I'm a bad mommy :(

I am such a bad mommy!!

First I lost the nail clippers. Kosmo has a grooming appt next weekend but for some reason I am some kind of weird freak ( icon_whistling ) and I have the notion that I take care of my baby the best. .. .. ..

So today I was cleaning and I found the nail clippers.. Poor Kosmo.. I took him downstairs and I cut all the hair inside of his paw (which he was very very good for!) and then continued to clip his nails..

First things first - I have a heck of a time cutting his dewclaws.. I've had pretty good luck so far but I leave them with a bit of white on them so I don't get too close.. Is there a special kind of clippers to cut those with?? They are so akward to get at - the clippers barely fit because I have to move it over so that it's straight up and if I don't get it correctly then the nail can fall sideways.. grr..

So anyways I cut all of Kosmo's first feet which he slept through.. ( :roll: ) and then came time for the back feet. For some reason he hates it when people touch his back feet (another reaosn I wanted to make sure his nails were nice and trim before the groomers.) So I get through the first back foot and then 4 claws on the second and the very last claw I accidently cut a little tiny bit too short!! :yikes :yikes :yikes I felt sooooo bad.. Thank God it was just a touch too short it just bled for about 10 seconds just a little bit..

What do you use to stop the bleeding if it's accidently cut more than just a touch too short? Do most of you trim your doggie's nails or do you trust other people to do it more? The reason I'd rather do it myself is bcause once I was @ training @ pet smart and the groomers were talking to us about how important it was to groom the dogs and someone asked what happens if you cut the nails too short and she's like "oh it's not a big deal, it happens all the time!" :yikes :yikes :yikes

I know how bad it hurts if I bite ( bad habit) my nails too short I don't want his nails to be too short, I felt AWFUL!! Thank God like I said it just was a tiny tiny bit too short and bled for all of 10 seconds.. I still feel awful like a bad mom though and as soon as I said "good boy" and let go he took off like a rocket to his crate.. :? I guess he knows I can't touch him there.. :roll:

Oh yeah and I forgot to add -

Since I already would rather do what I can myself (with the nails and the hair between the paws thing) and I'm most likely already going to come off quite sodistic anyways, would they think I'm completely nuts if I brought my own shampoo?!?! :yikes :yikes

Also I'm not taking him to the "it's not a big deal to cut too short" place.. :yikes I was referred by a friend to a lady that has her own little shop .. she grooms their sheltie and he looks quite nice .. That dog also has quite the attitude so I figure if that groomer lady can put up with him then Kosmo should be no problem.. :yikes :yikes hehehe

You can get some styptic powder which stops bleeding i saw some on this website www.hubint.com. I have never used it before so am not sure if it would work. But it might but your mind at rest if next time there is an accident you can stop the bleeding right away. I was looking at lady's nails last night and thought that they might need cutting i have some gullitine nail clippers but you have got me scared in case i cut too far down. I am going to vets tomoorow might see if they can cut them for me.

I always use plain flour... It was a breeder who told me about it and believe me it works wonderfully. I always keep an egg cup full to hand whenever I cut nails now. If you ever go too short just dip the nail into the flour or get a palm full and plop paw on top making sure plenty gets into the nail.

Doesn't sting like a styptic pencil does either

I use cornstarch - I keep a box in a ziploc bag with my dog grooming supplies. Someone told me you can use baby powder in a pinch, too. It rarely happens to be needed, but I keep the cornstarch at hand when I'm trimming nails.

Also, for clippers I use the scissors type for puppies and toy dogs. It's easier to get at the dewclaw with them.

Sara

I cut Darby's nail the last time I cut them, now I am sure he will flip when I pull out the clippers. His nails are all black with the exception of one so it is extremely hard to cut them. Just a wee bit at a time, I used a bar of soap and rubbed it on the nail my breeder told me about this when I got Dudley.

I am such a scaredy cat... I have always taken my dogs to the groomers to have a trim... I am afraid of cutting too short or not enough... plus the groomers always paint thier nails with pawlish... which is so cute (i used to be a mommy to a chihuahua and that was just darling when he got pawlish)

Oh sara, you are not a bad mommy!! Everyone does it at least once...and I dread when my day will come. I have always hear Corn Starch, but I am glad that I can use normal flour too.

For my shih tzu it takes three people at the groomers to hold him down, plus a muzzle. (he is ten pounds for gosh sakes!!!) But he is a MONSTER, like the evil gremlins when they are exposed to water or eat after midnight.
I would rather do it myself with patience, a bit of sneakiness and lots of cookies. They may not all get done at once, but at least he isn't traumatized. Pulling the hair out of his ears is very much in the same. I put the powder in and it stays in for a day, then I sneak up on him while he is resting and do one ear then give him a break for a while icon_whistling

Believe me, Kosmo would rather have you do it than a stranger. Just be sure to let this new groomer know that she doesn't need to do the nails so she doesn't take then any shorter :yikes

arasara said:

...Do most of you trim your doggie's nails or do you trust other people to do it more?...

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after being totally traumatized by cutting, or trying to cut, my cat's nails, i'll pass. i just have it done at the vet or groomer. i'll pay. my cat got so violent, she made a horrible noise like a screaming banshee, and it took me and my daughter to try to hold her down, and she fought like mad, trying to scratch us and bite us, and with her thrashing around making a frightening and loud sound, i made her bleed a couple of times, and that really grossed me out. it only costs a little to have someone else do it. it's so worth it. it apparently is not something i'm meant to do in life. i've only been to the groomer once and didn't have the nails clipped there because they had already been clipped at the vet's not long before. I've always had it done at the vets. i trust them more than clutzy me.

Check this out, it's from an article in the current issue of Whole Dog Journal, sounds like it's especially for the black nails dilemma people, a new product called the Quick Finder:

QuickFinder is supposed to end all the drama. It’s a pair of guillotine-style nail clippers that utilizes biomedical technology to detect the presence of blood vessels. Position the clippers too far back on the nail and a red light indicates, “Do not trim.” When you’re close, a yellow light indicates caution. And when your position is just right, a green light says, “Go for it!”

MiracleCorp expects to have the clippers on the market this month . . . but we’ve heard that before from the manufacturers of products we were eagerly awaiting. The hazards of international product manufacturing can mean we may have to wait a while to receive and test this promising product. If it works like the prototype we saw in action, we’ll let you know and we’ll buy several!

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Hmmm, I could use those for Chocolate, who has all black nails! I don't mind cutting the clear/white nails at all, but get a little nervous when doing Chocolate's. Interesting product, Judy!

yes, amazing things modern technology does. i forgot to say, the name of the article is Dog Gear of the Year--

We cut Murphy's ourselves, so far no accidents, but I was told to stem it by rubbing soap over the bleeding nail
I dread the day i snip too far, but lucky for us we own a very forgiving dog cavtiny

LOL Kosmo didn't even cry when I accidently cut his nail too short.. I think it hurt me more than him!! Poor little guy. He's such a little angel. I don't know how I cut it too short because he lays on his back and SNORES the whole time I am cutting his nails. LOL he's such an angel sometimes.. *ng*l I love him.

Thanks for all of your replies guys - his nail is growing again already.. :roll: It seems like the more I cut the faster I grow! :yikes

{{{{{{{{Sara}}}}}}}} don't ever think you are a bad Mommy to Kos :?

Charlie is so bad when it comes to nail cutting that one of the Vet nurses did it for me yesterday when he was under a GA - we can't get near him otherwise :roll:

Poor Sara! I know how you feel. I cried when I cut into Brodie's quick. I felt like the worst mommy in the world! His nails are all black which is a complete nightmare! I've been clipping on my own the past few months. I like doing all aspects of grooming myself too. However, I think I'm ready to relinquish the nail cutting chore to someone more qualified. It is too stressful for me :yikes

As for the shampoo, I gave my groomer (who moved a few months ago hence the nail cutting duty) a bottle of Brodie's shampoo. No biggie! I'm overprotective and a little anal (OK...alot) when it comes to my sweet baby and I don't care what non-dog people think!

Sara .......by all means ....bring your own shampoo !! I always do and they dont think anything of it as people do that all of the time. Grooming places generally use the cheapest they can buy ..........so I Always bring them my Petsilk !

and no you are not a bad mommy at all