The 2 Best Dog Nail Grinders of 2023

We’ve added highlights and updated our FAQ section with more info about Dremel nail grinder attachments, quiet nail grinders, and more.

You probably need to trim your dog's nails every four to six weeks. Using a nail grinder—if your pet will tolerate the sound and feel—is a method that makes it all but impossible to accidentally cut your dog. The Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK is our hands down favorite tool for the job because it is safe, cordless, and quiet, and it offers four speeds to accommodate multiple dogs’ nails, from the tiniest Chihuahua nails to the thickest of Rottweiler talons.

Grinding nails is delicate business. We favored models with adjustable speeds to suit your dog's temperament and nail size.

No one wants to frighten a dog while their trimming nails. We preferred models with low-pitched or softer-sounding gears.

Grinding or filing nails takes longer than cutting them with a clipper, so we selected models that are lightweight and easy to hold.

Plug-in models have cords that can get tangled. Cordless tools are easier to maneuver and allow precise grinding from all angles.

This grinder offers a safe, affordable, quiet, and cordless way to trim your pooch's nails.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.

Although a dog nail grinder is a slower but safer tool than nail clippers for filing your dog's nails, many dogs don't like the sound or sensation, or the amount of time it takes. The Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK, however, is easy to maneuver around a grumpy or skittish pooch (or owner) because it is cordless and quiet, and it has a rubber surface that's easy to grip. It also offers four grinding speeds, ranging from a gentle but effective touch for the tiniest of dog nails to enough oomph to grind down the toughest of talons.

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This Oster grinder is louder than our top pick and not rechargeable, but it's cheaper.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $20.

The Oster Gentle Paws Nail Grinder goes toe-to-toe with the Dremel PawControl in most respects, but it's just a bit louder on high than the Dremel, and unlike the rechargeable Dremel it requires four AA batteries (which aren't included). The trade-off is a savings of around $30. The Oster also includes a removable plastic sheath that fits around the grinding bit and catches the dust as you file your pup's nails. In our tests we preferred to remove the sheath for maximum maneuverability, but if your dog is willing to sit still, the tidiness resulting from the sheath is a solid bonus.

This grinder offers a safe, affordable, quiet, and cordless way to trim your pooch's nails.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.

This Oster grinder is louder than our top pick and not rechargeable, but it's cheaper.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $20.

As Wirecutter's staff writer for pets coverage, Kaitlyn Wells has covered hundreds of dog-care products over the years. She is also a lifelong pet owner and an animal shelter volunteer who has groomed a fair number of pups. For this update, Kaitlyn researched why keeping your pet's nails trimmed is important, as well as the best way to complete the task. She also asked a couple of groomers to evaluate our contenders while trimming the nails of several dogs in their care.

This guide also builds on reporting by Susan Arendt, a former professional dog walker and a journalist with more than a decade of experience writing and editing product reviews.

Using a nail grinder is slower but safer, and it doesn't require as much hand strength.

Generally speaking, you need to trim your dog's nails every four to six weeks. Letting them grow too long can lead to health problems like splayfoot and injure your dog's tendons. If you can hear your dog's nails tip-tapping on your floor, it's time for a trim. If you’re lucky, your dog will patiently wait while you tend to its toes, but it probably wants the experience over with as quickly as possible. Clippers are the fastest way to get your dog's nails to a safe length, but wielding them requires a strong, steady hand, and that isn't always easy when your dog is jerking its foot away. A wrong move can also nip your pup's quick (the blood vessels beneath the nail), which is upsetting for both of you.

Nail grinders shorten the nail bit by bit, as opposed to cutting them off in chunks. This process is slower but safer, and it doesn't require as much hand strength. Grinders don't create splits or splinters like clippers can; instead they leave a smooth nail that's unlikely to catch on anything or accidentally scratch. Grinders are also good for dogs with dark nails, where the quick is difficult to see. But not all dogs are comfortable around the noise and vibration of a grinder—and the friction can cause both the nail and the bit to heat up, so you need to take frequent breaks.

We spoke with five pet groomers and vets about how best to tend to your dog's nails, and although their opinions were consistent when it came to clippers, they were mixed on the subject of grinders. Some pet professionals thought grinders’ safety factor made them the ideal choice, while others pointed to their noisiness as a reason to pass on them. But every pet is different, and if yours doesn't mind the noise, a grinder is a good choice. Melissa Andrews of Creature Comforts in Durham, North Carolina, prefers grinders but cautions that you need to be sure to use a bit that's coarse enough to work efficiently but not so rough that it pulls on the nail while grinding. The bits that come with our picks all meet that criterion.

Here's what we considered when testing the different grinder models:

For the most recent update of this guide, we used a pig ear treat to simulate a dog's toenail and tested all available speeds of each grinder on it. Then we used the least terrifying models with a 9-pound Chihuahua mix. We noted how maneuverable each nail grinder was, how easily we could get from opening the box to actually using the grinder, how loud it was, and how well it sanded. We also factored in any extras, such as included batteries or a light.

Lastly, we asked Brianna Barksdale, a groomer at The Bark Shoppe in New York City's Harlem, to try out the contenders with several dogs in her care and to record her findings.

This grinder offers a safe, affordable, quiet, and cordless way to trim your pooch's nails.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $55.

The Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK is the best dog nail grinder because it's fast enough to go through nails quickly but still easy to control. We also like that it is rechargeable and quiet, and that it has swappable grinding tips.

The PawControl features a variable-speed slide switch with four settings. In testing, we found that the first two speeds, at 8,000 rpm and 14,000 rpm, respectively, offered enough power to grind most dogs’ nails. Brianna Barksdale of The Bark Shoppe in Harlem agreed: "It definitely gets the job done," she said, adding she wouldn't go past the number 2 setting unless the dog was large or had really thick nails, like a German shepherd. (Note that Dremel's user manual recommends the PawControl's lowest setting as the maximum pet-grooming speed to prevent heat buildup.) The slide switch is also secure and doesn't switch without your applying a fair amount of pressure; this design prevents you from accidentally changing speeds and frightening your dog with a sudden burst of speed.

Even on low, the Dremel PawControl provides enough power to file down nails more efficiently than our previous pick, the Dremel 7300-PT, which offers 6,500 rpm on its lowest setting. Additionally, the highest setting on other models we tested, such as the Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder and the Wahl Professional Animal Premium Nail Filer, can't come close to the filing power of the Dremel PawControl.

This rechargeable Dremel grinder comes with a USB cable and power adapter that can recharge the tool in about three hours. We prefer a rechargeable dog nail grinder over models that use AA batteries, which you can never find in your junk drawer when you need them. The rechargeable battery makes the PawControl heavier than our also-great pick, the Oster Gentle Paws Nail Grinder, and significantly heavier than any of the other models we tested. But the additional weight is well worth the convenience of rechargeability. The design also makes the Dremel grinder well balanced for maneuverability compared with most of the other grinders we tested, including the Oster, which is weighed down in the base due to its AA batteries. And unlike grinders with sleek exteriors or tapered shapes, the PawControl has a rubberized and plastic shell that's easy to grip and less likely to slip out of your hand while you’re using it.

Despite having oomph under the hood, the Dremel PawControl is surprisingly quiet for such a sturdy grinder, especially next to competitors like the Furminator. Its motor doesn't create an unpleasant high-pitched whine on its recommended setting, and it's quieter than the Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder, too. It comes with six bits: four sanding disks for novice groomers and two sanding bands for experienced groomers, both of which have grinding and polishing grades. The grinding bits worked perfectly in our tests, and the polishing bits will eventually make your dog's nails shiny if you care to put in the time and effort.

Out of the box, the Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK is slightly less user-friendly than other grinders. The collet on ours arrived locked shut with a sanding disk in place and a plastic clasp and paw guide over it, which prevented the insertion of a sanding band and bit. Without diving into the manual, it's not clear how to open the tool or get going. (Even our professional groomer couldn't figure out how to remove the plastic paw cap and clasp, which has interlocking nubs that you need to twist and turn in a mazelike manner to unlock.) Reading the instructions easily remedies the problem, but the PawControl is not as intuitive a machine as the Oster Gentle Paws, which you can use straight out of the box.

The PawControl is also a bit more powerful than the AA-powered grinders we tested, which makes for quicker work but also causes nails to heat up more quickly. So pay close attention to how your pet is reacting, and be ready to back off if the nail is getting unduly hot.

This Oster grinder is louder than our top pick and not rechargeable, but it's cheaper.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $20.

The Oster Gentle Paws Nail Grinder matches the Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK's power and efficiency, but its high setting is a bit louder than the Dremel's, and it runs on four AA batteries (not included) instead of a rechargeable battery pack. Some dog owners might also appreciate that it comes with a plastic sheath that fits around the grinding bit to catch the dust from the dog's nails. In our testing, we preferred to remove the sheath for maximum maneuverability, but if your dog sits still, the tidiness it promotes is a solid bonus.

The Dremel 7300-PT was our previous dog nail grinder pick and is still a good option if our current pick, the Dremel PawControl, is out of stock. But its tapered, smooth design makes it less easy to hold than the PawControl, and the 7300-PT has two speeds rather than four. That makes it less useful to people who have multiple dogs of various sizes and need different speed levels to trim all of their dogs’ nails. We think the newer PawControl is worth upgrading to for its convenient shape and multiple grinding speeds.

The Casfuy Dog Nail Grinder can't compare to our pick, the Dremel PawControl. It's the quietest model we’ve tested, barely vibrating at 50 decibels. Our grooming experts said the minimal sound would make the Casfuy grinder attractive for use on fearful dogs that can't stand the noise or rough vibrations of a sander on their nails. But that low vibration also makes it the weakest model we’ve tested, which means you would spend twice as long grinding your dog's nails using this model in comparison with our picks. Since grinding can be stressful for some dogs, if you’re worried about how yours might react, we think it's best to leave the task to skilled professionals who can get the job done quickly and safely, rather than relying on the Casfuy grinder's weak motor.

The Furminator Nail Grinder succeeds at having a cute name but fails at everything else. It's so loud, you’re likely to scare dogs three houses over. In addition, the grinding band was slipping off the bit from the moment we turned it on, and the battery cover is absurdly difficult to pry open—you’re virtually guaranteed to hit the tool's on button several times while trying to open it.

The Wahl Professional Animal Premium Nail Filer and the FurryFido Pet Nail Grinder File (both no longer available) are the exact same grinder, just with different coloring (the Wahl is pink, the FurryFido is orange, and we saw other identical models from other manufacturers). Both are dramatically underpowered; even their top speed was so weak that the bit stopped dead when we applied it to our test subject. Both models offer "extras" that add absolutely nothing of value, such as a selection of six identical grinding pads that require an ungainly plastic socket to fit into the main body—a more complicated setup than on most other grinders. With the Wahl, one of the attachments actually got stuck, making it even less useful. Both models can turn the grinding wheel in either direction in case you think grinding counterclockwise provides a smoother finish. Both also feature a light that points right at your pup's nail, and that's genuinely helpful, but it's not enough to make up for the tools’ poor grinding performance.

The miPets Rechargeable Pet Nail Grinder (no longer available) felt underpowered during our testing. Its one speed is strictly middle of the road, so although it will grind your dog's nails, it will take a good long while to do that. Unlike other grinders, it comes with a diamond bit built directly into the unit, but the grinding wheel is quite small; unless you remove the plastic sheath surrounding it, you’ll have access to only a small grinding area during use. The miPets is definitely not the worst you can do, but it's not ideal for anything other than small, very patient dogs.

The Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK is the best nail grinder for dogs because the quiet, cordless design means it's easy to maneuver around a skittish pooch. It has four speeds, ensuring an appropriately gentle but still effective touch.

Nail grinders shorten the nail bit by bit, whereas clippers cut off a big chunk at a time. The advantage to grinders is that they remove the nail slowly and don't cause splits or splinters. And although using a grinder may take more time, it leaves a smooth nail that's unlikely to catch on anything or accidentally scratch. Grinders are also good for dogs with dark nails, where the quick is difficult to see. However, some dogs aren't comfortable with the noise and sensation of grinding, so you may prefer to use clippers. Nail grinders won't hurt your dog, especially if you grind slowly, and quietly, while your pet is calm.

When grinding a dog's nails, always follow the manufacturer's instructions, such as using only the lowest power setting on the Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK. Start by finding a quiet place to grind your dog's nails when your pet is calm. Then gently press on each nail and grind it for a few seconds at a time as you take frequent breaks and praise your dog throughout the process. Giving treats never hurts, either.

Generally speaking, you need to trim your dog's nails every four to six weeks. Letting them grow too long can lead to health problems like splayfoot and can injure a dog's tendons. If you can hear your dog's nails tip-tapping on your floor, it's time for a trim.

The Dremel PawControl 7760-PGK is the quietest dog nail grinder we recommend. It offers four grinding speeds, ranging from 8,000 RPM to 25,000 RPM. This nail grinder averaged 75 dB in our sound tests—that's about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. But it may sound quieter or noisier depending on how thick your dog's nails are and the speed setting used.

You can use your household Dremel rotary tool to groom your dog's nails, but we don't suggest it for everyone. The Dremel AT02-PGK Pet Grooming Attachment Kit is an option for pet owners who have a Dremel tool for other purposes and don't own the dog nail grinder model. We haven't tested this attachment kit yet, but it does come with the same nail guard, grooming discs, and bands as our Dremel PawControl pick. The nail guard traps nail dust, makes it harder to accidentally sand a pup's paw pads, and it ensures that first-time users are grinding at a 45-degree angle that matches the nail's slant. And the included grooming accessories reduce the risk of cross-contamination by keeping the tools used in household projects separate. (You should never grind a dog's nails with the same dirty sanding disc used for rust removal.) The attachment works with Dremel tools 3000, 4000, 4300, 7300-PGT, 7700, 8100, and 8220.

If the Dremel you have isn't compatible with the pet grooming kit, you can still consider grinding your dog's nails without it, if you’re very comfortable with the tool. "You don't have to buy all that stuff," a Dremel customer service rep told us, but there are some caveats. Regardless of the model used, you can't grind a dog's nails the same way they’d use it to sharpen knives or cut drywall. Dremel recommends not exceeding 10,000 RPM, or the lowest setting on most rotary models, for pet grooming. Grinding a dog's nails at a speed higher than recommended can cause heat buildup, which can harm a pet. Or it may result in accidentally hitting the nail quick (the center of the nail, packed with nerves and blood) if pet owners aren't careful.

Kaitlyn Wells

Kaitlyn Wells is a senior staff writer who advocates for greater work flexibility by showing you how to work smarter remotely without losing yourself. Previously, she covered pets and style for Wirecutter. She's never met a pet she didn't like, although she can't say the same thing about productivity apps. Her first picture book, A Family Looks Like Love, follows a pup who learns that love, rather than how you look, is what makes a family.

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