WinGus Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 How can I get my puppy to stop squirming when I want to cut her nails? I know she hates it and she gets a bit scared. She's going through her second fear period at the moment so I don't want to make things worse by forcing her. Can dogs feel their nails being cut? Surely it shouldn't hurt if I don't cut the quick, but the way Pepper squirms and pulls back, you'd think I cut off her whole toe!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 You should have seen Kaos when I first tried to do his nails The little bugger tried to full on bite me! This scrap of an 8 week old Kelpie! He is still rather difficult, but at least I can do them now. Now the worst he does is try to pull away or try to lie down when I want to do his front feet, with his feet curled under so I can't reach. Better than biting anyway What I did (and still do) was practice just holding his feet. So I hold his foot, give a treat, put foot down do the next one. When I could hold his foot, manipulate his foot and paw as if you were going to cut the nails. Then pick up the clippers and run them over his feet, then pretend to do a nail etc, and work up to doing a nail. All this over a period of time of course, not all in the one go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 It has nothing to do with fear periods but alot more to do with technique & the type of nail clippers you use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuddles Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 (edited) It has nothing to do with fear periods but alot more to do with technique & the type of nail clippers you use. Very true. This is how I do it.... maybe my experience may help you. I always do it straight after a bath when the nail is soft. Wrap your puppy in a towel and give it a cuddle while uncovering one paw at a time. Make it a pleasurable exercise and maybe sing I know but, it will relax you and send pleasant vibes to your puppy. Oh, and hold each claw firmly at the base to stop any vibration of the claw bed while you are clipping. I use claw clippers that have a guard on them so I cannot take too much off. Better to have to cut twice than to cut too much off it is rather important to always touch and fondle your dogs paws, ears and getting puppy used to you opening its mouth all this will make it easier for when things need doing to it or it needs a checkup at the vet. Edited December 21, 2007 by Cuddles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 My rescue puppy is 6 months old, I have never even thought about cutting her nails, how do you tell when they need cutting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spot. Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Here is a helpful link http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/dog_nails.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jillybean Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Chloe struggles and squirms all over the place when I try to clip her nails too! She doesn't have a problem with me holding her paws as she lets me do it all the time, but as soon as I get the nail clippers out she pulls away! I had a horrible experience last time where she squirmed just as I was trying to cut a nail and I ended up cutting off abit too much and got the quick and she bled. However I've since found it's a tiny bit easier if I cuddle her and someone else tries to cut them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted December 21, 2007 Author Share Posted December 21, 2007 Thanks everyone! Pepper does let me hold her paw, but as soon as she sees the clippers, she gets a bit nervous. Kavik, I'll try your suggestion and just take time to get her used to the clippers near her feet and then clip. She tries to bite me too, and that hurts me more than it hurts her claws!!!! ;) Cuddles, I tried wrapping her in a towel (as that is how I used to do my guinea pigs - boy were they easy compared to this little wriggler!!!), but she would just wriggle straight out of the towel no matter how firm I wrapped it around her! She's used to me touching her all over, but when she sees the clippers, she won't let me near her feet! Jillybean, that happened with Pepper too. With her struggling, I'll inevitably end up cutting one claw too deep and it will bleed. Wish I could get someone else to help. DH is no use, he just stands there watching and gets stressed, which makes Pepper stressed! I tell him off for this everytime. I think next time I'll have to lock up DH rather than the dog!! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuddles Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Thanks everyone! Pepper does let me hold her paw, but as soon as she sees the clippers, she gets a bit nervous.Kavik, I'll try your suggestion and just take time to get her used to the clippers near her feet and then clip. She tries to bite me too, and that hurts me more than it hurts her claws!!!! ;) Cuddles, I tried wrapping her in a towel (as that is how I used to do my guinea pigs - boy were they easy compared to this little wriggler!!!), but she would just wriggle straight out of the towel no matter how firm I wrapped it around her! She's used to me touching her all over, but when she sees the clippers, she won't let me near her feet! Jillybean, that happened with Pepper too. With her struggling, I'll inevitably end up cutting one claw too deep and it will bleed. Wish I could get someone else to help. DH is no use, he just stands there watching and gets stressed, which makes Pepper stressed! I tell him off for this everytime. I think next time I'll have to lock up DH rather than the dog!! ;) my Maltese used to freak out too and it took about a year to get him to trust me near his claws..... what I did was used human nail clippers as I could hide them in my hand and he couldn't see them and when I bathed him in the laundry sink I used to put one arm around him to hold his paw and do a quick clip before he had time to notice I had clipped his claws... sometimes I would only get about 2 claws done one each paw but I slowly worked my way up from there to where he is so good now. The secret is to be quick.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I used treats. Mitchi bit and scratched. But i treated her into letting me. She still does not like it but lets me do it. Similar to Kavik but i did it the quick way. Paw, treat. Paw clippers treat. Paw clipper clip nail treat then repeated for each nail but only did the paw treat and then clip and treat. Did it like that twice and she is fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathryn Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 My dog protests fiercely, so I now do hers when she's sleeping. She stretches right out when she sleeps, so the paws are easily accessible, and for the most part she doesn't notice - and, if she does, she's too sleepy to protest. The couple of times I ever tried to do it when she was fully awake did not go well. I'll probably do it that way with the puppy when she gets older, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Mine wouldn't stay sleeping if I tried to do his nails that way! or sleepy darn high energy dogs ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 As you have your arm around the dog, using this hand gently tap on the dogs chest to take away attention of what you are doing with their paw. Or do it outside and smear some peanut butter on the floor, quick snip while they lick. Or better yet, have a groomer show you their technique - alot less stressful for all involved to have a good technique and proper way to hold dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffnCel Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I haven't attempted Buffy's nails yet as they were quite short when we brought her home, but I read somewhere recently about using a Dremel ? instead of clippers? Does anyone know if it's possible? Or even a good idea? I'm kind of freaking out about clipping her nails as they're black and she's like a jack rabbit on speed sometimes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamSnag Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 I have it lucky my dogs go to sleep when i do there nails they love it I sit on the ground n i have my legs out the front of me n they lay in between both legs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I dremel my dogs nails ,its very easy but it still require a good techinque that is often better if your showed than struggling & teaching the dog bad habits. A good grooming salon for a small fee will show you how,the vets often are the worse for nails unless there knocked out. Even good boarding kennels will do nails or show you how Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted December 22, 2007 Author Share Posted December 22, 2007 Mine wouldn't stay sleeping if I tried to do his nails that way! or sleepy :rolleyes: darn high energy dogs Haha! Me too. I blink and Pepper wakes up!!! Dru, I was thinking about taking Pepper to a groomer and having them show me the technique. But she's a very nervous dog around strangers, so I'm not sure this is a good idea. I suppose I could always go and watch the groomer doing another dog. I heard about using a dremel too, but wouldn't it take longer? Using a clipper is pretty fast if you do it quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Well if you're ever around the Northern Beaches feel free to drop by ! And no, I dont ever charge for nail clipping :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffnCel Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I don't know, Buffy's nails are pretty thick! And they're black too, so I can't see where the quick is. If she was a smaller dog I wouldn't consider a dremel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted December 22, 2007 Author Share Posted December 22, 2007 My guinea pigs all had black nails. I used to shine a torch underneath them or lift them up to a light. Not sure if that would work with dog nails! The website that Spotty.spot.spot posted gave good advice on cutting black nails. Pepper has some black nails and I try to cut them a bit longer than the white ones. There have been times I've cut too much though and she's bled. :rolleyes: Dru, is that an offer? I'm up on the Northern Beaches quite a lot! Should move there maybe!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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