Dremel for piggy nails - what age to start?

tabelmabel

tabelmabel

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Hey everyone 🙂

I have always used human nail clippers on pigs' nails and that's fine but recently i have got into dremelling my dogs' nails.

And i learned that i can use that same dremel for pigs' nails?

With my new baby Ebony having jet black nails, i think this dremel way will be much better and take the guess work out of it.

She is 6 weeks now and has sharp little nails. Is this a good age to start or would i be best to get her familiar with general handling first?


I expect dremelling gets the quick to recede much further. I might try it on my adult first.


Any tips anyone?


Any vid demos of dremelling on here? (Away to look, should have done that first)
 
I've not heard of using a dremel on piggies. I would probably err on the side of caution and say don't use it. Aren't dogs' nails thicker and more hardy?
 
Siikibam said:
I've not heard of using a dremel on piggies. I would probably err on the side of caution and say don't use it. Aren't dogs' nails thicker and more hardy?
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Dogs' nails are much thicker but someone on the dog forum said fine to dremel pigs' nails so i thought id ask here as this is my go to forum for all things pig!
 
I do have a pet nail grinder with a guard on (not the noisy dremmel brand one) this is a quiet one.

If anyone at all dremmels (or grinds, i should say) piggy nails, please let me know - it seems much safer than clipping as regards not hitting the quick
 
Siikibam said:
The dust and noise are perhaps what doesn't make it suitable.
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Good points - mine is quiet but not silent. Dust is another good point. Thanks.

There must be someone on here that has tried it though. I will keep checking back to see if anyone has.



Ok - for clippers then (I'm fine with clippers, always do nails myself)


What age to start with little Ebony?
 
I have actually just read that linked article and ordered the nail clippers recommended there. I might start with those and come back to my dremmel idea if these black nails are just too tricky.

I have had dark nailed pigs before but this little one has the jettest black nails i have ever seen 😯


I am stressing already:hip:🤣

That peace symbol isnt supposed to be there - fat finger problem lol
 
I’ve no idea about grinding piggy nails but I’m not that confident about clipping them either. I was thinking of taking them to the vets and letting them do it for me. But then I felt like a baby and feel I need to “man up” and do it myself. Dilemma. 😒
 
If your piggy has clear nails, @weepweeps, it is a piece of cake. Human nail clippers are fine.

You can see the red line of blood within the nail and just trim clear of that.

If you do accidently cut that, the nail with bleed and your pig will squeak! But it isnt a disaster as styptic powder or cornflour on the end stops the bleeding.

Cut regularly, that blood line recedes.


Dark nails are a whole different ball game. Sometimes a torch shone on the nail shows the blood line. The hollow bit at the end is safe to cut.

But i usually just guess and hope for the best!

Give it a go - and good luck
 
My eyes aren’t the best. I can’t see with my glasses on so I take them off and can’t see either. 🙁. Off to the opticians soon. Thanks for the advice.
 
@tabelmabel could you just trim off a little every now and then? Mine are all black nails except for Coco. It’s a good thing they’re all so handsome and pretty!
 
I tried one once because my Daisy was an absolute nightmare about getting her nails done in her youth, at one point grabbed my nose and almost pierced it 😅
I got a little nail grinder for small pets from amazon, with a guard, and honestly it traumatised to poor little thing, even with holding her toe it bounced around and must have sent vibrations up her bones which would have been uncomfortable at least if not painful, the guard itself was also dangerous with how the nail bounced, it could very easily fit the nail under it which in turn could have torn off the nail or broken the toe. Luckily it took me all of about 3 seconds to realise all of this and no physical harm came to Daisy...she did however from that moment on, not complain about the regular nail trimmers!
 
Siikibam said:
@tabelmabel could you just trim off a little every now and then? Mine are all black nails except for Coco. It’s a good thing they’re all so handsome and pretty!
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Yes, i usually do the nails as part of the weekly check. I have just found the dremmel so much easier for dogs' nails (my dogs hate nail clippers) so i wondered if a dremmel was easier for pigs too.

I know, with dogs, even when cutting in a safe place, pressue when you squeeze the clippers together travels up the nail and the dog feels a sensation (maybe even mild pain) that causes some dogs to panic.

Whereas the dremel doesnt. Also, if you do hit the bloodline on a dog using the dremmel, it is far less painful and bleeds less too.

So i wondered if these advantages could transfer to the pigs.

I can use the traditional method .just looking for a better way really. If one exists!
 
I used to have 4 dogs and honestly the dremel was my best friend.
I became a total pro using it to do nails, and it really is a fantastic tool for this.
At that time we also had rabbits so it made sente to try it on them too, as they were harder to do than the dogs.

It was a nightmare.
The nail heats up very quickly and due to the thinner, smaller nail I think this could go from warm to excruciating in seconds.
The vibrations were much stronger on a tiny rabbit toe and leg, which was much harder to support and secure than a large dog leg.
And the fluff and dust made the whole thing a dismal failure within seconds.
I have never tried with a piggy, but to be honest I would stick with clipper and avoid a dremel (or dremel type tool).
I just don't think they are idea for small pet nails.
 
I did nails yesterday - Flora is 2 and I'm not sure hers have been cut before because they were really sharp and pointy. And you could tell she didn't know what the heck was going on. In fact I cut them because of the sharpness, not the length, because she now attracts my attention by trying to climb up my leg and she's a scratcher!

I use Mini_Nail_Clippers-01.webp or61mc1Jj1-0L._AC_SL1500_.webpdepending on thickness, but also angle as George has a few curly crazies.

Louise was by far the easiest because we did this again Louise chin tickle.webp and she just laid there, possibly playing dead, possibly enjoying her chin fuzzle, while I snicked them all a bit shorter. I would have felt more guilty except she kept turning her head to look at me!
 
@VickiA Maggie was amazing for nails and all black too which panicked us but wow - our little gruffallo was so chilled and laid back, breaks my heart we only had 3 weeks of Maggie. She was such a sweetie, i am glad i had the chance to love her
 
sport_billy said:
@VickiA Maggie was amazing for nails and all black too which panicked us but wow - our little gruffallo was so chilled and laid back, breaks my heart we only had 3 weeks of Maggie. She was such a sweetie, i am glad i had the chance to love her
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You and I have a unique and shared bond over Maggie. I loved her, too. Such a shame you didn’t have longer with her. But how fabulous for her that she ended her years in such a loving home xx
 
I need to get some pics of Cleo’s special nail cutting when lockdown’s over, she hasn’t met anyone yet really apart from vets so hard to get pics alone!
She has wonky back toes and nails, I use tiny human nail clippers at the moment and they’re trimmed every 1-2 weeks as need to be kept extra short! But she’s growing! :yikes: :D She has some blooming strength in those pokey toes though!l :love: (Pic just before she came to me)1616189764509.webp
 
sport_billy said:
This is what we had to do with Sarsaparilla dark toe. Little and often....
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Love the name!

I started out using a nail cutter but ended up buying one like the second pic in the previous post. I find it a bit easier to judge with the pet ones.
 
Siikibam said:
Love the name!

I started out using a nail cutter but ended up buying one like the second pic in the previous post. I find it a bit easier to judge with the pet ones.
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Thanks we went for prohibition drinks with sarsaparilla and vimto.
We use the nail clipper scissor types ones. Still hate nail clipping after all these years
 
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