[Dailydrool] Trimming nails

[Michael Meckler]

Just to add to what others have said about the Dremel....I put my boy  
on a grooming table and do nails as part of a weekly regimen  
(including cleaning ears, brushing teeth and brushing the coat). He's  
a big boy, and he fidgets while I do nails, making it a bit of a  
chore, but with the Dremel I don't have to worry about cutting into  
the quick or causing him any pain. If I get too close on a nail, he  
gives out a little yip and I stop right away. The worst case scenario  
is a single droplet of blood.

Because of the fidgeting, I've found the easiest Dremel to use is the  
cordless MiniMite, which you can generally find online for around  
$30. With no power cord to get caught up as my boy twists and turns  
and fidgets, I get the job done faster. The MiniMite has two speeds.  
I use the higher speed. For the sanding bands, I use standard 120- 
grit, which you can find at any home-improvement or hardware store  
(and they only cost a couple of bucks for a container of 6). I pretty  
much do nails every week, and with one dog, a sanding band lasts me a  
little more than a month.

Finally, I want to mention the rechargeable battery pack. My boy's  
nails are thick and grow quickly. I can get through his nails on a  
single charge, but if I had multiple dogs, I would get multiple  
batteries and charge them up so that I could pop a fresh one in once  
the first one begins to lose juice. Another point about the batteries  
is that they start to lose their ability to hold a charge after about  
a year-and-a-half or so, so I've purchased replacement batteries,  
which you can find online for around $15.