Dogs claws too long

Question
I've been taking my dog to have her claws trimmed ever since I developed mobility problems and haven't been able to take her for regular walks.  She has a fenced yard to play in, but that doesn't help keep her claws shortened. I've actaully taken her to two different places, a vet's and a groomer's, and at both places they cut just a tiny bit, but not enough because her claws are clearly getting to be too long and affecting her footfall and the position of her toes.  When I've asked them to cut more they say with black claws it's hard to tell where the quick is, which I grant, but one of the reasons I paid them to do it was my thinking they'd know better about that than I do.  Can you please advise the quickest, best way to get my dog's claws properly trimmed?

Answer
Hi Debbie,

Even though you're paying a professional to cut your dog's nails, if the nail is dark colored they can't tell where the quick of the dog's nail is, any better than you can. Taking a tiny bit off at a time is the only way to go.

Frequent nail clipping however, at the rate of every two weeks or so, will make the quick retreat up the nail, making it possible to clip the nails shorter. Clip dark colored nails in several small cuts to reduce the chance of cutting into the quick.
Cut the toenail to within approximately 2 millimeters of the quick. It will take several months for the quick to retreat up the nail, so be patient, you can't rush it. The technique is the same as what your groomer has been doing, take just a tiny bit off, and have a styptic pencil or ordinary flour on hand to plug up any nails cut too close.

An electric nail grinder uses a rotating sandpaper end to groom the nails without the danger of cutting past the quick and causing bleeding. If the dog is sensitive to noise or has long hair, (which may get wrapped up in the rotating grinder end), you may wish to use a clipper instead. If your dog has long hair on her feet, clip her hair.

I've heard of people using a Dremel tool on their dog's nails. You can read about it here:
http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html

Here is an example of a cordless battery-operated nail grinder for dogs:
http://www.petexpo.net/Oster_Nail_Grinder.htm
http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/NAILS.HTM

Here are illustrated instructions on how to clip your dog's nails with a standard clipper:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/clientED/dog_nails.asp

Best of luck,
Patti