overgrown claws (how to cut claws / where is the quick)

hey...

now that my mums dog scruffy has been rehomed with the inlaws, it has come to our attention that his claws are way over grown. As my mum is disabled and has been for some time, the only time hes been walked in the past yr or so is when i was there for 3 months. However, his claws are horribly long, not quite curled over yet, but getting there. It seems that its causing him quite a bit of pain and inlaws seem reluctant to take him to vet cos of costs.
Anyway, i have claw clippers here, but im not sure where the quick is as ive been told that the quick grows with the claws and i might not be able to cut them.
can anyone tell me if its ok to clip his claws or not? or does the quick grow with it and its just a matter of wearing down the claws with walking

I clip Kiara's claws she has a few white ones i can see where the quick is and i just judge the others be the same if your not sure what about a pet parlour my friend takes her wee Jack russel and they only charged her a few pounds im not saying they would all charge the same but it maybe worth finding out because if you not sure you dont want to end up hurting the dog and then having to go to the vets after all, i hope this helps if not im sure someone will be along who will be able to give you some help.

Hi Jen, if scruffy's claws are all black, try this:

cut off tiny slivers at a time really carefully. I read somewhere that when a lighter dot appears you are getting close to the quick and should stop. That's what I do when I clip Archie's black claws and I've only cut the quick once

If you feel really uncomfortable though take him to the vets.... a cut quick is really not nice

Yes the quick does grow with the nails, if you cut a little of each nail and I mean a little then in a few days do a little bit more, each time you do it the quick moves back. You can get Potasium stuff from the chemist if you do happen to make him bleed, or quick stop from some good pet shops.

Sorry if this is a tad harsh, but that statement is a worry. Would it have been better to get him rehomed professionally?

Obviously, I don't know the full story, so perhaps I'm being unfair, but personally, if Jake were in pain, he'd be round the vet's damn quick and to hell with the cost!

The nails in a puppy and young dog are quite soft, when a dog gets older the nails become much harder and not so easy to cut, if as you say the dog has not been walked and the nails are really long the quick will have extended down the nails. You can as Tuti suggests try taking a fraction at a time off each nail , but this will not reduce them sufficiently to make a difference if they are causing a problem and anyway the dog will be unused to having the nails cut. If the nails are very long it is really a job for the vet because the dog may need sedation. Once the vet has got the nails to a managable length the quick will recede slightly, now is the time to trim them a little and often or file them with a small file and emery boards.

thanks everyone for the advice. I may just take him to the vet myself and pay the bill. To be honest im a bit annoyed that they have agreed to take both scruffy and my mums cat on and they are worried about a £15 vet bill!

The reason he has been homed with them is so that my mum can still see him, i feel she would go downhill healthwise rapidly if she could no longer see him. I may have a word with them and tell them that if they cannot afford vet treatment when he needs it then perhaps its not best that they have him or the cat.
They are already talkin about gettin a puppy in about a yr or so.. all i can say is i hope not if they cant even afford to get scruffys claws clipped.

To me, my dogs come first and i have always had indie straight to the vet if in doubt regardless of cost

Perhaps they felt in some way obliged to take them on without fully appreciating the commitment needed. Hope you can sort it out for the best and advise thyem that another pup would mean even more time/expense etc.

Our Bichon has just been to the groomers today and been clipped, bathed and his nails cut for £16 which is probably cheaper than the vets.

I hate cutting claws, and only do it when absolutely necessary. Roxy's dew claw needs a trim more often than the yearly vet visit - otherwise I get the vet to do it for me, especially as Roxy has black claws