I took Reese to the vet so they could show me how to do it. He through such a tantrum, I actually teared up. The girls were great and gave me a tissue. They said he was doing it to upset me and he wasn't being hurt. Well, his tactics worked.

Those are the ones we use too! I've never clipped his nails on my own. He goes to the groomer every few weeks for a mani/pedi. :)

I usually swing Riley by the vet once every couple months for $15.00 a pop......

- I ordered some Millers Forge and they came in the mail, today. I am going to TRY and do them myself.... We'll see how that goes. :rolleyes:

I had the same problem, and I got tired of paying $10 to get Cesar's nails clipped, especially seeing how he has a dew claw that grows really bad on one side. It's a complete circle and instantly grows into the pad. It needs constant watch, so it's something I have to trim every few days to keep it from irritating his pad, as no vet will remove it for me regardless of how bad it is.

Here's the dew claw so you see what I mean.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...0606-00027.jpg

Some clippers you can't open before you buy cause the package is sealed. I bought the clippers on the left not knowing that they were closed end clippers, which suck. They're useless to me but I threw away the receipt so I'm stuck with them. Would not recommend these clippers.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...006_214411.jpg

I went back and bought the blue pair, which work great. They were only $9, cheaper than the red pair. The key is to work fast. Don't clip it too slowly. Once you put it on the claw, close it as fast as you can to get it over with quickly.

I've been able to use the blue clippers to easily clip his nails and take care of that nasty dew claw.

I also bought him a muzzle. It's the Petco nylon mesh in extra small. It doesn't fit tight enough even on the smallest setting, so you can see I tied the side that can't be adjusted in a knot, and then set the other side to the proper length so I can give him a nice snug fit. He doesn't like his nails or hair to be trimmed, so the muzzle was necessary for him.

This little setup has worked good so far. It's a pain in the ass job but it beats taking him to the groomer so much.

And I wouldn't pet or give the dog any affection if they're misbehaving when you're trying to groom them.

I use people toe-nail clippers on ZoE. I like that they are fairly small and easy to operate. I buy them at Rite-aid, use them til they start to dull & then throw them out & buy new. They're really cheap. I just trim off a lil tiny bit every week after her bath, as its's easier then to move her feet hair out of the way & just get the nail. She's 10 months old & is totally used to me doing it now.

I just cut her nails tonight and then took her for a walk on a local paved walking path...that helps to file them a lil too :)

It's what I was told. I haven't been able to confirm it because Cody is so difficult. He doesn't want his feet touched. I thought about a file and tried one of my fingernail files for kicks to see if he would let me use it. He didn't like it either.

Have others been successful with a file?

I have no problem using a file

Trimming nails
 

My Rocky hates it, too. His were just done at the vet today and the poor technician looked like a deer in the headlights when she brought him back. I think he was worse about getting his nails trimmed than he was about getting the cyst under his chin drained.