What's In your Grooming Tool Box?

It’s fair to say that I have experience using a pair of shears and clippers.  I have been cutting hair for twelve years and I feel that gives me a slight advantage when it comes to grooming my dog’s feet.  I trust my hands and the accuracy that comes with them; however it takes practice and a lot of patience to do a good job. I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes there are days when Penny’s dark nails intimidate me. Since I give my dogs their pedicures at home it requires me to accommodate a few tools. Here is a list of tools that I use when giving my dogs their pretty feet.

Plier Style Clippers – These function like a pair of pruning shears which surround and cut through your dog’s nail.  You are able to see where the clipper will cut so you can determine where you want to cut the nail. 

Guillotine Style Clippers – These have a stationary ring where you place the nail. By pressing down on the handles you will cut the nail as it’s cutting blade moves up to slice off the dogs nail. A nice advantage to these clippers is that you can replace the blades when they become dull.

Penny is always fussy during her nail trimming session; so depending on her state of mind (and tolerance level) I use both style of clippers on her.  It really just depends on how squirrely she is going to be and how confident I am feeling at the moment.

Dog Nail Grinder – Depending on the model purchased they usually have a high or low-speed rotating pad that you use against the nails on your dog.  The grinder doesn’t cut the nails but files them down instead. I use these to safely smooth the nails after they have been clipped.

Regular Nail Files – Sometimes these come in handy when Penny just doesn’t want to be bothered by the sound of the nail grinder.

Styptic Powder – Is designed to be used to aid in the stopping of blood. 

Wahl Peanut Trimmers – These little trimmers are great at quickly trimming away unwanted fur around their pads. It’s quite and small and does a nice job.

PetSafe Lickety Stik – Is a natural liquid treat (made in the USA) with only one calorie per every ten licks.  This little treat only comes out when grooming Penny’s feet and I use it not only as a treat but also as a distraction.