Hi - We've been through the same kind of thing! Our dogs go bonkers when we trim their nails. Here's some of the things we've heard as to why they could be like this and what to do...
We heard that probably someone bled them at some point when trimming the nails. This book said that the pain they experience when the nails are clipped too short is something they never forget....
We took our dog to the vet for help once too. Tobey was absolutely off the wall wild about having his nail trimmed!!!! At that time our vet told us, "Watch and see. When he's four years old, then he'll let you trim them." Well, he fought us and fought us 'till he turned four. We couldn't believe how right our vet was! It cracked us up! We talked to him about it and he said, "It just takes till they're about four years old till the rebelous spunk is out of 'em."
At first Pepper (who is now 1 1/2 yrs old) was fine about his nails. Perhaps the groomer bled him. I don't know, but now he is bonkers too. I am taking the approach of giving him treats and working him into it. Also, I am trimming them VERY, VERY often. At least once or twice a week. If I have to, I only do the front paws and then do the back paws later. (Yup - the backs are the absolute worst!!!) He is gradually getting better every time. I just started working on this about four weeks ago and am quite pleased at the progress. I sit Indian style and lay him in my lap up-side down with his head cradeled in my left arm. Then I wrap my right leg on top of him and he can't get out for nothing!!! He is learning to calm down and now it doesn't take much force at all to keep him. After every paw he get a break and a treat.
Josie is just 15 weeks old and I've been trimming her nails at least once a week. They haven't bled once. When she went to the groomer I told them NOT to trim her nails. So far so good!! Hurrah!!!!! She's a breeze. She has absolutely no problem with me trimming her nails. BUT! Our other two were fine in the beginning too, so we've yet to see what Josie's nail trimming future holds!! We're hoping experience has taught us how to prevent the problem. Hopefully, hopefully.....
All the best to you!!! I know what a hassel it is! |