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Hit the Nail on the Head

Pet Age Staff//January 5, 2018//

Hit the Nail on the Head

Pet Age Staff //January 5, 2018//

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By Jennifer Higgins

Whether customers or clients are looking for grooming supplies to properly tend to pets in the home or they decide to leave their pet in the hands of a professional, the expectation is a clean and tidy pet from head to toe. Speaking of toes…

Though keeping a pet’s nails at an appropriate length results in a better-looking pet, there lies a much more important reason—and that is a pet’s health and well-being. Just like a pet’s oral health can affect their overall health, so can the condition of their paws; more specifically, their nails.

‘Cutting to the Quick’
There aren’t large sections of shopping aisles, or even entire aisles themselves, dedicated to nail care for no reason. And even though there are countless nail maintenance tools out there, pet nail care started with the basic, “old school,” manually-operated nail clipper.

However, there is nothing “basic” about scissor style nail clippers when they are made by Andis. The company’s Nail Clipper and Premium Nail Clipper both have blades made from sharpened and heat treated stainless steel, making the blades durable for quality cutting. They
also both have easy-grip and no-slip handles for comfort and safety as well as safety stop for prevention of over-cutting and safety lock to prevent accidents. Brittany Smith, grooming manager at Champ’s Dog House in Medford, New Jersey, prefers Andis nail clippers because of “their durability and the accuracy with which they cut pet nails.” When it comes to clipping and cutting anything on a living creature, precision is a quality that should never be compromised.

Though the basic scissor or guillotine style clipper can get the job done, pet product designers and manufacturers continue to go back to the drawing board to see where and how it is that this ubiquitous tool can be improved. It is that pesky nail quick on which almost all pet nail
maintenance products are focused and the determining factor for their success.

Building on the classic scissor-style blue print, Zen Clipper is really onto something. Drawing attention with its catchy and memorable tag line, “Clips the Tip and Not the Quick,” the Zen Clipper plays to a large audience of nail clipper users who are concerned about hurting the pets in their care. Letting form determine function, the Zen Clipper is built using a conical blade design that has room only for the tip of a pet’s nail. This well thought out construction significantly reduces, if not eliminates, the potential for clipping a nail too short and penetrating the sensitive quick.

“It’s like putting the tip of the nail into a small funnel. They make for stress-free trimming as they clip the tip not the quick,” said A.J. Dewey, chief design officer at Animaganza, maker of the Zen Clipper. “Unlike other standard clippers, the sharp, stainless steel blade design sheers and does not crush the nail.”

When cutting cat, bird or reptile nails, Zen Clipper is the smarter choice. Furthermore, to accommodate the range of animal sizes, Zen Clippers come in a range of different sizes to ensure the right fit and, therefore, the safest cut.

The Safety Zone
Safety is a common theme in most grooming equipment, and pet nail care products are no exception. However, when misuse, accidents and/or malfunctions do occur, there are products to help with that, too. In 2013, Protege Biomedical developed ClotIt as “a non-staining, blood clotting powder made up of all-natural minerals designed to rapidly stop bleeding in minor to severe external wounds.”

According to the product’s website, “ClotIt utilizes Protege Biomedical’s Patented IHM Technology by using all-natural minerals to work with the body’s natural clotting process, and stops bleeding faster than any other product on the market.” Its uses don’t stop at quicked nails, however, as ClotIt can be used on animal skin tears, grazes, cuts, tail docking and much more. ClotIt has formed a distribution partnership with Groomers Helper, a grooming supply distributor catering exclusively to the groomer trade. Ed Berger, marketing manager for Groomers Helper, promotes ClotIt’s unlimited shelf life, lack of odor and non-clumping properties. ClotIt products are available in one-ounce and 2.85-ounce applicators for individual stylists, but for groom shop owners, there is the Professional Salon Kit which contains a 2.85-ounce applicator and 25 single-dose, take-home packets for pet owners and clients. Retailers will be interested in the Pet First Aid kit, the only one of its kind on the market that has a Blood Stop in it.

Back to the Grind
Either in addition to or in lieu of cutting the tip of a pet’s nails through clipping, the use of a nail grinder has become commonplace in pet grooming establishments as well as veterinary hospitals and clinics. Dremel has all but cornered the market on grinding technology with its newest nail grooming product, the 7300-PGK 4.8V Pet Grooming Kit. The attachments and features are numerous and include the world’s first 45-degree paw guide which “assures the correct angle for success.”

Other feature uses include capturing nail dust; a fur guard as well as a clear cap for ease of viewing; a hinge for easy cleaning and assembly; two speeds and a two-year warranty. Dremel has also designed an Attachment Kit and Accessory Kit, both of which are compatible with most other Dremel Nail Grooming products. The Dremel Pet Nail Grooming Attachment Kit includes a nail guard, mandrel and four sanding discs while the Dremel Pet Nail Grooming Accessory Kit includes 10 sanding discs. Since grinders comprise almost all of Dremel’s products, there’s plenty from which to choose. When discussing her experience using Dremel Pet Nail Grooming tools, Brittany Smith, manager of Champ’s Dog House Grooming, indicates that Dremel has well-made, quality nail care tools. When she chooses to use these tools, it is
because they are “quieter and have reliable safety features like preventing long fur from getting caught and pulled.”

“Less noise from the quieter motor reduces the chances that the pet will become fearful or anxious,” added Patrick Quinn, owner and operator of Champ’s Dog House. Whether it’s a small mom and pop shop grooming salon or a large franchise pet store with grooming services, the need for quality, dependable, affordable and safe grooming products is most likely the same. One thing is for sure: there is something out there for everyone; and, if there isn’t, it’s probably in the works.