Dempsey is going to hate me soon :P

Three things he hates - water, water touching his paws and nail clipping.

His dew claws are very thick and grow close to the pad, which is probably due to the times he's broken the claws. So before I clip his claws, I'm going to soak them in warm water to soften them up a bit.

Oh, he's going to hate me so much!

Poor Dempster

Oh dear, mean mummy!

Cruel Mummy! Be brave Dempsy

Pleased he is patient enough! I take it he is better with you than the vets. Moo would struggle with that! Xx

You will just have to buy him something he loves like a new stag bar to balance the good with the bad

Awwww Good luck Dempsey we are all standing right beside you

We've considered letting a vet do it before, but it's not worth it. He'd probably get grouchy if it was done by a stranger.

I feel bad. Once the claws were soaked, we realised the quick was actually quite close to the edge of the claw, so they didn't need trimming. All that fuss for nothing!

Should have seen him though. I knelt in front of him and put my hands behind his elbows to hold him still, and he literally leaned so far back, his belly was touching the floor with all of his legs stretched out in front of him. That's how much of a wimp he is when it comes to getting his paws wet.

It must be like walking in a puddle with your socks on....I hate that!

Or walking through that bath thing before going on the swimming pool side! Hated that!

Yeah, that's true. Although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't sit back on my haunches, shake and act like somebody had just told me Santa Clause isn't real!

Fair play to you for being able to do it. Ive never done a dog's claws before. I'd totally balls it up.

Santa isn't real!!!!!!!

I'm okay with white claws. Dark claws make me a little more apprehensive, though, as I can't see the quick. Always make sure I have some plain flour on hand, just in case!

Blue has a mixture of both white and black claws. I always warm up on the white ones first

Mike wrote:Santa isn't real!!!!!!!

>< Don't worry, he's real! It was hypothetical!

Thank the tooth fairy for that. Nearly ordered some pixie dust to cheer me and my pet unicorn up then

Mike wrote:Blue has a mixture of both white and black claws. I always warm up on the white ones first

At least it gives you some indication as to how long the claws should be.

When in doubt, the best rule to follow is to trim off a tiny bit at a time. When the claw starts to get softer, that's where you stop. This can be hard to determine, though, so there's another rule, but it isn't always applicable. A lot of dogs have little 'hollows' running down their claws. The hollow is only on dead tissue, where there is no quick, so it's safe to cut into that part.

BUUUUUUUT. I prefer to use my own rule. When you first clip into a claw, the clipped surface is white (unless the dog has really dark claws). Once you see a black dot in the middle of the claw, you should stop, as this means you're close to the quick.

Mike wrote:Thank the tooth fairy for that. Nearly ordered some pixie dust to cheer me and my pet unicorn up then

You have a unicorn? They're expensive. I don't believe you!

Eleanor wrote:

Mike wrote:Blue has a mixture of both white and black claws. I always warm up on the white ones first

At least it gives you some indication as to how long the claws should be.

When in doubt, the best rule to follow is to trim off a tiny bit at a time. When the claw starts to get softer, that's where you stop. This can be hard to determine, though, so there's another rule, but it isn't always applicable. A lot of dogs have little 'hollows' running down their claws. The hollow is only on dead tissue, where there is no quick, so it's safe to cut into that part.

BUUUUUUUT. I prefer to use my own rule. When you first clip into a claw, the clipped surface is white (unless the dog has really dark claws). Once you see a black dot in the middle of the claw, you should stop, as this means you're close to the quick.

Nice one Next time I have to do that I will give that a go. Most of the time they sort themselves out with the walks but sometimes I go through stages of just walking on soft grounds like fields and they start to get long then

Yeah, luckily Dempsey's claws usually just wear down on walks as well. Much easier!

Eleanor wrote:

Mike wrote:Thank the tooth fairy for that. Nearly ordered some pixie dust to cheer me and my pet unicorn up then

You have a unicorn? They're expensive. I don't believe you!

I didn't pay for it, my best mate Lee the leprechaun give it me.

Now why would an Irishman have a unicorn? They come from Australia and New Zealand!

Poor Dempsey !! Be brave

He's a wimp

Mike wrote:Thank the tooth fairy for that. Nearly ordered some pixie dust to cheer me and my pet unicorn up then

.....and you've never put a pic of your unicorn on here! Shame on you!

You 2 really go at it don't you.Like bad cop bad cop not letting it go just keep firing comment after comment trying to get me to trip up and admit I don't really have one......OH S@I! DAMN YOU TWO

Mike wrote:You 2 really go at it don't you.Like bad cop bad cop not letting it go just keep firing comment after comment trying to get me to trip up and admit I don't really have one......OH S@I! DAMN YOU TWO

I beleive you Mike, I saw your post in the "Unicorn Owners forum" a while back. loverly pic of Blue playing in the backyard with your unicorn.


Before any of you sceptics start, this is no way a badly photoshopped image of Mikes dog and a image of a unicorn i found by googling. I dont even own photoshop....cough.

Back onto the nails Eleanor, Im about to do laskas for the first time and noticed you use flour if you accidentally nic. is it as good as the styptic powder you can get?

Mike wrote:You 2 really go at it don't you.Like bad cop bad cop not letting it go just keep firing comment after comment trying to get me to trip up and admit I don't really have one......OH S@I! DAMN YOU TWO

Mwuhahahahaaaaa!

Nathan wrote:
I beleive you Mike, I saw your post in the "Unicorn Owners forum" a while back. loverly pic of Blue playing in the backyard with your unicorn.


Before any of you sceptics start, this is no way a badly photoshopped image of Mikes dog and a image of a unicorn i found by googling. I dont even own photoshop....cough.

That made my morning!

Nathan wrote:Back onto the nails Eleanor, Im about to do laskas for the first time and noticed you use flour if you accidentally nic. is it as good as the styptic powder you can get?

Styptic powder if probably better, as most of them have anti-bacterial properties and mild pain killers. If you don't have any though and your dog breaks its claw or you cut it too short, flour or corn starch will help to stop the bleeding. If you use the home made remedies, it's best to leave it ten minutes after you've used the flour/corn starch, then clean the claw carefully, as they don't have the anti bacterial properties.

Just showed blue and he had that look of his face. The one when you think I must of been drunk cos I don't remember that

Mike wrote:
Just showed blue and he had that look of his face. The one when you think I must of been drunk cos I don't remember that

Just what were you mixing with his coke to not notice a unicorn behind him...

Pixie dust mate

I'll leave you two alone with your unicorns and pixie dust.

Mike wrote:Pixie dust mate

i find myself strangly attracted to that...