My ageing male GSD has very thick nails that my clippers no longer are big enough to go around.  What can I use to clip them, a friend told me she uses a Dremel sander on her dogs nails, is this advised? 

You can get bigger nail clippers, I always had to borrow my friend's when I did a Goldie's nails back in London. Most Labs and Goldies I could get their nails with my normal size clippers, but I needed the larger size ones for this dog!

Just been Googling large clippers and I see there is a product called 'Pedi Paws' has anyone used this and is it any good?

Got mine from a shop called The Range,just measured they open a good 1/2 inch, dont know what that is in todays measurements !!!!,have black & red grip handles ,think they were under £10 ,Did my old gsd who had the same problem, I think a dremel unless used to it would worry a older dog (noise .vibration)

PediPaws are useless, mine stopped spinning the second it touched the nail.

Dremels on the other hand are wonderful and just the ticket for large nails, particularly if they are dark and the quicks have grown longer than they should. My lot just sleep while I'm sanding their nails. You can take a tiny bit off every day till you see the beginning of the quick and then a tiny bit every week and the quick will start to recede.

Second chaumsong - the Pedipaws things are useless on anything bigger than a Chi's paws really (slight exaggeration but not much!).

Use a dremel and get the extension thing which gives you a much smaller tool to actually hold and puts the noisiest bit further away from the dog - the only two things you really need to be careful of is getting fur caught up in the spinning disc, and doing too much in one go which will create a LOT of heat. Ow.

Otherwise, they are awesome and really do a good job, once you get a dog over their distrust of the noise they are ace!

We use a Dremel, easy and quick on the older dogs who need their nails doing, the younger ones take their own down. Don't bother with a pedipaws, totally useless for big strong nails, it doesn't have the power - a Dremel does. Just takes them a couple of goes to get used to it.

I bought a plastic guard to go over the spinning bit to stop me dremelling up their feathers or tummy hair, they like the dremel much more now :-)

Have tried many over the years as BH nails are tough, have ended up with a heavy duty pair that the vet uses. Don't think that I can sharpen them but don't mind if I have to get another as they have been great, these are similar not cheap but cut cleanly, have a regular routine every week & the dogs are relaxed, unlike previous attempts.
http://www.peasridge.oc.uk/acatalog/Nail_Clippers.html
They're the first ones listed.

My friend with dobes where they cut the nails really short, so thick, (comes and does mine with minimum stress to me and dogs), has always sworn by the large Resco ones, also on that page.