any dog lovers out there?

[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.

[agzg]

Lucky was adopted through a rescue program when he was 7.

[agzg]

Thanks for the advice. We do take him to the groomer, but since we've moved we're having a hard time finding one that we like/can afford/Lucky likes.

The last place we took him to, I said "He needs a bath, his nails cut, his glands expressed, dry him and brush him out, leave his ears COMPLETELY alone, he's prone to ear infections."

They gave him a bath. Nothing else. WTF? I can do that at home!

ETA: He does have long toe hair. I'm deathly afraid of hurting him with clippers, and I believe you when you say I could hurt him with the pedipaws, too. I almost always defer to the professionals because I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt him.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Thanks for the advice. We do take him to the groomer, but since we've moved we're having a hard time finding one that we like/can afford/Lucky likes.

The last place we took him to, I said "He needs a bath, his nails cut, his glands expressed, dry him and brush him out, leave his ears COMPLETELY alone, he's prone to ear infections."

They gave him a bath. Nothing else. WTF? I can do that at home!

ETA: He does have long toe hair. I'm deathly afraid of hurting him with clippers, and I believe you when you say I could hurt him with the pedipaws, too. I almost always defer to the professionals because I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt him.

PM me. Maybe I can help you find someone.

[pbear19]

Here are my two babies:




Sienna (aka Peanut) is the beagle, and Belle (aka Hairy Beast or Beastie) is the mix. We bought Sienna at 8 weeks old, and adopted Belle 4 months later when Belle was 5 months old. Belle was dumped on the side of the road as a tiny little thing, just a couple weeks old. A friend of mine picked her up but couldn't keep her due to a baby's allergy. They both just turned 7.

Maybe they aren't 'products' per se, but the things we couldn't live without are our collection of tennis balls and Belle's brush.

[agzg]

Tippiechick's referring specifically to American Eskimos in her post about the Pedipaws. They have long hair on their feet and in between their toes. Unless the directions specifically say "cut the hair in between and around the toes very short so as not to get the fur caught in the dremel" I would read and follow the instructions and still hurt my dog. And look at him in my post - he's too freakin' cute to hurt.

So there ya go. I wouldn't call myself dumb, but I found Tippie's advice on how to care for my dog and how to find a good groomer helpful. You can call me dumb if you like.

[ZetaGirl22]

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

Tippiechick's referring specifically to American Eskimos in her post about the Pedipaws. They have long hair on their feet and in between their toes. Unless the directions specifically say "cut the hair in between and around the toes very short so as not to get the fur caught in the dremel" I would read and follow the instructions and still hurt my dog. And look at him in my post - he's too freakin' cute to hurt.

So there ya go. I wouldn't call myself dumb, but I found Tippie's advice on how to care for my dog and how to find a good groomer helpful. You can call me dumb if you like.

Oh no, I wasn't calling YOU dumb at all! I wasn't really referring to the hair thing either when I said that. I think given the design of the Pedipaws, it would be pretty difficult to get a pet's hair stuck in the rotary head, and if someone has seen that happen with the guard on, my mistake!

The guard covers the WHOLE rotary head so the only exposed part is the opening for the nail, which is only really big enough then for the nail. I've seen traditional dremels and the filing head on them is very small and I could see with one of them, long hair could easily get wound around the base. With the PediPaws, the rotary head is pretty fat-like probaby 2 inches across and given the size of the hole on the guard, the fact that it covers the entire filing head AND base, and the size of the head, I think it would be quite difficult to get any fur down there to get wound up, unless again, it is some long ass hair. But that's just me-thinking about the mechanics of the thing.

And yeah, if someone used it WITHOUT the guard on and injured their pet-they are stupid. If they leave it on the nail longer than 3-5 seconds and their pet's nail gets singed or bleeds, they are stupid. But then again, with the bleeders, its quite possible to cause a bleeder with the clippers too, and I have seen several a groomer (mostly the Petsmart ones, dont think Id ever take a dog to Petsmart for grooming) quick a dog that way. I've done it to mine! For the aforementioned reasons in my first post about the Pedipaws.

I'm glad you got good advice on finding a good groomer, there are SO many shitty ones out there. Thats personally why I keep dogs with coats that are generally pretty easy to care for at home-and using a groomer for the nails? Molly doesnt need it and no groomer would EVER touch Murphy the way he used to behave and even now probably. He'll let me use the filer on him, but I can't imagine he'd take too kindly to a stranger doing it.

[Tippiechick]

Originally Posted by ZetaGirl22

But then again, with the bleeders, its quite possible to cause a bleeder with the clippers too, and I have seen several a groomer (mostly the Petsmart ones, dont think Id ever take a dog to Petsmart for grooming) quick a dog that way. I've done it to mine! For the aforementioned reasons in my first post about the Pedipaws.

I'm glad you got good advice on finding a good groomer, there are SO many shitty ones out there.

Petsmart groomers are shitty because they only get a few weeks of training. (Yes, I KNOW they say they offer months of training. But, I also know a current Petsmart groomer and some former groomers who now run other grooming businesses...)

I apprenticed under a master groomer for a year before I got any of my own clients.
But, one of our old kennel employees didn't want to do on-the-job training to learn to groom well. So, she went to Petsmart and had her own clients within weeks of leaving us. They don't care how GOOD the groomer is. They just want the commission off of their grooms. It's all volume and not personal attention to detail and temperment.

[agzg]

We live in the city, so the sidewalks do a pretty good job of keeping his nails under control. He only gets them clipped when we go to the vet or the groomer. That way I don't have to worry about quicking him. He gets brushed once a week between visits to the groomer.

[ZetaGirl22]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Petsmart groomers are shitty because they only get a few weeks of training. (Yes, I KNOW they say they offer months of training. But, I also know a current Petsmart groomer and some former groomers who now run other grooming businesses...)

I apprenticed under a master groomer for a year before I got any of my own clients.
But, one of our old kennel employees didn't want to do on-the-job training to learn to groom well. So, she went to Petsmart and had her own clients within weeks of leaving us. They don't care how GOOD the groomer is. They just want the commission off of their grooms. It's all volume and not personal attention to detail and temperment.

And I've heard the same thing about their trainers. Luckily the trainer at our Petsmart had BEEN a trainer since 1980 and was just doing Petsmart a few times a week for fun. She was great. Have heard some HORROR stories about training there though.

Originally Posted by alphagamzetagam

We live in the city, so the sidewalks do a pretty good job of keeping his nails under control.

We live in the sticks, most of our walks are in grassy/wooded areas. I HAVE heard that tennis courts are excellent places to take dogs to wear down the nails though. Makes sense, tennis courts are like large emery boards.