Groom a Shiba Inu's Nails

Grooming a Shiba Inu's nails is best done with a nail grinder rather than a nail clipper.

A dog's nails contain blood vessels and nerves called the quick. The quick can be more easily seen on lighter colored pink nails but are difficult to detect on darker nails.

The key advantage of using a nail grinder is that it grinds the nail down slowly and there is little chance of you hitting the quick. If you should accidentally cut the quick with a nail clipper it will bleed and be very painful for your Shiba Inu.

When I first groomed my Shiba Inu, I hit his quick on the first nail and it was a big Shiba scream, running everywhere, blood everywhere, extravaganza.

If you should hit the quick, make sure you have a styptic pen available to stop the bleeding. If you do not have styptic pen or gel, applying flour or corn starch to the toenail can also help to stop the bleeding. However, it is more effective and less of a mess to use styptic gel.

Rather than going through all that, it is much better to use a nail grinder to groom your Shiba Inu's nails. I currently use the Dremel Minimite on my Shiba Inu. It is cordless so I don't have to worry about my Shiba biting on the power cord. It is also small and easy to control.

The PediPaws nail grinder has gotten a fair amount of commercial time on television, but I did not get it because it got many bad reviews on Amazon. Common complaints are that it did not have enough power, has only one speed, and is bulky and difficult to maneuver because of the nail guard.

Advantages of a nail grinder -

• You can take the nail down slowly and there is a lot less danger of hitting the quick.


• You can shape the nail properly so that there are no cracks or sharp edges.

Disadvantages of a nail grinder -

• You will take longer to do your Shiba Inu's nails compared to a nail clipper.


• Nail grinders generate heat from the grinding motion, which can become uncomfortable for your Shiba Inu. To avoid this, do not work too long on any one nail.

The Shiba Inu breed is naturally sensitive to handling so you want to approach nail grinding slowly and make it into a fun, rewarding, and low stress activity. Do not physically force your Shiba Inu to do nail grinding. Instead, slowly desensitize your Shiba Inu to the nail grinder before even using it on his nails.

1. Train your Shiba Inu to lie on his side.


2. Let your Shiba Inu smell the nail grinder and treat. Repeat this a few times until he is comfortable with the nail grinder. End the grooming session and repeat the exercise over the next few grooming sessions until your Shiba Inu is comfortable with the nail grinder.


3. Turn the nail grinder on and let your Shiba Inu become accustomed to the sound. Treat your Shiba Inu for staying calm and remaining in a down position. Again, repeat this over several grooming sessions until your Shiba Inu is comfortable with the sound.


4. Briefly grind one nail and treat your Shiba Inu with something really good that he only gets during nail grinding sessions. I give my Shiba Inu mackerel during nail grooming. End the session after one nail. Repeat grinding another nail in the next session and so on until your Shiba Inu gets comfortable with the grinding process.


5. Once your Shiba Inu is comfortable with grinding, you can increase the number of nails you work on per session.

Note, nail grinding is easier as a two-person operation. Have your partner feed your Shiba Inu while you are doing his nails.