Trimming Dogs claws

Question
I have a dog who is about 17 years old. As you would expect she was a lot more energetic when younger and her nails were never an issue. Now however,being an inside dog and being as old as she is, she doesn't wear down her nails as when she was  younger. I must admit that I've neglected them for a while and they have gotten pretty long. I've tried trimming them myself but never get very far because I always feel like I'm hurting her. Her nails are black so it's harder to tell where the quick stops. So I have a couple of questions. One, when you've let the nails get too long, has the quick grown longer as well and as a result you will not be able to get back to short nails again? And Two, considering her age, I'd hate to over stress her (I'm assuming this is possible)so I was wondering if a vet would be able to sedate her before trimming her nails?  

Answer
Congratulations on even having a dog that old!
If she let you trim her nails when she was younger, then you trimming them yourself is safer than sedation. However, if she easily stresses, then sedation is better as long as the vet knows what they are doing.

That new pet nail trimmer that is advertised all over I heard works well. It sands down the nail a little bit at a time as you hold it in a hole where a sander turns. It's like a dremel tool but on a cylinder.

The quick does grow out with the nail but it is always one third of the length, no matter how long they are. We always say to cut one third off, then wait three weeks and do it again, over and over, waiting in between as the quick will recede to protect itself once you start trimming them again.

With diligence you can get her nails back to being short again. If you want to risk it you can also have the vet cut them back really short under an anesthetic and then you would have a clean slate- but to me it's not worth the risk.