Clipping your dog’s nails is a necessary but sometimes scary proposition. We have put together a list of the best dog Nail grinders that will help make the task less traumatic for all concerned.

A Nail Grinder is well worth the money as it has many benefits for your pet. When your pet has a better experience during the grooming process, you will feel better, too.

Just what is a nail grinder? It is either an electric or battery-powered tool that is used to trim your dog’s nails. A grinder would be used in place of a traditional set of nail clippers.

Instead of cutting the dog’s nails as clippers do, a grinder will shave the nails down through the means of a high velocity grinding stone.

The majority of dog nail grinders have a type of sandpaper-like covering for the grinder wheel, and this sandpaper is replaced as needed.

While you may have seen similar implements for humans, only use a grinding tool specially made for dogs.

Using a nail grinder for your pet in the comfort of your own home will save you time and money, and a lot less stress for you and your pet.

Nail Grinders	Features	Battery Operated	Our Rating
Dremel	Two rotation speeds	Yes	4.8
FURminator	Two grinding bands	Yes	4.5
Oster	Powerful 2-speed design	Yes	4.5
Conair	2 interchangeable finishing stones	No	4.6
Hertzko	Super Mute Motor	No	4.6

Here Are Our Five Best Dog Nail Grinders 

 Expert Choice

Dremel 7300-PT 4.8V Cordless Pet Dog Nail Grooming & Grinding Tool

Dremel is an American brand that is well known for its rotary tools. In business since 1932, Dremel produces tools that are used to work almost any kind of material. 

They also produce the Dremel 7300-PT. It is an excellent tool for trimming your dog’s nails even if you don’t have much experience with using a Dremel. 

A Dremel is a tool that is similar to a nail file that you might use on your nails. This tool, however, is powered by a battery. 

The file head on the Dremel rotates and very rapidly grinds your dog’s nails down. This type of grinder is straightforward to use. 

You simply flip the switch on this battery-powered tool to either “high” or “low” and press gently against your pet’s nails. 

Gentle pressure is all that is needed; the Dremel will do the rest of the work. 

As you hold your pet’s paw in one hand, use the Dremel in the other hand and press the tool against the pointed end of the nail. 

Stop when the pointed end of the nail is gone. The Dremel 7300-PT has a rechargeable battery so that you have a cordless operation of the tool, making it more convenient. 

The battery will last for up to three hours, far longer than what you will need to trim your dog’s nails. 

Lightweight, this tool has the Dremel name behind its products as a trusted brand. Dremel has experience with grinding tools for years and makes the best ones. 

Synonymous with quality, a two-year warranty backs the Dremel Nail Groomer.

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Runner Up

FURminator Nail Grinder for Dogs. 

The FURmintor is a lightweight model nail grinder for dogs. This grinder has a built-in LED light that activates when the tool is in use.

The FURminator has two grinding bands to help smooth out your pet’s nails. The shape of the grinder fits your hand. 

There are two speeds, a high and low speed. The Furminator uses four AA batteries, and so no power cord to be inconvenient and get in the way.

A great feature of the FURminator is that it comes with a guard on the grinder that will prevent you from grinding your dog’s nails too short.

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Best Value

Oster Gentle Paws 

The Oster Gentle Paws nail grinder can be used on either dogs or cats. It has a two-speed option that gives you the choice of high speed or lower speed grinding. 

There is a built-in safety guard that helps keep the grinder from trimming too much off of your pets’ nails. 

To use the Gentle Paws,  just select the safety guard opening that is best for your pet’s nail size and begin gently filing each nail. 

The guard also holds the filings, so that helps eliminate any mess. Battery operated; this nail grinder has no cord to get in the way while trimming your pets’ nails. 

Included with the grinder are a coarse stone, a fine band, and two coarse bands. 

The coarse bands will be for general filing, and the fine band can be used for polishing if you so desire.

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Best Powerful Nail Grinder

ConairPRO Dog Nail

This lightweight grinder is corded and it comes equipped with a nail grinder guard to keep dust contained. The stone and sander attachments on this nail grinder are interchangeable. 

This nail grinder only has one speed, and it’s safest for use on dogs only.

ConairPro nail grinder helps to file down dog nails using rotating grinders, thus serving as a safer alternative to clipping, ensuring that your dog’s nails are not clipped too short. 

Each attachment is easily changed by pressing down and holding the red triangle button. Use the small silver tool to rotate the head. 

Simply remove an old attachment and replace it with a new one. Extra accessories and tools are included in the package.

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Best Safe & Painless Nail Grinder

Hertzko Electric Pet Nail Grinder 

The Hertzko nail grinder is portable and lightweight. A nice feature with this grinder is that it is rechargeable via a USB port. 

The cord for recharging comes with the grinder. A guard covers the diamond bit grinder. 

The guard on the Hertzko has three different openings to fit the size of your dog’s nails. If you have a large dog, you might need to remove the guard to grind your dog’s nails. 

You can also remove the guard for cleaning the tool.

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What To Look For In A Grinding Tool

When looking for a nail grinder for your dog, there are a few things to consider. 

Grinding Speed: 

The first thing to look for is the grinding speed of the tool. A faster grinder will trim your dog’s nails quicker, but it also might generate more dust, noise, or vibration. 

You know best what your dog will tolerate. If he is going to be hard to corral and won’t sit still for long, a faster grinder might work best for you. 

If you are unsure of your skills, or if you have a more tolerant pet, choose a grinder that has multiple speed settings. 

Corded Or Battery Operated: 

Nail grinders come with an electrical cord or are battery operated. A battery-operated grinder has the convenience of not having to work around a cord or being tethered to a power source. 

You can take it along wherever you go, or use it outside too. Some grinders have rechargeable batteries which can be recharged via a USB. 

The advantage of a corded tool is that it has a constant level of power. As a battery-operated unit runs down, the level of speed will be impacted. 

You will need to be sure that the grinder is either recharged after every use or that you have fresh batteries on hand.

Protective Guard: 

Always an advantage, some grinding tools have a plastic guard around the sanding drum. 

This guard will have several different size openings that you will slip over your dog’s nails. 

The cover keeps your dog’s nail in place and helps prevent you from grinding the nail down too short. It also keeps the dust that is generated by grinding out of your face. 

Noise: 

Dogs tend to be sensitive to the sound that objects make, especially when those objects are being used on their persons. 

Look for a reasonably quiet grinder and turn it on and off around your dog so that they can get used to the sound before you get down to grinding their nails.

How To Use A Dog Nail Grinder

Grind A Little At A Time:

Start the process by grinding a small part of your dog’s nail. Support your dog’s toe, but be careful not to squeeze too hard. 

Grind across the bottom of the nail and work your way in from the tip of the nail. Smooth the rough edges of the nail as you go. 

If you are just learning to trim your dog’s nails yourself, it might be best to do this process every few weeks, and do just a little at a time. 

The nails will eventually get to the length that they should be. If you keep the routine up, you will never have to spend timely sessions grinding your dog’s nails, a bonus for both of you.

Hold Close To The Top:

When holding the grinder, it is best to hold the grinder higher up, towards the top of the unit for better control.

Position Your Pooch:

You want your dog to cooperate as much as possible, and making sure that they are in a comfortable position will go a long way to reducing any nervous energy. 

Get them in a position that works for both of you, and think about how you will hold your dog’s foot. 

You will want to hold the foot in a manner that allows you to easily separate each toe from one another and push the nail that you are grinding further out. 

Your dog might like to sit with his paws out, or maybe bent backward is their preferred position. It might also work better for both of you if your pet is sitting on a couch or bench with their paws extended over the sides. 

Try several positions until you come up with the position and angle that works best for both of you. Make this your go-to position for nail grinding. 

If you use the same procedure each time, you can become proficient and quicker with the process. 

Grinders Get Hot: 

A grinder is a rotary tool, and so will get hot. Only hold the grinder against your dog’s nail for a few seconds at a time. 

Just press and then release in a series of short increments until the nail is shortened to the length needed. 

Hair And Fur: 

One thing you want to avoid at all costs is getting your dog’s fur tangled up in the rotary and ripped out. Make sure that you hold back any fur or hair that would be caught up and pulled out by the grinder. 

Some pet owners take an old pair of pantyhose and put it over the dog’s paw. Just push the nail through the nylon and trim. 

The pantyhose will keep any hair or fur from getting caught during the grinding process. 

Clippers Vs. Grinders:

A nail grinder can be a great option rather than using nail clippers. Clippers can be stressful for both the pet and the pet parent. 

It is a worrisome task making sure that you do not clip the nail too short and cut the dog’s ‘quick.’ 

The nail bed, where the nerves and blood vessels are located in a dog’s nail, is called the quick. 

If you cut the quick, you can damage the nerve ends, it hurts the poor dog, and it also bleeds a lot. 

If you do have the misfortunate occasion to cut the quick, your pet is going to be less inclined, rightfully so, to let you do it again. 

Using a grinder gives you more control over the trimming process, and you can move at a slower, more controlled pace as you shorten the dog’s nails. 

Although some pooches don’t like the sound of a grinder, they may have less fear with a grinder than with clippers that had caused them pain in the past. 

You should also have more confidence with a grinder than with clippers, and your dog will be able to sense that. 

If your hands are not the steadiest, a grinder is also a better option than clippers. You are not trying to make a precise cut with a grinder in the same way that you are with clippers. 

A clipper can also cause splintering of a dog’s nail. A grinder will not fracture the nail. A grinder will also give your pets’ nails a smoother edge. 

This will keep your dog from catching their paws in the carpet or their blanket, and will also prevent scratches on the floor when their nails are smooth.

In Conclusion

Our furry friends depend on us to take care of them. Today’s dogs are not the working dogs of yesteryear whose active lives wore down their nails naturally. 

Our pets need us to keep their nails trimmed. Nails that have grown to look can be easily broken and damage the quick. 

Long nails can trip a dog, and they can also hurt the pad of their feet, making it difficult to walk. 

In doing our best for our pets, we can also minimize the anxiety that is associated with the grooming process by using a set of nail grinders. 

We owe it to our best pet friends to do the best we can for them.

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