any dog lovers out there?

[agzg]

1. I have a 15yo American Eskimo named Lucky (Dee and I have talked about Lucky and Samantha at length! They should be buddies). Really he's live-in's dog but since I'm looking for work and home most of the day I take care of him more. He's not a hard doggie to take care of, though.



2. Honestly, we don't use a lot of pet products with Luckers. He goes to the groomer (although I might have to give the furminator and pedipaws a try!) and he doesn't like toys. So our favorite is good old fashioned rawhide bones. He can't get enough of those things (as you can see from his picture).

ETA: He was under my desk when that picture was taken. It took him a little while to get used to the heater and he used to hide under our desks if we were at them.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

2. Honestly, we don't use a lot of pet products with Luckers. He goes to the groomer (although I might have to give the furminator and pedipaws a try!) and he doesn't like toys.

Your dog DOES NOT need a furminator!!! Spitz, poms, chows, etc. have a type of coat that tends to "bald-out" like mentioned above. They do have an undercoat. But, a comb and a brush are ALL you need to remove excess hair. Have your groomer show you how to line-comb and line-brush. If they won't show you, pm me and I will. You CAN use the furminator shampoo and solution if you bathe him at home. But, leave the tool alone for your babe!

Be careful using a pedipaws on your baby. He has longer "toe" hair. Pedipaws are just simple dremel tools with a cover on them to make them supposedly "safer."

Problem is, if your dog has longer hair on their feet, this hair can and will get caught in the rotary part of ANY dremel. If the hair gets caught, it will spin the hair so tight that you'll have to cut the hair OUT of the dremel.

So, when groomers use dremels to file the nails, we first CUT the nails to reduce the time needed to file and to locate the quick so as to avoid filing into it. (You file into it, and you'll have a bleeder.)Then, we cut the hair AROUND and IN-BETWEEN the toes to keep from getting it all spun up.

Pedipaws is another so-called invention that groomers have been using for years. They just slapped a fancy name on a dremel tool and marketed it for pet owners.

I firmly believe, as a groomer, that you only tell people about tools if they can SAFELY use them. I don't believe pedipaws explains the safety precautions for the pets well-enough.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Your dog DOES NOT need a furminator!!! Spitz, poms, chows, etc. have a type of coat that tends to "bald-out" like mentioned above. They do have an undercoat. But, a comb and a brush are ALL you need to remove excess hair. Have your groomer show you how to line-comb and line-brush. If they won't show you, pm me and I will. You CAN use the furminator shampoo and solution if you bathe him at home. But, leave the tool alone for your babe!

Be careful using a pedipaws on your baby. He has longer "toe" hair. Pedipaws are just simple dremel tools with a cover on them to make them supposedly "safer."

Problem is, if your dog has longer hair on their feet, this hair can and will get caught in the rotary part of ANY dremel. If the hair gets caught, it will spin the hair so tight that you'll have to cut the hair OUT of the dremel.

So, when groomers use dremels to file the nails, we first CUT the nails to reduce the time needed to file and to locate the quick so as to avoid filing into it. (You file into it, and you'll have a bleeder.)Then, we cut the hair AROUND and IN-BETWEEN the toes to keep from getting it all spun up.

Pedipaws is another so-called invention that groomers have been using for years. They just slapped a fancy name on a dremel tool and marketed it for pet owners.

I firmly believe, as a groomer, that you only tell people about tools if they can SAFELY use them. I don't believe pedipaws explains the safety precautions for the pets well-enough.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Everytime a certain someone in my family sees that thing on tv, he says, "You ought to get that for your dog!" To which I reply, "That's why God made groomers."

Our baby gets very long hair between his toes, and I've had nightmares about having his paws mangled from that Pawdicure or whatever it is today! He loves his groomer, so it's SO much easier to have her do it, leaving me to wear the White Hat as the Lullaby Singer/Treat Giver!

And... last year, he was Mr. December on a Bichon Frise Calendar! He was the sire for a background breeder (read: mini-puppy mill), until they were shut down. We got him in his heyday, and he's permanantly "retired" - but should have been named Cuddles!

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by honeychile

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Our baby gets very long hair between his toes, and I've had nightmares about having his paws mangled from that Pawdicure or whatever it is today!

Yep, it can do a lot of damage. (Even if they say it has safety features, I know how it works...)

Used by a professional, it's a awesome tool. I use it a lot for elderly clients who could have their skin ripped open by fresh-cut nails and for peeps with hardwood floors or kids.

But, in the wrong hands, it could cause injury.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

So, when groomers use dremels to file the nails, we first CUT the nails to reduce the time needed to file and to locate the quick so as to avoid filing into it. (You file into it, and you'll have a bleeder.)Then, we cut the hair AROUND and IN-BETWEEN the toes to keep from getting it all spun up.

That's what i've been told to do on my Chihuahua too (to cut the nail first) but his nails are dark and i'm always scared to cut the quick. I've taken him to groomers before and they've cut the quick, and our vet's office says I have to do it myself.

I thought that pedipaws would work better, especially since he "bites" his nails, some of the longer nails chip away. And then he has nails that don't grow at all--they've stayed small.

I just end up getting a regular nail file and file his nails that way, although they never seem to get any shorter! lol

[DreamfulSpirit]

Here's the pet thread from before that someone mentioned


http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...highlight=pets

I put pictures of my two dogs, Rusty and Heidi, on this thread.

[ZetaGirl22]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Problem is, if your dog has longer hair on their feet, this hair can and will get caught in the rotary part of ANY dremel. If the hair gets caught, it will spin the hair so tight that you'll have to cut the hair OUT of the dremel.

So, when groomers use dremels to file the nails, we first CUT the nails to reduce the time needed to file and to locate the quick so as to avoid filing into it. (You file into it, and you'll have a bleeder.)Then, we cut the hair AROUND and IN-BETWEEN the toes to keep from getting it all spun up.

Pedipaws is another so-called invention that groomers have been using for years. They just slapped a fancy name on a dremel tool and marketed it for pet owners.

I firmly believe, as a groomer, that you only tell people about tools if they can SAFELY use them. I don't believe pedipaws explains the safety precautions for the pets well-enough.

I use this on my dogs and love it. Of course both my dogs are short haired (a lab and an American Bulldog), but looking at the device I'm not sure how fur could get caught in the rotary head unless its some long fur. The hole on the safety guard is pretty small, really only big enough for the nail to fit in.

I personally as a non-dog expert thought the safety precautions were laid out pretty well in the instructions. They are pretty clear about making sure you ONLY file the nail for 3-5 seconds because of the heat from the friction and you are supposed to check every 3-5 seconds to make sure you aren't quicking the dog. If someone is too dumb to read the instructions or follow them, well maybe they shouldn't have a dog!

For us Pedipaws is pretty much the only think I will use here again, and I'm pretty much a novice at dog nails. Cat nails is another story LOL. The difference in behavior of my dogs at nail trimming time is insane. Molly (the lab) will sit nicely and let me do all her nails at once, with treats, which she NEVER did with the clippers. I would do one nail with her struggling the entire time, treat her, and she would inevitable wriggle away and I'd have to chase her down to do another nail. I hurt her a few times with the clipper because of her struggling. She has black nails which makes it even harder for me to clip with her squirming. This is so much better.

Murphy (the American Bulldog) was EXTREMELY anxious about getting his nails done-to the point of urinating, shaking uncontrollably, and becoming aggressive. When we realized we couldn't do it ourselves, we took him to the vet who muzzled him. Even with 4 adults holding him, he still struggled free and began bashing his head on the exam table every time the vet picked up his paw. For a long time we were having him sedated to trim his nails. After working with him awhile on being comfortable with paw handling, we tried slowly reintroducing the clippers. He was better but as SOON as he felt the pressure of the clippers clamp down on his nail, he freaked out. On getting the PediPaws, we spent awhile introducing it to him and when we turned it on the first time, he jerked his paw away, but didn't flip out. After a few days trying this, he let us do a whole paw, then all paws without EVER urinating or becoming aggressive.

So yeah, that's why I like it. Even though I'm not a dog expert or groomer in any sense, I feel MOST of these products can be used safely if people weren't dumb enough to use them without reading or following the directions.