PediPaws

Question
QUESTION: There is a product out there called PediPaws (www.pedipaws.com). Supposedly it helps to grind down their
nails without pain. Would you know hoew this device "knows" when to stop grinding before reaching the quick?

ANSWER: The PediPaws is not intuitive and has no idea when to stop grinding. The directions say to file a nail for no more than 3-5 seconds at a time and then to check to see how close it is getting to the quick. Actually, the dog will tell you when it is getting too close as he will try to pull his foot away. There is no pain in nail grinding unless one gets too close to the quick.

The only advantage to this product over any other grinder that I can see is that the nail fits through a small hole and it appears to be impossible for any hair to get caught up around the dremel and get pulled out. That is a big plus if one is dealing with hairy-legged dogs or nosey-bodies with beards who like to see what is going on.

Nails should be done once a week, and doing them twice a week will help to make the quick recede.

I see this nail grinder comes with a "free" Shed Ender. I bought one of those to try on my dogs awhile back and it is a piece of crap; it didn't even work well on the cats.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: OK - it seems that you like this type of product so perhaps we'll try it. Now ours is a fox terrier and we have been bringing him to the pet shop to have his nails done every 6 weeks or so. So I'm wondering about your comment "Nails should be done once a week..." The pet shop owner/dog groomer told us that more frequently is not necessary. Also, how does doing them more often make the quick recede? TY.

Answer
Due to the number of toes in my house*G*, most of my dogs just get nails whacked off with a guillotine nail clipper, but those who are competing in conformation or agility always get a nail grinder. The nails are done better with no sharp edges, and there is no chance of cutting into the quick because the dog will try to pull its foot away when the grinder gets too close to the quick.

SIX WEEKS?!!!! Fox terriers grow nails like nobody's business... those nails must be like daggers after six weeks. Proper length for nails is when the dog walks across a hard floor and one does not hear the "click, click, click" of those nails on the surface. Anything longer means those long nails are pushing the dog's feet so that their weight is being carried more on the back of their foot rather than by the entire bottom of the foot.... and that can throw off the dog's entire structure and balance. (Imagine walking around on your heels all day with your toes pointing skyward...) Dogs that do a lot of digging or walking on cement keep their nails short naturally (I have a couple diggers here whose nails I *NEVER* have to cut!) Most other dogs... well, I've always speculated that carpeting has nail fertilizer in it*G* ;-)

When one dremels nails to the point where the dog pulls the foot back, the quick is pretty much *right there*. I'm not really sure what the nail does, but it sort of hardens up over that area to protect its quick... and over time, grinding twice a week, that quick does recede. Doing nails once a week maintains their length, and anything longer allows the nails, and the quick, to grow longer.