trimming between toes

i have been told you should trim their hair in between their toes as sometimes they can get infections etc how do you do this i mean what is the best thing to use?

I was told not to trim between the toes but to trim the underneath of the foot flush with the pads and no shorter. I do this with hair dressing scissors when Dylan is asleep. A groomer did it once beautifully but you must mention you if you do or don't want the slippers trimmed.

thanks for the info i think i better trim vegas's as the are very long i'll just keep them flush with his feet i'll wait till he's sleeping tonight

I've never heard they get infections -- trimming basically just keeps them from tracking around dirt and sliding on hard floors I think.

I know a lot of people do trim between the toes -- I certainly do -- many get that hair clipper tool that goes in between the toes. All my cavalier books suggest trimming around the toes but of course breeders all may have different opinions. US show breeder Barbara Garnett Wilson, who has written several books on the breed, says in "Cavaliers in Fact and Fancy': "Hair between the pads on the underside of the paw should be trimmed regularly with either blunt-ended scissors or electric clippers."

This is what breeder Laura Lang says on her online manual:

Although hair on your Cavalier's paws is supposed to be left untrimmed, you are supposed to trim the hair between the pad on the bottom of the feet. Twice a year is probably plenty. If you are not going to show your Cavalier, go ahead and keep the rest of the hair on the foot quite short also. When kept long they have a tendency to "collect" snow balls, burrs, mud, etc.!

Click to expand...

from:

http://roycroftcavaliers.com/manualcare.htm

I know from previous breeder conversations online that people do mean down in between the pads, but you could trim even to the pad -- they will just need trimming more often then so as not to cover the pad and get slippery again.

This manual is a very useful reference for anyone with a cavalier.

I'd never heard about infections either. I trim under & between toes mainly because we have slate on a large part of our floors & the dogs slip around if untrimmed.