Nail clipping...need I say more?
Thanks in advance! |
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| I have been lucky with my dogs, most stand still for nail clipping and there's no problem. Phoebe is even pretty good about it, but all my dogs are used to having their nails clipped from the time they are about a week old. My parents dog is a nightmare about it though, so when I do his I literally sit on him to pin him down and just do it as fast as possible. He has resigned himself to the fact that he just isn't going to get away with his usual crap with me so it gets easier each time. |
Yea, this last time, I literally had to pin him down and do it. I felt really bad about it...I really didn't want to create scary, negative associations, you know. But what do you do when the scary, negative associations are already there and they won't let you clip their nails?? I just hope and pray it will get easier as time goes along. I'm really careful when I do it, my breeder advised taking off the tiniest bit and just doing it weekly - so the nightmare is repeated on a weekly basis....  * sigh * |
Wait till some of those pretty pink ones turn black, that's fun trying to know how far down to cut.  Last time I did Syds, one nail black and YEP we had a bleeder, bad momma    Babs has two blackies on each paw now, pink ones not too bad as you can see how far to cut, momma has all black now and a pain in the .... to do her manicure and pedicure just in case I go too crazy with clipping the nails, when you do hit that quick my GAWD it bleeds big time. Now if I have not scared you off, without clipping nails at the time, while relaxing play with his paws, I do that from bubbers up, sticking my finger between the pads, squishing the paws, real touchy feeling so as time goes by there very happy to be #1 combed or brush there and hair between the pads trimmed, #2 handling there the feet and paws without any drama or resistance and most important #3 happy to have me hold the paw and clip those nails. There only unhappy when momma makes a boo boo and goes too far with the nail clipping on those darn black nails.  Only done it once with Syds one and only black nail and after all these years of never hitting that quick well next time after the bleeder way more carefull and he still trusts me to do it, dont know why after blood blood everywhere   |
| You have to work on desensatizing the feet. This can take time, days, weeks or even months. By doing it with small steps, you MAY make your dog feel differently about it all. Never rush it First start with stroking the feet, after each foot praise and treat. Remember take your time, dont force things make it as nice as possible. Second is just holding the foot Then a foot massage Then bring the nail clippers so your dog can see them, dont use them yet. Massage the paws with the nail clippers. Then tap the paws with the clippers. This may be a few weeks later!! If you feel your dog is ready then cut one nail on each paw, remember lots of praise, some of their favorite treats Next time do a different nail. I am groomer, nails can be a nightmare, especially with big dogs. I give my clients 4 choices, i cut the nails, but if the dog gets stressed i wait for the owner as the dog is more relaxed when they are there. If we cant do the nails between us then they go to the vets. But i also offer weekly sessions on desensatizing them. Some times it works sometimes it doesnt |
| Forgot to mention Cutting the nail, black, white or pink its easy... when you know how The nail is structured in a way that. If you look at the nail from underneith, the end of it will be hollow, this is safe to cut If your looking at the nail from the front, try putting your nail clippers up the back of the nail you will feel them stop as the clippers get to the full nail The slow but sure way is little. by little and imaging like when you cook spagettie and your checking if its cooked when not quite done theres a small circle in the soagetti This is the equivilent to the nail as your getting to the quick, the bit that bleeds when you cut it If you do cut the quick either use quick stop or if you dont have anything available use corn flour I dont like using guiloteen clippers on a nervous dog as if they pull away as your about to cut it may hurt them |
| Have you tried a dremel? You can start out with it going pretty slow so he gets used to the sound & feel. Soon you can rev it up & file away quickly. This is how I do all my dogs' nails. Otherwise they'd have to go to the vet for him to cut them. |
| We bought a dremel for Dahlia so we can keep them filed in between the groomer's cutting... We are in the process of de-sensitizing her to the sound of the dremel. She hates it... so, we need to keep it running and give her treats so she can like the sound instead of hating it. |
| We happily pay the groomer we go to the $11 to 'grind' Zo-Zo's nails. She sits for them, always has nice, smooth nails with no sharp edges. Vance |
All mine get trimmed at home. 5 of them go on the grooming table and we just work our way through. On a roll I do several in under 15 minutes. Several dogs that is.  Maggie is freaked by it (came as an abused and neglected rescue coonhound) - and she just squirts out her anal glands every time, so we do her outside..... I would go broke paying $11 per dog - and would never do it anyway, as it's so simple to do. And as they really should be done every 2-3 weeks, it's just a good skill to learn for both human and dog. Mine love getting treats on the table. Even the ones who don't love it are still milling around under the table to have their turn... |
| I guess we are lucky with Dexter, I have used a Dremel with him since he was about 12 weeks old. We walk him a lot so about all I have to do is round off the sharp tips. It took one or two de-sensitizing sessions and now it isn't a problem. He also lets me use a cordless beard trimmer to trim between his toes; very quick, does a great job and I can't nick him. He won't tolerate both operations in one sitting but will allow it with a 10 mintue break in between. |
Quote: I would go broke paying $11 per dog - and would never do it anyway, as it's so simple to do. Really!  Meesha was traumatized by a too short trim of one toe nail at the vet's office. She never forgot it. She's been afraid of nail clippers ever since but will allow me to grind them with a Dremel and file them. The top of this page http://untilyoufindme.com/Grinding-Nails.htm explains how we get puppies to accept nail trimming. A vet recommended I do this when we brought in our first OESs 7+ years ago... also about how to get them used to having their ears plucked. It's worked for every puppy we've had since Meesha. Below is a boy that just had his nails ground and his pads shaved. (Before anyone freaks, that's Bumble's bed, not mine!! ) It's sooo worth the effort you put into puppies to get them to willingly comply with what needs to be done. |
| Thank you, Jaci! Your link is very helpful. We have the dremel sitting here and when we turn it on, Dahlia runs out of the room. We bought a base model since it was cheap (Dremel 100) Should we return it and invest in a better model that might be more quiet? Or should we just try and desensitize her with treats and keep the thing running in the background? I also like the attachment idea. We will need to get one of those. |
| It depends on how loud the Dremel is... the grinders I've used all make some level of noise. It may not sound as threatening at a slower speed. Each dog is different so it's hard to tell how they'll react. Do you have a battery palm clipper? (Honest, it's relevant. ) I've used them to desensitize a dog to the vibration of clippers and grinders. I find it comes in handy later on anyway when pet-grooming so it might not be a bad $10-$16 investment. I use rechargeable batteries in mine (a couple of the ConairPet clippers) because they run much longer on them compared to the disposable batteries. I also have more already charged and ready to go when a battery runs out of power.What I like about these clippers (the ones I have anyway) is that I can leave the guard on the blade end while it's running so I don't accidentally take off part of a beard on an inquisitive or wiggly pup. http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Battery-Po ... hg_title_3 http://www.amazon.com/Conair-Palm-Pro-P ... 896&sr=1-8 I encourage the pup to check out the clipper first while it's turned off, then distract with a toy or treats. Still keeping the clipper turned off, I run it over their body during the nightly play-grooming so they get used to the tool itself. If all has gone well over a few days, I'll turn the clipper on and again encourage the puppy to investigate. I again distract with toy or treats and start moving the bottom (opposite the blade) of the clipper across their back... all over if they're accepting of it and finally on their feet and each toe. If they seem nervous, I encourage to them to investigate again and cajole them to try to get them to wiggle. I don't allow a puppy/dog to stop a grooming session with crazy antics or misbehaving... I'll back off if it's not going well but not let the puppy believe they ended it... and I always try to end on a positive note. Then trying it all again the next night. But treats/toys end when the clipper is turned off so they will hopefully come to relate the clipper with "good" things. Later it's transferred over to the actually nail grinder. Something that my husband used to do with Emma and Darby when they were puppies... He uses an electric razor to shave every morning and they'd come in the bathroom to see him while he was shaving. Just goofing off, he'd take the back of the razor and run it along their bodies. I didn't realize it then but he was desensitizing them to being shaved later on. eh...just the way I do it. Only you know how your pup may react. I would just much rather bribe a dog to do something rather than forcing them. There are likely better ways so get more opinions! When I use a nail grinder without that guard around the spinning drum (I have this one- http://www.amazon.com/Oster-78129-650-P ... B0002DHH42 ), I use this disk- http://untilyoufindme.com/Whoopee-For-OESs.htm It just helps to keep the hair away from the spinning grinder drum and only takes a second to slip it on the nail. The pros probably know how to easily keep the hair back... for me, it's more of a challenge.  I just feel more comfortable using it because I don't want to harm the dog. A jar opener might also work too... Ilene (ICH here on the forum) thought that it was one! I need to try that to see how it works. |
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