Toe nail clicking.

When mine are dremeled they don't touch when standing or walking. They might click a little when running but I'm assuming that's from the extra pressure that their foot hits the ground with.

I try to keep them trimmed but if I'm bad and put it off or get sidetracked and they start clicking when walking I know it's time to do their nails. It's my back-up reminder to get out the dremel :lol:
 
We seem to have differing opinions as to how long is to long for Sheltie nails?

My opinion is that the nails should just touch the ground. Yes, they will click while walking on hard surfaces, but they will still have enough enough nail to get traction.

There seems to be a differing opinion that nails should be short enough not to touch the ground.

Maybe a poll vote at some point, but I think this could be an interesting discussion. And I think we should focus on pets rather than show dog standards.

What do you all think?
 
This tells you more about nail trimming than you ever wanted to know. :smile2:

It specifically says to cut the nail within 2mm of the quick.

How long the quick is is a different matter. Ideally I'd think it should be short so that you don't have to trim as often.

Worst case scenario I think the nails should be short enough that they're not interfering with how to dog walks and runs or making the dog stand funny. If you have a very active dog or an agility dog the nails should be shorter.

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/dog_claws.aspx
 
The more often you trim, the shorter the quick will get. The quick will grow along with the nail.

That's the bottom line. So, I still encourage trimming nails every 2 to 3 weeks. It's just a question now of how short.
 
BarbV said:
We seem to have differing opinions as to how long is to long for Sheltie nails?

My opinion is that the nails should just touch the ground. Yes, they will click while walking on hard surfaces, but they will still have enough enough nail to get traction.

There seems to be a differing opinion that nails should be short enough not to touch the ground.

Maybe a poll vote at some point, but I think this could be an interesting discussion. And I think we should focus on pets rather than show dog standards.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...

I really like this idea, especially considering the pet rather than show perspective.

BarbV said:
The more often you trim, the shorter the quick will get. The quick will grow along with the nail.

That's the bottom line. So, I still encourage trimming nails every 2 to 3 weeks. It's just a question now of how short.
Click to expand...

This is why I posed the original question because we trim every couple of weeks and go almost to the quick (using the white nails as a guide) and we still have clickers when they walk.
 
The nails should be short enough that when they stand the nail is not touching the ground with any force that the nail pushes the end of the digit up and back. This will only occur if the nail does not touch the ground at a stand or it rests just even with the ground. If the nail are too long to cause the kind of pressure on the toes decided, over time it will cause wear on the joint and possible arthitis in the toes and splaying of the feet.

When the dog moves you may or may not hear a click depending on how fast the dog is moving and the type of surface and need for traction there is. The important part is how the foot looks at rest. I believe at rest the nail should not be touching the ground(veterinarian opinion not show person opinion). The nail will touch the ground when more weight is appplied to the foot. At no time should the nail be curling. If it is starting to curl the nails have been too long for a long time.
 
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I can't seem to shorten my Little Bear's quicks at all even though I cut once a week or more! Within 3 days I see several mm of white have grown. And I cut just about all of the white off. My dogs don't get antsy or squirm so I know it's not hurting them. They don't bleed or anything like that, but I've just been trying to get the quicks back on Little Bear because they have always been a little too long for my liking. Eh, oh well.
 
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