg

So at the new vet that I'm working at, I was having a conversation with the on-call groomer. He does quite a few show dogs here in South Florida, and mentioned casually that it was common for his show clients to request that the dogs nails be cut down into the quick on purpose, then sometimes cauterized. What in the actual F? Has anyone heard of this before, or know first hand if this is a common or semi-common practice?

lindsayt

Yes, this is done to help give the dog a "neater" cat foot, like in Dobermans, mastiffs, doxies, goldens, etc, sometimes to correct a severe nail fungus, or simply because John Q. Owner is too lazy to do nails at home, or too scared, or whatever. The old clinic I worked at years ago had some crazy dog lady with an old doberman surgically anesthetized and the (questionable) Vet would get them down to the nub and cauterize the dog while he was under, at the owners request, just for that, every 6 weeks. Way, way, way unethical IMO, and separate from the "oh while he's under can you grind his nails down a bit, he really hates it at home".

ayk

I've heard of a groomer who also showed Akitas who did this to her dogs. But that was ages before dremels caught on.

Myabee09

What the heck? That's so mean! Don't they know the foot will be sore after that? Besides, if you dremel the nail short the quick will recede and in about 2 weeks the nail can be filed down shorter.

I have never heard of that. I always tear up when I trim a nail too short on a dog.

Losech

Ugh they did that at the sleddog kennel. They would neglect the nails until it was training time then quick them and let the blood freeze instead of cauterizing.

cezieg

Wow that's insanely cruel, both show and sled So unnecessary... all for just a ribbon.

Heidi

If they're way too long, I've heard of it. I think it makes sense if the nails are causing pain and if it's done under anesthesia. But, uh... obviously why not be attentive and responsible? Duh...lol.

LoboSpam

Ummm...I kinda don't cut Lobo's claws, ever. They seem to be fine, like 1/8" from the quick. He gets outside a lot so I think that helps keep them worn down. Is that bad? Is Lobo going to die a bloody claw death if I don't cut his nails?

They never break and I think they help him have good traction on hiking trails...

ayk

White nails tend to be softer than black nails in my experience. They wear down naturally if the dog is exercised on hard surfaces, so only the dewclaws need to be trimmed as needed.

timkim

a lot of akita breeders does that. make their feet more like cat's. once you cut down to some point, you can just cut it at home to same point. I only cut dewclaws since I do alot of running with my dogs.

Saya

I never knew about this till now..

Saya and Bella are just my buds no showing for them so I do normal trims and avoiding quick at all cost. I'd hate to hear the shiba scream if I gotten it. Luckily I haven't yet it is hard on the black ones.

Heidi

I trim Sosuke's nails regularly, and Rakka's not so much. She's not super keen on it, and her nails don't seem to bother her. But, if the nails aren't long enough to cause an issue, then so what? No one clips the nails of wild dogs and they just walk outside enough.

Now, I've seen/heard of dogs whose nails curl around and they're actually walking on them. Like my Nana's sedentary dog, or dogs that are kept confined for whatever reason.

Saya

@hondru I saw and elderly pug with curled nails it made me sick to see the poor thing.

I don't get how people allow that. My cousin's pug hates trimming so they don't do it luckily walks on cement helps keep them low enough.

My guess the old pug doesn't get walked much, but if my dog was that bad on trimmings I'd at least have vet help me..

Luckily both dogs do well for it.

cezieg

@hondru The groomer said they would be shortened as close to the pad as possible, then cauterizing the wound. Sometimes up to the pad, about 1/4 inch deep into the quick. Strictly for show aesthetics, no functional purpose. My fingers hurt just thinking about it All without anesthesia, local or general. It just seems excessively cruel.

With the availability of dremels to ease the quick into recession, I just don't see the point in inflicting that level of pain for show purposes.

PoetikDragon

@cezieg Really want to make your fingers hurt? Look up how they declaw cats.

Heidi

Yeah, declawing is downright awful. This sounds pretty awful, too, like having your fingernails pulled off. Yeesh.

cezieg

@poeticdragon I've assisted with declaws, and, while I don't declaw my own cats, at least it's done with full, general anesthesia and pain medications for the recovery period.
If you're referring to the "nail clipper" method of declawing, that's very old methodology that's generally only used in non-first world countries. I worked with a vet, who had recently come from Mexico, who occasionally did his declaws with a nail clipper while the cat was under full anesthesia... but this guy was usually drunk. Modern vets use either scalpel or laser for declaws.

I'd be fine if the same procedures were done with canine nails if they needed shortening in a short period, in terms of anesthesia and some light pain meds. It's the groomers doing it + not having any sort of anesthesia that's my main beef with it.

Myabee09

I have to add that some dogs do go outside, but it's hard for them to wear the nails down because of the way their foot sits or if they don't weigh enough. Nk seem to have nice feet and a good weight for wearing down the nails naturally, but my 5 pound chi just can't wear her nails down naturally. I always have to grind way more off of her nails than my other two.

tmd

@Myabee09 Hehe, I don't know if you've ever done this, but I imagine Sophie with appropriate-length, painted nails as opposed to super-short ones...

Myabee09

Sophie has nubby nails now, but you are right... I have had her since she was 6 weeks old and they have been painted since I got her. Shelby lets me paint her nails too. I tried it with Mya, but she chews the paint off! I have nothing better to do with my Saturday nights than paint our nails... Lol!!
Side note: I use dog polish that is safe for them to eat. Mya doesn't need to be any crazier than she already is..

tmd

Lol, that's great. All the ladies having matching nails!!

violet_in_seville

@cezieg - that just sounds crazy to me. Our girl has super short nails (walking on concrete does not keep them short because they're not long enough to reach). She just got lots of paw handling and gets a small trim weekly so that the quick remains short. It's really not hard to do if you've patience and have the pup starting at a young age. She has black nails too but she understands that she has to stay still during the weekly trim and sometimes it's just a matter of doing more than one very small cut. Dremeling would do much the same I imagine (both of mine prefer clippers to a dremel, I guess because of the noise and speed factor).