I trim our cats' nails. Probably easier than doing dogs.

Does the groomer use a grinder? I would not run out and buy a grinder, they're not cheap, but cheaper than a few payments to the groomer. I used both when I had a lot of dogs.

If you do try a grinder, please do very quick touches. It generates so much heat it can be excruciating for the poor critter.

OMG!

I use both. If it’s a small-medium size dog the red handled Millers Forge are good. For larger dogs the orange Millers Forge.

I use a battery Dremel, but the corded ones work just as well. Still have mine from 1990!

On YouTube, Susan Garrett has a video called Pedicure Please that explains how to condition your dog to a grinder (or clippers) in tiny steps.

The other method is to train your dog to use a scratch board to file the nails.

Make sure to have Kwik Stop or flour or bar soap handly in case a nail bleeds. If it does, don’t panic or make a fuss. I finish the remaining nails then go back and apply Kwik Stop.

I had one dog who reacted to the sound of the clipper, so I used a grinder. Current dog doesn’t like the grinder so i use a clipper.

I use the Dremel on my dog. She's very good about it, just give her some treats and she's ready for a nail trim. She doesn't care for the clipper though, it seems to be kind of painful for some reason. I stick to the Dremel, mine is corded.

I use a pet dremel every couple weeks with a vet tech nail trim every couple months to get nails a bit shorter. When using dremel on long haired dog it’s extremely important to wrap or tie up the long hair on legs & to keep all ear & body long hair out of the way. Catching long hair in the dremel is not a fun experience for you & especially for the doggie. I use the low speed on dremel bc I have a small dog with mostly pink nails. I do alternate the nails bc of the heat of dremel & have never had an issue with heat against the nail. I go back & forth over the feet & each nail several times. Patience is key & post pedicure treats are a must.

I tried the dremel on my dog and she hated it even more than she hates clippers. BUT - I do stress, as noted above, not to just hold the dremel/grinder at the nail for longer than a second. It gets very hot and will burn your dog.

I tried the dremel on my own toe nails to find out how hot it gets. Quick touches are fine, but it quickly became unbearably hot for me. I've heard other people say it depends on the tool whether it gets hot or not.

All I know is, if you're using an actual dremel it gets blazing hot. So I always advise quick touches. Doing quick touches gives you more control anyway so you don't hit the quick, and I personally would do anything to make sure my dog isn't in pain.

Thanks everyone. Great information about grinders. I never knew that they got that hot.

I use the round sanders and not those round stones. I have never seen it get hot at all. I think i recall when i first started using the dremel, i read to not use the stones as they can get hot.

My pet dremel uses round sanding belts that fit over the tip too. I wondered about heat as I hear so much about it & I periodically feel the tip which never seems hot.. I wondered if it was the nail & not the tip that heats up. Never thought about trying on my own nails! I do use the low speed - my 7 lb dog doesn’t have big claws & as I’d said most are pink which seem to be softer than her one black toe - maybe they really aren’t but they seem to grind down faster.

I take her to the groomer. Less traumatic for both the dog and me.

fyi, it isn't the grinder itself that gets hot, it's the attachment you use. the typical sandpaper "bits" will get very hot because there is no air circulation. the diamagroove that i linked is made such that there is air that circulates around the bit to keep it cool. i can grind one nail at a time before moving on to the next one. i use it once a week on my dogs.

I've been using the Dremel on my dog's nails for 11 years and have never felt any heat on the nail at all. She is a large dog and has some very hardy nails that take a bit of time to cut them down. I use the sanding belts.

I used the Dremel a few days ago and paid extra attention to if it got hot and felt of the nail after each one and there was no heat on her nail. I suspect the heat is from using those stone bits. Just use the sanding belts instead!

Sanding bands:

bands

Our vet gave us info for teaching the dog to scrape their own nails on a board covered with sandpaper as a game with treats. They will no longer do nails at all there. We have rescue dogs who we got when each was 6 years old and neither puts up with any touching of feet. Now that I have looked at some YouTube videos about it, it does look like it may be do-able. They never show how to make it work with back nails, though. Hubby just retired and is giving them walks on sidewalks any day that is not too hot, so we are hoping this will help.