Nail clipping...help me...

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Postby Vanessa » May 19th, 2006, 6:17 pm

ozzy hates having his nails cut to the point where i have only gotton one nail cut on my own. the vet cut them when he was getting neutured. he fights and runs away. he lets my hold and touch his paws as i like to smell them (anyone else love the smell of dogs paws?) but if i even get close with the clippers he bolts. luckily he has started to nibble them off.
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Postby JCleve86 » June 13th, 2006, 10:13 pm

Try, rather than grabbing the paw (someone else mentioned it's the grabbing that freaks them out, not the actual clipping) just grabbing the base of the nail right before you clip it, OR grabbing the toe, rather than hovering over the dog and grabbing his whole leg.

Mine, over the years, have become REALLY good about having nails done, but they still will try to pull away if I grab a paw instead of an individual toe or nail...they are worse about the back legs for some reason.

Rather than going from just touching the nail to clipping, get him used to you just touching his nail, then get him used to seeing the clippers (like how most dogs freak just when SEEING a leash...same concept only with a negative reaction). Treat him for sniffing them, etc...then touch his paws (don't clip) with the clippers and treat for tolerating that. Then grab a toe with clippers in hand, treat. THEN, grab a toe and clip quick before he notices, and treat and praise like crazy. Took several goes at it and a looong time (and in the meantime, loooong nails) before my dogs got good at it, but they did eventually. I should frame a picture of my mom with Molly when Moogs was around six months...my mom had her in some freakish headlock with her back leg all twisted underneath her while clipping nails...it's friggin hilarious!

I won't pretend to be an expert, and who knows what might work on your dog vs. mine...just offering suggestions. Be sure to always treat with a high value treat, and never get frustrated...if you feel yourself getting frustrated, just quit where your at, otherwise your dog will get upset too. I made that mistake a few times with mine...I'd get frustrated and yell at them and then they'd be even more scared/nervous...no good.

Also, I don't know if this is something that evolved AFTER they got accustomed to clippings or before, but my dogs get nails clipped while laying on their sides rather than bellies or backs...and, they both have tolerated the Dremmel grinder much better than clippers. They tolerated clippers before but would still sometimes jump at the sound of a clip (I never quicked them)...none of that with the Dremmel, though they do get sick of laying there...it takes a lot longer than clipping.
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Postby 04100824 » June 13th, 2006, 10:57 pm

Reno does this exact thing. He'll let me handle his paws, but as son as I'm going to actually DO somehting with them, it's on!

Until we put him up on our bathroom counter.

He can't escape, there's no where to run, and if he struggles, he'll slip and fall since we have one foot. (we have a section of counter with just a plain counter - no sinks or anything) Works like a charm! As long as one of us is there to pet and love on him, the other can easily trim his nails, plus he knows he's getting a treat when we're done.

We've only had to cut his claws a couple of times, though. We run and play outdoors so much and on the cement so much that he barely has any nails on his back paws at all, and his front ones are perfect! We only trim his dew claws now.

BTW~ on the dew claw thing, I asked my neighbor who is a vet about removing them since we go out to the lake and country and I was worried about them ripping, and she said that she prefers not to remove them after a certain age. She said it can make that area very sensitive, similar to crop jobs done later in a dog's life. Dunno... I didn't do much research on it, just asked her.
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Postby Patch O' Pits » June 14th, 2006, 9:44 am

I wouldn't take the dew claw off unless you are really having major issues. It really should be done when they are about 2-4 days old
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Postby katiek0417 » June 14th, 2006, 11:04 am

Patch O' Pits wrote:I wouldn't take the dew claw off unless you are really having major issues. It really should be done when they are about 2-4 days old


Yeah, I've heard it can be quite painful...

If there is a tennis court nearby take the dog out to run there....it's great for the nails
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Postby mnp13 » June 14th, 2006, 2:32 pm

does she play fetch or tug?

take her to a tennis court - it's a giant nail file.
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