Electric Pedi Paws

Intro: Electric Pedi Paws

We have 2 Pugs that hate getting their nails clipped. We decided to try Pedi Paws as we saw our local morning T.V. host try it on his dog and was successful.

The tool has great potential except that the batteries run out very quickly since it takes a lot of power. So my husband decided to crack open the Pedi Paws and make it a plug-in which would give it the extra power we were looking for. You just have to make sure that the Pedi Paws is not left on your dog's nail for more than 3 seconds as you don't want to make it an uncomfortable experience for them.

It's very easy to do and cost us $2 CAD (for the heat shrink tube) as we had an old adapter laying around the house.

STEP 1: You Will Need:

- AC Adapter that outputs anywhere from 2.4 - 4.8 V. I used an old JVC one I had laying around that outputs 4.5 V almost doubling the power of the Pedi Paws.

- Heat shrink tubing

- Heat Gun or Hair Dryer

- Wire Cutters

- Wire Strippers

- Drill and 1/8" drill bit

- Phillips Screwdriver

- Multimeter

STEP 2:

Remove orange plastic cap and battery cover.

STEP 3:

Remove the 7 screws holding it together.

STEP 4:

Remove the cover to unveil motor and battery compartment.

STEP 5:

Remove spring from battery cover.

STEP 6:

Remove the wide metal ring.

STEP 7:

Using wire cutters, remove the two metal pieces attached to the black and red wires as pictured.

STEP 8:

Strip the ends of the black and red wires with wire strippers.

STEP 9:

Cut off the end of your AC adapter and strip wire ends. This adapter happens to have the positive wire marked by a white line. If your's does not, plug adapter in making sure not to let the bare wires touch. Check voltage with multimeter if you get a positive voltage, make note of your positive (red) wire. If your voltage is negative, then you know that the wire going to the black (negative) terminal of your meter is the positive wire. Do not leave your adapter plugged in!

STEP 10:

Drill a hole in battery door cover and insert the wires from you AC adapter through. I used a 1/8" drill bit, but you may need to use a different size depending on the thickness of wire on your adapter. Don't make the hole too big or the wire will move easily and put strain on your connections.

STEP 11:

Slide heat shrink tubing onto wires and make your connections, positive wire to the red wire on the switch and negative wire to the black wire on the motor.

STEP 12:

Slide heat shrink over wire connections and heat using a heat gun or hair dryer to make a secure connection.

STEP 13:

Now slide the wires down through the battery compartment and put the upper casing back on.

STEP 14:

Screw on plastic cover and battery door to keep the casing closed while you put all 7 screws back in.

STEP 15:

You're done! Plug it in and start grinding your dog's nails. Just remember that your Pedi Paws is now more powerful, so take care not to keep it on the nail for more than 3 seconds at a time. You and your dogs will be happy with the results in the end.

Comments

[slo5oh]

I use Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries in the C battery adapter. These adapters used to come with the Eneloop set sold through Costco. They last longer and when they die you just recharge them.

[rb765]

Using the dremel, the slower speeds are a little better as well as using the finer grit drums. The finer grits do not cut as fast and do not catch as much making it a little easier to use. I have used both but the plastic guide on the Pedi-Paw gives this tool the edge to my free-hand dremel.

[witsykitten]

You are so right, I saw the ad on tv  (UK) for the pedi paws and didn't think "I should get one of thoughts"  I thought "lets get out the dremel !" My dog lies on her back with her paws in the air to have them done !

[rulenumbaone]

Very Nice Looking Dogs & A Great Idea Ta Boot>>

[Darkknight0667]

One way to alleviate the problem of wire movement putting strain on the connection would be to tie a knot in the wire just inside the hole. This would limit how far the wire could be pulled, eliminating the possibility of straining the connection. You could also tie one just outside the hole, thereby eliminating any wire movement at all. Nice job, BTW!

[l8nite]

I thought this thing would be FANTASTIC..it wasn't = ( I have 3 dogs, an american bulldog/lab mix male about 110lbs, a female american bull about 70lbs and a female rotti/dobie mix about 80lbs, they all listen very well and are easy to bath etc EXCEPT for nail grooming, it takes some wrestling and a LOT of treats to trim nails. No amount of treats would get them to hold still for this buzzing machine! I even tried to get them used to it by letting it run during feeding time... not happening!!! At least I only paid $2us for it at the salvation army thrift store..oh well...another small electric motor goes in the possibles box...

[OzDan77]

Thanks alot!! Why didn't I think of this sooner? I need to start thinking outside the box!!

[Eddietee20]

I used an electricians knot inside the cap to reduce stress on the connections, and two small wire nuts instead of the heatshrink

[lukethebook333]

If you want to save money, just use your dremel.

[jdege]

Dremels, whether corded or cordless, allow you to set the rotation speed. Anyone know what is the proper range of RPM for grinding a dog's nails?

[crapflinger]

the pug on the right doesn't look any happier about your improvements....perhaps he wishes you had tied a not in the cord inside the old battery cover to offer some strain relief? i have yet to convince my dogs that the pedi paws is a good idea...