Learn how to groom
your dog's
nails without all of the Blood, Sweat
and Tears! Think about it. A guillotine nail clipper, named after an execution device, is typically
sold with styptic powder to stop bleeding. And, the nail grinders
that are available
for pets are merely rotary power
tools—originally designed for
industrial applications—not living,
feeling beings.
DID YOU KNOW?
Long
nails reduce traction, forcing dogs to walk on the backs of their feet
and splaying
the toes; dogs then walking on 'spikes' instead of
gripping surfaces with their pads
Untrimmed nails can result in
an uneven gait — which leads to posture and
joint problems
Painful nail splits can run into nail bed,
possibly cause
infection
ONE OF A KIND — NOTHING
CAN MATCH IT
back
Peter F. Baekkelund, Oliver's
Paw Pal
inventor, contacted us in December 2005—and we've
been using his must have product ever since!
Peter was attracted to our website due to his having an Oliver who also
had lost a battle to cancer. Shown with Oliver II, Peter's just as passionate about
Irish Setters as we are about Goldens. It was that love for his first
Oliver, who dreaded nail cutting, that prompted his
conceiving this ground-breaking item.
FEATURES
Cordless with plug-in
battery charger 100v/120v, 60hz 1,000 to 10,000 RPM's, carry bag,
belt holster and extra
wheel stone included, 15 oz and 10" in length
Multiple speeds adjust to
individual grooming needs
Three position angled head &nail length adjustment
Anti-Tangle Safety Clutch preventing injury if hair caught
Magnifying shield
allows you to see what you're doing
Dust chamber
allows for easy breathing and cleaning
BENEFITS
Easy to use, just placing paw under clear plastic latch
Naturally mimics the action of a dog's walking on rough
surfaces to painlessly wear down
his or her nails
Smooth finish without need for buffing or filing
Filing
& shaping nail just above the quick, with accuracy
Effective nail grooming without blood and pain,
thereby
transforming unpleasant experience
into a bonding one
Can be used on all sized dogs & cats, large bird
beaks (unit upside down, dust collector off)
No more marks on your skin or costly hardwood floors
IMPORTANT Learning Process While we adore Oliver's Paw Pal and use it twice weekly, we'd be remiss if we
didn't mention that effective nail grooming is a process that comes about only
after gradual exposure and desensitization to the unit, with respect to its sound and touch. Issues related to touch
are explained well by Sherry Woodard, Best Friends Dog Training & Care
Consultant, in her article, Joys of Touch.
I know it is hard to believe, but the following procedure can actually result in
your dog loving his bi-weekly pawdicures. It is because of previous
negative experiences, which are undoubtedly quite well remembered, that
there is so much resistance when you take out various grooming tools.
Depending on a dog's previous experiences and sensitivity, it may take a period
of several days before you begin to touch even one nail to
the unit's revolving drum.
This process can be done with young puppies and seniors alike, but
patience is definitely the key.
First, you need to get your dog used to his or her paws being handled by
you. You can sit on the floor with your dog, having a small baggie filled with
tiny, tiny treats on the side. After touching a paw and spreading a toe, or
pushing on a nail, or just massaging, you can provide a treat. You want your dog
to associate seeing the unit and getting treated, so that there is a positive
relationship and ultimately a conditioned positive response. Our Alfie is
definitely ticklish so he needed lots of touching to get used to the feeling.
You need to make a point of handling your dog's paws daily, which is easy for us
as Alfie knows the routine when he comes in from the mud outdoors — waiting on the mat and lifting his front paw as he knows I will
be wiping the pads of all 4 paws before he can proceed.
Once your dog is used to your handling his/her paws,
take out your Paw Pal and let your furkid sniff and examine it. As soon as s/he shows
interests, give a tiny treat (from your handy little bag). You can even lay a
treat on the unit (turned off, of course) for the dog to eat. To then get your
dog used to the unit's sound, turn it on and off while in a room with your dog,
giving treats for your dog examining it while it is turned off and not showing
any reaction or anxiety from the noise when it is turned on. You can also
present your dog with a peanut butter filled Kong, turning on the unit while
s/he is licking away. This can be done repeatedly for just a minute at a time,
so that your dog not only doesn't mind the sound, but begins to associate it
with goodies-time.
After your dog is now associating the presence of the Paw Pal with getting a treat, have him/her lie down and just touch your turned-off unit to one nail, then providing a treat and loads of praise. Then, touch
two nails with the turned-off unit, and treat; then touch all the nails from one paw and treat; then nails from two paws and treat; and, finally work to touching every nail on all four paws before giving a treat. Remember, this is all with your Paw Pal turned off!
When you begin to touch the nails, you do so with the unit turned to its lowest
setting. It should feel very similar to your dog as when you touched the
turned-off unit to each nail because you are only spending a few seconds on each
nail before proceeding to the next. It is always better to do one area very
briefly so that there is never any discomfort. You just keep returning to a
particular nail as you go through doing each very quickly. And, don't forget,
you are continuing to provide treats throughout the entire session, so that
there is only a positive association being formed.
At the beginning, you may only want to touch the turned-on unit briefly to each
nail on only one paw, then just touching the turned-off unit on the nails of the
other paws. At the beginning, you cannot expect to get the nails down to their
maximum shortness. At this point, you are more desirous of a positive experience
and the need to build up the actual nail grooming time being spent with your
dog.
Examine the nails closely and try to locate the cluster of veins. This is called the 'quick' and cutting this can cause your dog to bleed. If your dog has dark nails,
which our Goldens do, this can be difficult. The best policy here is to trim the nails bit by bit over a longer period of time,
as the quick will then retreat over time. In fact, the closer you can get to the
quick, the more you can force it to recede and the more quickly it will recede.
There may be greater calm during nail grooming if your dog is well exercised before beginning your session. A tired dog can sometimes be less reactive or fussy. Use a calm soothing voice while you work so that you are not conveying or provoking any kind of apprehension. It may
also make the process easier if the nails are softer. You can do this by bathing
your dog beforehand, massaging some baby oil into the paws or even just dipping the paw into warm water. This has the dual effect of both softening the paws and cleaning the dirt out from under the nails.
Operation Guidelines This is the first production model of a dog grooming tool that will
revolutionize the way that you care for your pet's nails. Please take the
following observations into account:
1. Your pet may find the Pet Pal to be unfamiliar sounding. In order to raise
the level of comfort, turn on the Pet Pal on a lower setting and gradually raise
it to the highest. Do this a few times until you find that the animal is
ignoring the noise and while you do so, stroke the paw gently with the
instrument. Even very nervous animals will eventually get used to the filing
procedure. Some take longer than others depending on their disposition and that
of the owner/operator. The sound in the high setting is less than a professional
dryer, so if your pet has ever been groomed, it should not be fearful in the
first place. To pet and owner, the session should be yet another means of
bonding.
2. Start the nail grooming procedure in the position in which both you and your
dog is most comfortable. The pivot handle, adjustable by
pressing the right knob on top of the handle, allows you to
treat the dog sitting either in front of you or at your
side. The adjustable rest plate for the paw also has a
control knob, which allows you to use a flexible, spring
controlled platform or a firm setting that best fits the
size of the nail and the distance from the drum.
3. Start the unit at the lowest level. Apply the nail to the rotating drum,
first very gently, and as you get comfortable and have
control, apply a level of pressure that you find the most
effective. Remember, the balance to achieve is to groom the nail while the dog is comfortable.
Pushing too hard will create
resistance and over heat the nail and drum. The capacity of the instrument is
designed, however, to ensure that no injury will take place, even if too much
pressure is applied. The goal is to make the procedure a quick, enjoyable
maintenance task, part of the weekly, in some case even daily, grooming ritual.
A welcome change from apprehension, pain and bleeding often caused by the pet
owner’s infrequent, unprofessional clipping of the nails.
4. The quick of the nail follows the nail length as your dog's nails grow
longer. It also gradually adjusts as the nail over time is groomed to a shorter
length. A gentle routine of filing will eventually keep the animal's nails at an
optimum length. The nails should be short enough so that they do not touch the
ground when standing still, but this does vary with breed and foot formation.
Use good judgment when grooming and stop if the animal shows signs of
discomfort. You can always return at a later time, and as mutual confidence
builds, apprehension turns to acceptance, at times even enjoyment. Our poster
Irish Setter did not like the treatment at first, but now comes running at the
sound of Oliver's Paw Pal.
5. The front butt of the nail groomer is removable for emptying of nail dust
that has been captured and prevented from swirling into the
air during treatment.
6. The drums are exchangeable. Push the rest plate control knob to the
most forward position. This opens the gate to the drum axel. With the front
pointing towards you, slide out the dustbin, and by holding the drum from top
and underneath, gently lift out the drum and replace by inserting left side of
the new drum and snapping the right side into position. Roll the drum manually
to assure the fit and close the drum gate.
7. The protective magnifier on top serves as dust collector when using Pet Pal up side down, in reverse,
polishing mode, with the dustbin off.
8. The battery pack when fully charged will operate effectively for 60 to 90
minutes. The
instrument will also operate with the charger and cord connected even on a flat
battery. Lift off battery by pushing back lock at bottom of handle.
The intent of the instrument is to imitate the wearing down of nails that takes place when
our companion animals walk or run in a natural setting. Extensive exercising at times means no
need for grooming the nails, particularly of the harder working hind legs. The
less exercise — the greater the need; the more regular the treatment
— the less
required each time.
History and Development of
the Paw Pal The Paw Pal is the result of an owner’s exhaustive search for a new, enjoyable
method to groom the sensitive nails of his pet. The goal was to replace what was
available: cumbersome power tools and nasty guillotine scissors, with blood
stopper kits, so commonly used and often causing pain and apprehension to pet
and owner. The clue: Nature’s perfect method of Grinding while Exercising. The
challenge: To capture that method by a short cut and bring that traction into an
effective and safe instrument: "One that will Run — While having Fun".
You see, Peter, the owner, and Oliver, his magnificent Irish Setter, lived in
very exclusive hotels and Oliver and those dogs who came before him, because of
good behavior, spent days in majesty, at times lounging in the Presidential
Suite, where real presidents had stayed. Only one serious problem existed: When
it came to grooming nails, which had to be perfect to not tear at furniture or,
heaven forbid, scratch the parquet floors, Oliver became one, out of character,
very unhappy puppy!
Anyway, he was a very special dog. His daily runs with Master Peter on pavements
and exercise tracks kept his nails healthy, but it did take hours that Peter
sometimes did not have available.
So he and Oliver set out to research and develop a better way, their very own “nailway”,
sort of speak. Only now, the project is finally completed and has taken the form
of a versatile, dedicated grooming tool. It is designed to gently file down
animal nails and to leave them in a condition as if you had had “a daily run
with your master”. Both Oliver and Peter wanted the procedure to be pleasurable
and to be yet another bonding segment, part of their regular grooming ritual. To
be so, they wanted full control of intensity, speed and sound of the instrument
and of course the surface of the runway.
They accomplished all this, and now Oliver II is here to prove it:
While his paw is resting on a spring supported cushion, the multiple surface drum does all the work that pounding the pavement used to do. An easy-to-empty receptacle catches the nail dust that otherwise
would fly all over the place, and which the health inspector at the Grooming
Salon was so mad about. What Peter is very happy about, is the removable, dust
protective magnifier that makes Oliver's nails look as big a King Kong's!
This is a fun device. One you can use as often as you wish and share with all
your animal friends.
According to doctors and other authority figures of the animal world, this
patented invention is a significant innovation. It is a mechanical health
product that transforms what was once a terrible exercise of frustration into a
bonding experience, better health, and better habits. It is a procedure that
establishes trust between owner and pet and makes nail grooming an easy part of
weekly and daily grooming -— all this, for the well-being
of your dog or special animal.
Interview with Peter F. Baekkelund, CHA 1. How did you come up with the idea? My Irish Setter, Oliver, perfect as he was in every way, would not let me
touch his nails. Puppy hood had taught him that clipping nails hurt. No grooming
tool on the market seemed to do the trick. Running on pavements kept him
healthy, and climbing slanting concrete walls on the flood channel, accelerated
the natural process of grinding the nails. The Idea: To capture the natural
process of grinding in a specialty tool in the same way as nature allows your
animal's nails to grind during exercise. Well, all this goes back to 1990—first named the "Paw File Beautifier" then the "Clip-Skip"
and before finally launched to market as the "Laube Automatic Nail Grinder",
"Oliver's Paw Pal".
2. How long did it take to bring your idea to market? I sketched down an outline of the project and contacted a patent attorney
who confirmed that the idea was patentable. Hectic professional assignments
outside inventing kept me away from taking any action until 1997. With help of
an invention company and a primitive prototype developed in Hong Kong, my patent
was secured during the following year, and I assigned a local proto type
developer and industrial designer to come up with a marketable solution. Had we
secured financing at that point, the product would have been launched no later
than 1999. CAD drawings in hand I sought companies prepared to develop final
prototypes on spec. It took another slow four years and multiple proto types to
educate the firms involved, capture the features of the patent and meeting
additional needs expressed by professionals and consumers, part of the focus
groups. Under an exclusive global agreement signed in 2003, the product should
have been launched in 2004, but a company reorganization, change in industry
strategies and some technical delays, prevented the licensee from continuing. I
was in search of a new licensee and the Kim Laube Company was selected in order
to insure the project's association with quality, reputation and a prudent
initiation of this potentially revolutionary product to the market place.
3. What makes your product unique? Unlike other grinders on the market, all originally designed as general
surface grinding power tools, this invention is dedicated from ground up, sort
of speak, to imitate the motion and contact that animal paws have with surfaces
when moving around. An adjustable speed switch that allows rotations from under
1000 RPM to 10000 RPM, this inverted rotational motion causes the nail dust
generated by the treatment to be captured in a separate compartment of the tool.
Environmentally friendly, a protective magnifier gives the operator the option
to better observe the process and shielding the dust flow. An adjustable spring
loaded platform allows the paw to rest and the operator to apply the correct
pressure to the nail, considering multiple elements like safety, torque, length
of the nail, age, hardness and size. This is also reflected in the replaceable
specially designed drums with multiple surfaces that also provide options for
the user to find that exact surface and torque combination, best suitable for
the animal—dog, cat, bird, caged animal or even
humans. The pivoting handle mechanism allows treatment under multiple angles and
the specially designed, exchangeable power pack allows continued use by
professionals. For the average pet owner, it allows regular treatments without
recharging for long periods of time, while applying the procedure on a weekly,
sometimes even daily basis as part of grooming maintenance. The product is
completely safe and cannot cause injury if operated in a responsible manner.
4. Are you planning any enhancements/improvements to the product? The first production runs, though most planned features have been captured,
do not hold the extra drums inside the instrument. Many additional drum features
will be available and the magnifier will be removable. We will always attempt to
make it more user-friendly, reduce noise, perhaps add a light beam, increase
durability and develop additional models and versions behind the principles of
the invention. Then it becomes available at different price points and for
different applications. The current model, selling over the $90 mark is a
remarkable first model, endorsed by professionals and consumers in all levels,
and licensed by the best. In future versions, private labeling may deliver the
product in additional brands, appealing to the consumer while telling the
Oliver's Story, my Irish Setter, who gave inspiration to this venture in the
first place.
5. What is your professional background? Did that line of work or education
help you in developing this product? I am a hospitality professional, with an executive career in corporate and
field management, involved in some of the finest establishments in the world.
All basic principles from my business apply, whether you think budgeting,
planning, development or marketing. Thinking "Out of the Box" and meeting needs,
giving attention to detail, quality and innovation are just some of the
disciplines that apply. All came to good use and all are the backbone of my
project invention management.
6. Throughout the entire inventive/manufacturing process what was the hardest
obstacle you faced? Financing first — second, patience with the pace of the business world and
development process of the project; — third, obtaining perfection and the idea
of aiming this as the ultimate benefit and satisfaction for your customer. None
of these three challenges and several others seems to be going away, but
perseverance and your belief that you are creating something unique that will
result in the betterment of "creature comfort", are motivators that keep you
going and make you eventually overcome potentially catastrophic obstacles.
7. What type of pets do you own? Since childhood, I have owned Irish Setters and loved every minute of it.
Pan was the first, Pennie the second and Oliver the third. My forth and current,
Oliver II, an almost four-year-old [2006] Irish Setter, is the poster boy for my
invention, to which Oliver One gave me the inspiration. Talking about
perfection, Oliver II — is "aaalmost" it!!
8. Is there anything else you'd like readers to know about you or your
product? Entering upon a mission that centers on educating segments of consumers and
pet owners, currently avoiding regular nail care for their animals, to rid
themselves and pets of apprehension and turn this into a process of bonding and
good health—to say the least, is ambitious. With your readers' support and
participation and that of current users of the product, we will continue
monitoring feed back and invite a dialogue assuring that satisfaction, quality
and innovation remains paramount.
Customer Testimonials I am getting back to you quicker than I thought I would. Last week I spent a little time getting my puppy used to the noise and feel of your product. He didn't seem to mind it at all. He is about 20 weeks old, and I have been using clippers on about every part of his body since he was 10 weeks old, so he is used to noises and vibration. The only thing he really seems to mind is any kind of pain, of course. He showed me last night that your product is completely painless. I used Oliver's Paw Pal to thoroughly grind every nail on his front paws, and he just sat there. We had to switch positions a couple of times, but he didn't fight me doing his nails at all, and he seemed like he might even be enjoying it!. I just can't believe that we have such a nice and relaxing way to do what was the worst part of his grooming.
Oliver's Paw Pal is worth every penny, and I am so thankful to have found it while my puppy is still a puppy, because it will save him so much stress and pain!
What a wonderful product!
Thank You So Much!!
Cathy Novicky
I
have to tell you how much I LOVE the Automatic Nail Grinder! First, I
cannot believe how easy it is to use. Second, I can't believe that it
doesn't bother either of my dogs. With other tools clipping or grinding
nails has been a painful chore. With your product, my dogs actually
don't even care that I am grinding their nails. Thank you so much for
this wonderful product. I am going to recommend it to all of my
friends.
Dave & Susie Waki
in Tigard, OR
I ordered the Paw Pal on Saturday morning and it was at my house on
Monday. I am very impressed with the quality of the product and I have
to tell you that my golden that normally takes three strong people to
hold down during nail clipping lies on her back with her feet out for me
to do her nails. She actually LIKES this! I am so happy with your
product. It is an absolute wonder. The magnifying lens is such a help to
me as I do not see as well up close as I used to and this is such a help
to me. Thank you again.
Terry Batt in Port St Lucie, FL
It looks exactly like what I have been looking for. I love the eye
shield and magnifier, and also the dust collector. I also like the
safety features. I have to keep Molly's nails short and smooth with all
the therapy work we do, and this tool looks ideal. I have never liked
the Dremel Nail Grinder, but it was the only thing that would get her
nails smooth in a reasonable amount of time. . . .
Molly was fine during our first nail grinding session. She is such a
sweetie, and is very cooperative. I think this is going to be a
wonderful nail tool and it will help save the vinyl liner in our pool
and also the tender skin of the nursing home patients we visit.
. . . I am really liking the Paw Pal. It is much
gentler than a Dremel, and does an excellent job. The magnifier is a
real plus for my presbyopic eyes!
Dr. Nora Wilcox in Pensacola, FL
I wanted to let you know that taking care of the
dogs’ nails has never been easier!!! I don’t need to lock myself in
the bathroom with each individual dog anymore. They all lie on a
sheet on the bed and relax while I shorten their nails! Thank you so
much!!
Learn how to groom
your dog's
nails without all of the Blood, Sweat
and Tears!
cution device, is typically
sold with styptic powder to stop bleeding. And, the nail grinders
that are available
for pets are merely rotary power
tools—originally designed for
industrial applications—not living,
feeling beings. 
