Nail Trimming I groom Troy myself, mostly for cost reasons but also to reduce his anxiety level and my fear of heavy handed groomers. But he will not let me trim his nails so I take him to the vet to have it done. It takes two people to trim his nails, One to hold and one to trim. He wiggles and whines and hates it. And he knows when we go to the vet it's something up and he's shivering. I'm here to ask, does anyone have a method to sooth them or help reduce the anxiety around getting his nails trimmed? |
I am the same way. I do most of Hueys grooming myself, but I absolutely am unable to do his feet and nails. He fights, squirms, runs away, and has even acted like he wanted to nip. It is not worth it to me to even try any more. Apparently, though, I am the only one. Both his groomer and the vet techs who have trimmed his nails all state that he is a complete angel and they don't understand why I can't do it...when Troy's nails are trimmed by a professional, are you within view of him? I find that if Huey can't see me, he does much better. Also, i prefer that they use the dremel as the sharp snipping sound of the clippers seems to startle him more than the constant drone of the dremel. |
Dremel seems Moki is more calm. Even with the noise. Clippers he hates |
I also take Ian to his vet for petacures. I did do it once without a problem, but now I am so afraid of hurting him. What I do is arrive early, and take him on a long walk when we get to the vet's office...that way he's too tired to be anxious. |
Long walk or hard play before talking him to the vet will tire him out |
well mine are all the same way...except keylo since i started with her right away she could careless if i do her nails. cedric n lola what a battle. i do it after i have them clean in the bath with a bit of water still in the tub. their nails are softer the noise is less which is what bothers them i think and i usually get thru it alot faster. hope you find a solution that works for you. |
I can cut my dogs nails but don't like to. I'd rather take them to the vet or groomer. However when I've done it, I do it right after a bath when the nails are soft and I keep them in the sink so they are wrapped in towels and know its part of the grooming. I always give a cookie after grooming as well. |
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Walking on pavement daily keeps my boys' nails short. We rarely have to cut. |
I started out slowly with Tibbe and did a bit of one nail each day with the PediPaws and gave him a high-value treat afterward, together with praise and a run outside in the back yard to let off the fear and anxiety. I do Tibbe's nails on the back porch to help distract him by the outside noises and smells and to keep the nail dust from getting in the house. Almost anything that you do for a very short period of time over and over, day after day, a dog will eventually accept if you are persistent, patient but firm and gentle. He does better if I put a towel or cloth over his face while I'm doing his nails, which he now lets me do all at one session. It takes about 1 - 2 minutes to do all of them as I do them about every 4 - 7 days so they stay as short as possible. I still use the towel over his face for protection in case something flies off the machine and he still gets the treat/praise/run outside after. First and foremost, set your mind as that of a doctor doing something to a patient to make them better. Be matter-of-fact and keep going until you are done. If you use the PediPaws, it can get all caught up in the fur, the rough part can get into the pad and rough it up, etc., if you have to take off the protective head to get to the toe, as some dogs' feet are so small the housing is too bulky for the tiny foot. Tibbe's toes are too small to use the housing so I have learned to put my thumb over the pad of the toe having its nail trimmed to prevent this. So be prepared not to react horrifically if something goes wrong so your baby won't be overly scared by it. Just accept that it happened, know that it didn't really injure the dog if it caught in his hair or roughed his pad, treat and watch the area and know that doing nails this way, you won't ever likely cut the quick and cause bleeding and pain that way. I simply can't use the toenail trimmer anymore - I'm just too nervous and afraid I'll cut the quick and hurt my dog. |
If Maddie got scared in the car, I played classical music and that calmed her down. But now that she's older I just play Eddie Money and tell her to deal. |
I used to have a Shih Tzu that would fight tooth and nail about having his nails trimmed. He was a little doll about everything else but try to cut his nails and he turned into a mad dog. Two would hold him and one would try to cut but it was impossible. Finally I took him to the groomer to see what she could do. I felt terrible because I had always done all his grooming. She took the dog to the grooming room. I had my daughter go watch from the door because I was so upset about having the little guy be scared. The lady put the groomer's noose around his neck and trimmed his nails without a single problem! He never even moved his head! The next time they did not even use the groomer's noose. I would take him to a good groomer. Let them take him out back and see if he doesn't act totally different for them. Don't go back with him just let the professional (you can trust) do it. There is also a product called Rescue Remedy for pets that is an all natural product that calms animals for stressful events. You can either put it by dropper into the mouth or put it in the water. |
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They use a dremel and I'm within eyesight. I tend to walk away, but I had my daughter with me so she was watching. I don't think it's just me within eyesight though. He just doesn't like his nails trimmed. |
Agreed, your anxiety over not hurting them will definitely fuel his own anxiety. I used to go Luma's nails and she was fine. Then one day I accidentally hit the quick and I freaked out and was so upset for drawing blood. After that Luma wouldnt let me go it. Luckily we have an awesome groomer who Luma sees pretty regularly for touch ups (we're growing her hair long so no trims, just little snips to her ear hair, sanitary, shave down the corners by her eyes, between her pads) they usr the noose and she holds perfectly still, the little stinker. $7 to cut and grind her nails vs. Anxiety through the roof is worth it to me. |
All it takes is one time of having the quick cut and that is it for most dogs. It is painful and they remember. I have heard many stories of dogs that freak out for their owners doing great when the owner is not in the room. I think they are probably too scared to fight a stranger. That is why many groomers prefer the owner not be in the same room when they groom a dog. They just behave better for someone else. I saw it happen with my own ferocious fighter so there must be something to it. |
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