Clipping toe nails... I need your help!

[mimimomo]

Mine view the nail clipper as some sort of torture device lol. Have her associate grooming tools, in this case the dreaded nail clipper, w/her fav treat or whatever else that motivates her. Some dogs respond very well to praise. Put the nail clipper next to her & give her a treat. Let the nail clipper touch her paw & give her a treat only when she doesn't freak out, & so on. It will take some time, but she'll learn to associate it positively.
This has worked for my girls, but the boys still act like I'm killing them, they huff & puff & give me the wild eyes. kekee

[Mitzis Mom]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

I think like everything else, just go super slow and be patient. Does she let you handle her paws at all? If not, start with that. Hold her paw for a second, release, give her a treat. Repeat five times. Then after a week, move to checking her nails. After another week, cutting the hair between the toe pads. After another week, show her the clippers, Another week, put the clippers on the nail, but don't cut. Finally, finally, finally, cut a nail. At this point she will have dragon nails, but it will be temporary!

I cut one of Thor's nails way too short a few months ago and I felt so incredibly awful about it. I let the nails grow pretty far over the quick before I cut now. However, it's part of our nightly ritual, along with haircut touch ups, tooth cleaning, and brushing. I only cut one nail per night, and a lot of nights, I just examine all his paws (he gets a treat after each successful paw check). He's pretty chill about it, and since I'm looking at the nails all the time, I feel more confident about when they need a trim. Thor also has dew claws, and those are such a pain to maintain. There's like one day between "too short" and "growing into the pad". And once they are too long, it's really hard to get the clippers around them.

I also have accidentally pinched Thor with the scissors and made him yelp. I really do try to be careful, but I also want him to be able to take occasional mistakes in stride.

Thanks a lot for your input! The problem is that Maggie lets me handle her paws without any problems and tolerates the nail clippers on her nails as long as I don't try to cut them... I guess she still remembers the pain the groomers gave her when they cut to deep into the quick . What I'll try next time is to give her some childrens benadryl to calm her down and have my dh help me. That way it might be less of a fight...

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Mitzis Mom

Thanks a lot for your input! The problem is that Maggie lets me handle her paws without any problems and tolerates the nail clippers on her nails as long as I don't try to cut them... I guess she still remembers the pain the groomers gave her when they cut to deep into the quick . What I'll try next time is to give her some childrens benadryl to calm her down and have my dh help me. That way it might be less of a fight...

So you're able to actually get the clipper around her nail? Shouldn't it be very quick at that point to actually cut the nail?

If she is freaking out after the nail is cut, I'd recommend getting treats out, and lavishly treating her before and after cutting just one nail. I think if you do one nail every night, she'll eventually calm down. Also, I assume you're sure you're not cutting them too short, right?

[Mitzis Mom]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

So you're able to actually get the clipper around her nail? Shouldn't it be very quick at that point to actually cut the nail?

If she is freaking out after the nail is cut, I'd recommend getting treats out, and lavishly treating her before and after cutting just one nail. I think if you do one nail every night, she'll eventually calm down. Also, I assume you're sure you're not cutting them too short, right?

Yep, that's the funny thing, I can actually put the nail clippers on her toes, knock with the clippers and I also can use the electric Wahl clipper to trim the hair on her feet even between the toes. But as soon as I try to get a good grip to CUT the nail she freaks out. I never have cut into the quick, she never bled once when I did it only the groomers did...

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Mitzis Mom

Yep, that's the funny thing, I can actually put the nail clippers on her toes, knock with the clippers and I also can use the electric Wahl clipper to trim the hair on her feet even between the toes. But as soon as I try to get a good grip to CUT the nail she freaks out. I never have cut into the quick, she never bled once when I did it only the groomers did...

If you can actually get the clippers around her nails, can you just cut it super-fast? I would pick a nail where there is some room for error so you don't need to carefully position it. Just take off a teensy, tiny slice.

OR, maybe try "fake" clipping, where you don't even cut the nail. Just position it at the very end of her nail, and clip, so she feels just a tiny sensation.

OR, break it into an even smaller step: since she freaks out when you move the clipper into position, just densensitize her to that in tiny steps. Move the clipper into position and RIGHT before she flips out, remove the clipper and treat her. Then after a week, squeeze the clippers just a little bit, so she feels it on the nail, but don't actually cut. Then the next week, squeeze a leeeetle more.

Bottom line, I'd say you can always, always break a task into tinier pieces, and move at a pace the dog can handle. Hope this helps, or maybe gives you another idea.

By the way, I know a few trainers who actually trained their dogs to PULL on their leashes on command. They do this on cement to retard nail growth. I know you said her nails are super hard, but if she's really dragging you behind her, maybe that will do the job.

It might also help to have a really special treat she only gets at this time. Maybe little steak bits or something.

[kjc]

When I use nail snips, I only take off the tips, like 1/16th of an inch or less at a time. This way I can see the quick before I cut into it (usually). I may have to cut each nail multiple times, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Also, for comfort, some dogs don't mind cutiing fron side to side, which may pinch the nail a bit, but if that bothers them, I turn the snips to cut back to front. Back to front works best to take off tiny shavings to work towards the quick. Chipping away I call it. Not time efficient but works well.

I use a similar method with the PediPaws. I call it tap grinding. Grind for a second or two then inspect. Grind, inspect. Repeat till I see the quick. A continual grind can cause the nail to heat up, and cause uncomfortable vibration. Tap grinding avoids these problems.

Try standing her in water during her bath/shower to soften her nails, then trim/grind afterwards. Also horse hoove conditioners can be used on nails and pads. Luxurious stuff. May help to condition dry, hard nails. Available at tack shops, feed stores. (good for people hands and nails too)