Shortly before I brought Cuba home, my business partner Steve purchased a couple of the Pedi-Paws nail trimmers for us to keep down at the classroom and use in our puppy classes when working on husbandry and teaching the puppies to accept nail trimming.
Having used this tool both in my class and at home with Cuba when he was a puppy, I can say that I rank this item as a 1.5 out of 5 stars.
PROS
- Inexpensive
- Easily available
- Easy to use
- Relatively quiet when compared to some Dremels
CONS
- This thing is weak! It may work great on the nails of toy breeds, but takes a long time to file down Saint Bernard nails!
- Filing head is too thin, wears out quickly
- Battery powered – I much prefer a grinder that can plug in. Those C batteries for the Pedi-Paws don’t give it very much power.
- The quick guard can make it difficult to see what you are doing/block view of the nail
- Takes longer than clipping – can only be used in short bursts (a few seconds) or the friction creates heat which can make the dog uncomfortable or injure the dog
- Difficult to find replacement filing heads
- The training recommendations for acclimating your dog to the Pedi-Paws are not very good
- Weak motor
In short, this product isn’t very good, especially for large dogs. If you’re looking to buy a nail grinder, look into tools manufactured by the Dremel or Oster companies. While they may be a little more investment initially, this is truly a case of “you get what you pay for” and you will not be disappointed with your additional investment!
