After reading one of Jean's blogs long ago, about pedipaws (not sure what brand he had) i got the $19 pedipaws, love it.
I use an itty bitty keychain 'flashlight' to spot the quick, and clip off tips, and then grind away. ON his black nails, i guestimate, based on his white nails' quicks.
I take off the orange cap that the box says 800 times to never take off, and just hold his fur back. See the orange cap? take it off. If you are lefthanded like i am, you can't use it with cap on anyway.
I also grind away til nail is done, not just for 3 seconds, otherwise, it takes all night long, and i've never observed any "hot nails" even when i grind away for many minutes at a pop.
and Buddy sleeps through this. (i followed step by step directions on how to get your dog comfortable with product, i took whole week indtroducing it, and he gets treat after each nail. He follows me happily when he sees that thing.) He gets a play break between each foot.
and i only do front feet one night, and then next night, back feet.
BEST TIP: I put Buddy onto sofa, and i sit on floor, to make his feet closer to eye level....ahhh, way easier.