I have a 12 year old springer spaniel whos nails are getiing longer and longer despite me trying to keep then under control by cutting/grinding them.

The thing is the quick has grown so far down the nail I can hardly get anything off of them, the reason for this is because when she was 8 she ruptured her cruciate ligament and had to have it operated on, shes struggled with the leg ever since and can only manage about a mile walk a day. I'm told walking her on concrete would make the quick reseed but she struggles even more walking of hard surfaces.

So then I thought maybe the solution is to have her anesthetized and then have them cut but theres another problem. In the last year shes developed a lung condition (which shes on medication for) and the vet has put me off having some teeth of hers worked on as he feels it would be to much of a risk. So thats not an option.

I realise all the above gives the impression that shes not in a good way but her teeth are in good order generally, her leg doesn't cause to many problems (only if shes walked to much) and her lung condition is under control.

So with all that in mind any ideas what I can do about her nails?

I think only the vet can help you, and advise you on this one.

I have a dog myself and her feet look like webbed feet with the way her nails are at the moment. My mum cut them once,but when she went to the vet the other month he told her to leave them and he said something but i forgotten what my mum said it was but anyway its something like they fall off themselfs or the dog does the job. I know this isnt of any help but its something.

But i hope your dog gets better soon and i hope the lung infection isnt permanant

Im probaly going to get accused of being wrong in this post but oh well

Not wrong exactly as when a dogs nails become too long they will often chew them off, only trouble is if the nail goes round and embeds into the paw. One of our rescues came to us like that and we had months of treatment after the vet cut the nail to cure the infection and soreness around the area. It made him very shy of having his nails cut too, which was quite dangerous as he got so distressed with it all.

I know of someone in the show world who recommended preparation- H to encourage the quick to recede, not something I've tried myself tbh.

You could ask a groomer to take a look, they are used to dealing with all kind of nail problems and may be cheaper than a vet

Mustn't let them lick that stuff though so it's quite a dangerous treatment.

Dogs' claws are supposed to wear themselves down with walking. I always recall many years ago, our boxer - we have always had boxers - needed his cut, so off went dad, bought some dog clippers, and set about the job. Obviously, he avoided the quick but, for whatever reason, Jess started yelping, perhaps just being anxious. Dad never touched them again. Me, neither; I won't cut them, and my mum won't do the honour. So it's the vet for my two! Or Pets At Home. Well worth the money, imo.

Thanks for the advice everyone, shes got to go to the vets in the next few weeks for blood tests to make sure everything is OK with the medication shes on, I'll talk to the vet about her nails then.