[MercedesMama]

As most of you know I have a Basset Hound who is a little over a year old. Very sweet, pretty well behaved, but HATES and I mean HATES to have his nails trimmed, by me. I can take him into Petsmart, the Vet, where ever and he is great. "Oh Parker was so good." But when I try, well it's like trying to pin down a bull. He hops, bucks, howls, yelps, runs away, and tries to attack the clippers. I have tried to make it as pleasant of an occasion as I can with no good result. Any suggestions? I'm getting tired of paying $15+ everytime it needs to be done.

[Galadriel]

Get a helper....a big one =)
Lay him down on his side, have your helper grab the feet that are on the floor and hold them up a little, while he/she put their body weight on the dog. Have them hold their forearm across the top part of the neck, where it meets the jaw, and hang on tight!

[Michele]

Another option is getting a dremel (sp).

[airwalk]

Originally Posted by Galadriel Get a helper....a big one =) Lay him down on his side, have your helper grab the feet that are on the floor and hold them up a little, while he/she put their body weight on the dog. Have them hold their forearm across the top part of the neck, where it meets the jaw, and hang on tight!

Yep that's pretty much the program with my lab....and Scooter is very, very front feet sensitive, so he gets firm obedience commands and I still hold his head to ensure he doesn't snap at my helper.

[buddysmom]

I was in the same situation and went with the dremel. It has made our lives easier and i think it is much more comfortable for the dog.

[MercedesMama]

Well I broke down and took him to have it done today . I know we have a Dremel somewhere. I just need to find it. Thanks for the tips!

[Proud Marine Dad]

I am in the same boat as Tasha does not like her feet touched.
I tried a Dremel once and she was scared to death and ran away from me.

Her nails are once again getting long and I am afraid she is going to break one again so I have to do something. The vet said to "make it an enjoyable experience and not hold them down to do it which makes it a negative thing with the dog." Well how do I do that?
I can't afford the vet to cut them every few weeks either so I have to find a way to cut them. I guess I will buy some trimmers at PetCo or something.

[K9 Love]

The question isn't can it be done, it's are you willing to put the time and effort into being able to do it!

I gave in a bought a dremmel. My dogs were fine with the scissor type clippers, which IMO are much better than the guillotine (sp?) type, but I could never get close enough to the quick with Hades. The dremmel keeps his nails short and looking tidy.

First thing I would do is the bonding excercise with your dog. You place your dog in the down and straddle them, do not allow them to get up. This is not the same as alpha rolling a dog, you are not grabbing them and throwing them to the floor. You place them in a down, straddle them and give them a good shoulder rub to calm them down.

Most dogs will yawn after a few minutes and then it's time to start touching every part of their body. Start by cupping his muzzle with one hand, then sniffing his ears, flipping them back, looking inside. Then use your thumb to pull down his lower eye lid, touch his nose firmly, look at his bite then open his mouth and look inside.

If they get disturbed at any time, put a firm hand on their shoulder, than go back to a deep shoulder rub. Not fast rubbing, slow and methodical. When they're calm go back to whatever you were doing.

After you've done his face, grab each foot, and touch each nail firmly. If he has a foot phobia, keep some treats handy and during each touch feed a treat. Next step is to delay the reward, meaning; touch his feet, THEN reward.

When your done, you get off of the dog, still not allowing them to get up, and roll them onto their side, saying "side". I find keeping a hand on their shoulder and in the collar will help to keep them down if they try to get up. On their side you check their bellies, privates, back feet and bums. Giving a name to each part of the body touched.

When YOUR ready to let them up and they are calm, use your release word.

The bonding excercise is just a fantastic way to do just that. Your dog will trust you to touch any part of their body. About a year ago Hades got a stick lodged between his two molar teeth and it was no problem to remove it myself as I've had my hands in his mouth everyday since he was a puppy. At the vets when my dogs have an injury it's no problem for her to touch them no matter where it is.

That's a completely separate excercise from what I'm about to type which is specific to doing your dog's nails.

When I started doing my dogs nails, I always did it in the same spot. The kitchen, where it's quiet and the light is bright. I asked my dogs to down, and lie on their side, which they already knew from doing the bonding excercise. Treat. I sit down, so their bellies are facing me, and place a leg over them, just in case. Treat. I pick up a foot. Treat. I touch a nail. Treat. I clip a nail. Treat... See where I'm going? Now when I say "Treat", I mean just that. No talking, no good boy, such a good boy, pop the treat right into his mouth and that's that. Talking only get's our dogs more excited then they need to be, they know they're good because they got a treat. Nothing needs to be said.

If they put up a fuss, I wait calmly. Do not let them up. If they get up they find that if they put up enough of a struggle you'll give up. Once they get up once, they'll struggle even HARDER the next time, because last time ir worked right? I don't say much, maybe a very firm, "Your fine" and that's it. When they stop their fussing, treat and right back to cutting their nails.

After each foot, they get a break, but are not allowed up, and they get a jackpot.

That's for actually cutting their nails, which should be done once a week.

Everyday a few times a day, I would bring my dogs to the "spot" and go through the routine, just by touching the clippers to their nails. Rewarding frequently and with something spectacular.

Sorry this has gotten long, but I hope it makes sense.

You can do this! You don't need to spend so much money! You can do it!

[CoolHandJean]

Anyone know if that Petacure (spelling) thing really works? Anyone seen the commercials?

[Proud Marine Dad]

Thanks K9 Love.

The problem is that her nails need cutting now or she will be going to the vet again if she breaks one like last time.

[littledozer24]

Lugz hates to get his nails clipped. It was nail clipping day at our house. The 3 little ones, I'm usually able to do by myself and I can do Lugz by myself if I have to but it is a chore for 2. I have to straddle him; hold him down; and somehow hold his paw still and clip. He does better when I do his back paws (I think that is because he can't see what I'm doing).

Sorry, no advice there. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.

A dremmel type device won't work for Lugz; because he hates the noise.

[K9 Love]

If she's that bad, I would have her sedated or use the "calming remedies" they have out now.

And I would start all of the above immediately, numerous times throughout the day with high, high reward.

Sometimes we make it sound like our dogs are worse then they really are too. I mean, I don't doubt that they put up a fuss, but I've yet to meet a dog that will put up a fuss for over two minutes. It's that they put up a fuss, and we let them get away with it, rather than waiting out the storm calmly than continuing about with our business.

I'm all for doing things as positively as possible, but when it comes to dog irrational fears (OMG, I hope no one uses this tact on me with my fears, rofl), I find that most of the fuss is just a learned behaviour. It works for them. So if we stop it from working, then heavily reward for the desired behaviour, dogs are quick to follow suit.

[luvapit]

a lot of times dogs will be better for someone else, other than their owner because their owner will give up easier. In my experience, the best things to do when you have a dog that really hates it, is do what Galadriel suggeseted, and ley the dog on the side, and have someone hold it down, or, ir you have an EXTREMELY food motivated dog, feed it treat after treat and talk to id during the procedure, most the time, the do doesn't even realize what is going on. Obviously that takes two people, lol. If neither of those will work for you, you may have to bring the dog in and pay to have it done. Also, some good ways to keep the nails naturally short, to need minimal, and on some dogs no trimming: for the front nails, encourage digging, for the back nails, lots of running on pavement works awesome (and will help a bit with the front too) The dremel works great on some dogs, but some dogs are terrified of it. I love to use it on my own dog, and sometimes some dogs are better for the dremel than the nail trimmers, some dogs don't want anything like either of them anywhere near their feet. Also, if you do not have experience doing the nails with a dremel, I recommend against it, as it can be very dangerous to you and the dog. I have seen some bad things happen (but I've seen bad things with a regular nail trimmer as well)

[boscoboy]

Originally Posted by CoolHandJean Anyone know if that Petacure (spelling) thing really works? Anyone seen the commercials?

I saw the commercial also, thought about getting it. For $29.99 its worth it. Thats 2 visits you don't have to do and the tool has already paid for itself. I pay 15 bucks also to get bosco's nails trimmed.

[Wyldmoonwoman]

I have a random thought here, but what about draping a towel over the dogs head to calm it, like they do with horses, blinding the eyes...


Or trimming while someone is giving belly scritches and treats

Here is my suggestion. First off holding them down will make them more scared and hate it even more. You should start by taking your dog for a long walk make them tired. Come home get the clippers don't clip the nails yet. Get the clippers and start petting your dog.
Playing with her feet give her treats every time she lets you get the clippers close to her paws. Do this for a few days let her/him get used to seeing you pet them with clippers in your hand. The key is to pet their paws alot with the clippers in hand. Then slowly start doing like one nail a day. Make sure he/she is comfortable he/she will get used to it with in a few weeks and it will be really easy.

Make sure your nail clippers are sharp as dual clippers have a habit of splitting the nail instead of cutting it which can be really painful for your dog.

I found clippers are easier for me as my dog don't like things with motors.
Hair clippers, dremel, blow dryer, etc.

I hope this helps you out a bit.

[NiksLotto]

Anyone heard of the Salon Shaper? Just wondering if that could work just as well? It has a filer attachment..but I know if I leave it on my nail too long it starts burning...I know it may be a long shot, but anybody tried it for dog's nails??

[Teal]

Which part of the clipping experience does your dog hate, having his feet touched or the actual clippers?

Either way, I have one word for you: desensitize. I didn't read any other posts in this thread, so if someone already said it, I'm sorry!

Make having their feet touched, or seeing the clippers, a GOOD experience. For feet - touch their foot briefly, then give a treat. Slowly work up to the amount of time you touch their feet before you treat. Then lift the paw for a second, and treat. Again, slowly work up to how long you hold the feet before you treat. For the clippers... have them see and sniff the clippers, then treat. Touch the clippers to their feet for a second, then treat... etc. etc. Work up to holding the dogs foot in one hand and squeezing the clippers in the other... treat. Touch the clippers to the nail... treat. Trim one nail... treat and PRAISE. I forgot PRAISE! Give lots of praise for not being fearful or nasty about the situation.

[Rai_77]

I can't trim my girl's nails (she hates to have her feet touched, and her nails are black which is just too scary for me to do!) Luckily, I found a private grooming place the only charges $3 for a nail trim. I was paying $18 a pop to have the vet techs do it. You might be able to find a similar bargain if you call around to the little mom n pop grooming shops.

[PNWPBR]

I know it doesnt help much with people who already have adult dogs, but with our adopters and foster homes, when it comes to puppies we cannot stress handling the feet enough! Touch those feet people! It will save you heartache years down the road!