Nail Trimming

[cassie]

Arrrggghhh Hudson WILL NOT let me cut his nails! I've trimmed them many times before, the second time I ever did them I cut slightly into the quick, he didn't seem fased at all and although it bled like a stuck pig, I managed to stop the flow quite quickly and returned to trimming the rest of them, and he was fine. Since then, I've trimmed them a few times and not had a problem. Now all of a sudden he's decided it's the scariest thing in the world and even with both my OH and I holding him down, he won't let us near them, he just won't hold still and struggles free everytime. (I've tried a quiet gentle approach as well, ie. without him being held down, still to no avail.) I need some help!!! :p They NEED trimming as I can hear them when he walks on the floorboards so I know they're getting too long. I highly doubt a vet or groomer or anyone else would have any luck either. Do you think a dremel would work? If so where do I buy one and roughly what do they cost? He's only 6.5 months old but WOW is he strong!

[Vehs]

wasn't there a post about giving them a jar of peanut butter to occupy themselves while you clip away?

or you can do the slow, slow and steady training of touch paw - treat, touch nail - treat

what if you wear him out with a big run and hop to it when he's a asleep?

[trishalouise]

Hi Cassie!

I LOVE my Dremel! Both mine have black nails so I am too much of a wuss to clip them!! The Greyhound just lays there and hardly even opens his eyes! The Poodle puts up a token struggle but soon settles. I do them once a week and they are really easy. I am not sure that Hudson would love it but if you introduce it slowly and positively he should accept it. Remember that he is currently a teenager and everything is spooky at the moment!! Because of this I would be taking my time getting him to happily accept it rather than holding him down and making it a bad experience. Better to take it slowly now rather than having to struggle with him over it forever. My tip is to get a proper Dremel if you decide to go that way. I bought a Bunnings cheapy first and it was useless. Have recently bought a Dremel and it is so much better. The cheapest I found was here.

Good Luck!

Trish

[Golden Rules]

Yup, dremel is the way to go here

[Leema]

I like this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEwiH8CeUE

If you would like me to give you a hand doing this I can - but it's a pretty simple step by step approach.

[MadWoofter]

This post couldn't have come at a better time. Tess' nails are so long, and all of a sudden she won't let me near them.

Please explain the dremel - do you just grind them down?

[Golden Rules]

This post couldn't have come at a better time. Tess' nails are so long, and all of a sudden she won't let me near them.

Please explain the dremel - do you just grind them down?

Yes that's pretty much it in a nutshell

[sas]

My dogs hate the Dremel, mine makes a horrible noise.

I just file my dogs nails when they're asleep, if they wake up they're typically too doopey to care.

[cassie]

I like this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEwiH8CeUE

If you would like me to give you a hand doing this I can - but it's a pretty simple step by step approach.

Wow, that's good! Very impressive! (And yes so simple) Thanks for posting. I have never ever used a clicker but perhaps should try it for nail trimming. He's pretty thick though sometimes! I wonder if he would "get it"? (You can tell I know nothing about clicker training...)

My dogs hate the Dremel, mine makes a horrible noise.

I just file my dogs nails when they're asleep, if they wake up they're typically too doopey to care.

With a human nail file? Does it take ages? Work well?

wasn't there a post about giving them a jar of peanut butter to occupy themselves while you clip away?

or you can do the slow, slow and steady training of touch paw - treat, touch nail - treat

what if you wear him out with a big run and hop to it when he's a asleep?

We sort of did a combination of these this afternoon with some success, took him for a walk so he was not so wound up, then OH fed him and distracted him with a pigs ear while I got to work on the nails. He still gave us a hard time of it, but at least they're done, for now!

For the future I'm definitely considering a Dremel. (Thanks Trish for posting the link.) This is possibly a very dumb question! But is a "Dremel" a tool solely for doggy manicures, or is it used for something else in the power tool world? :D And are there different sizes or anything? My boys are big, would you use the same tool on them as you would on say a Chihuahua?

[Garloch]

A dremel is a powertool, used mainly for cutting and grinding, but can be used for many things. Dremel (the actual brand) is somewhat pricey, and you buy different heads to go on it, from powertool shops. Cheaper ones can be noisy and offputting. Spend the money and get a quiet one.

One method that may help when you go to grind down the nail, make sure you grind it down the way it sits when your dog is standing. Som e people make the mistake of grinding it the wrong angle, and if you do it wrong, its like you trying to stand on your long fingernails. Elementary - yes, but I have seen what its done to a dog. Another hint is to put a pantihose kneelength sock over the paw, and stick the nails thru the material. This keeps the hair away from the rotating head of the Dremel, otherwise it can get ripped out, and you'll never get near him again with the dremel.

Or, you could look at the way a farrier picks up horses hoofs. Comes in from behind, picks them up, and holds them backwards. You can then clip his nails quickly. You are going to need to do anything a few times first (with treats and no cutting) to make him trust you. He is probably just entering a fear period, so things that were fine yesterday, frighten him today.

Yes, you can use a very rough human nailfile, but it takes a while to do 20 nails.

Good luck.

Hope this helps.

[cassie]

Thankyou Garloch, yes it does help :D I didn't realise Dremel was the brand! Thought it was the name of the tool, like "hammer" or "saw" I'm such a girl

[B-Q]

I like this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEwiH8CeUE

If you would like me to give you a hand doing this I can - but it's a pretty simple step by step approach.

I was going to sugghest this vid aswell.

Buster has nearly alll black nails (2 are white) and he's behaves very well but I am still looking at tracking down a dremel, much easier and won't leave those painful sharp ends

[bingo]

I like the look of the Peticure

http://www.peticure.com/demos.html

The following link is for the peticure safe guard it's self, and a list of Dremel rotary tools it fits they also have packs of filing bands available too:

http://www.peticure-grooming.com/Peticure-...ard_p_0-14.html

There is also a Dremel rotary tool available thats called a 9.6v Multi Pro which looks like the exact same thing as the Peticure Elite model but I cant seem to find any shops selling them in Australia yet only the more expensive lithium version.

http://www.hobbycentre.com.au/DREMEL08.html

[Turkey Trip]

I have a Dremel but it is still fairly noisy and the dogs do not really like it. (But patiently put up with it)

It is effective, but you must just use the sandpaper drum and only touch-touch the nail, taking a bit off at a time. If you hold the rotating tool steadily against the nail or for too long, the actual nail will get very hot due to friction. Touch it and see! The poor dog cannot tell you it is happening but it must be very uncomfortable as the dremel heats up the sensitive quick.

I lie the dog on its back, making it comfortable with a towel folded for pillowing the head and supporting the sides. Starting with the offside front paw, lightly touch the Dremel to each toenail several times before moving on to the next nail. Just touch, touch touch and keep changing nails so they do not get hot. Just go back down the line to remove more nail and stop when you get almost to the end of the quick or if you see the spongy crescent shape starting to appear on a black nail. The dog will tell you if you are getting too close to the quick.

A very good alternative to the Dremel is to trot off the Bunnings (or any good hardware store) and buy a "Bastard File". No, I'm actually not swearing. It is a file with a very rough surface and comes in various sizes, just buy an appropriate size for your dog. I have two sizes, a medium for the adults and a smaller one for puppies or to take to shows.

The dogs don't mind this at all and will MUCH prefer it to clippers. Just hold the nail up (I find supporting the nail by propping it with a spare finger also helps keep the 'victim' happy as it does not swivel on its base attachment and must feel more comfortable to the dog this way.) and file the nail from underneath and in an upwards sweep in the direction of the head. Hmm. Easier to do than describe. Just do a sweep of each nail to get your dog used to the procedure, gradually build up the time spent filing and eventually they will just go to sleep - no hassle at all.

Now that the OP's dog expects to be hurt it won't like its feet being held as it anticipates the pain of a cut quick. Try going back a step and just keep gently picking the feet up and handling them gently, gradually building up the time and getting the dog's confidence back. Lots of praise and treats will help. After the dog has relaxed and become accepting of the handling, gradually introduce the file and build up the exposure slowly until the problem disappears.

The file will not hurt the dog like clippers can do as it is a gentler, slower process rather than a "chop" and you can better see when to stop.

[GoldiesRgr8Poodles2]

Meh! $10 Ill do it at my salon havent met a dog yet that i couldnt do

[stormie]

Cassie, I had issues with Orbit not that long ago, with him hating me doing his nails (and I get what you mean, when I giant dog doesn't want you to do it, you've got a battle on your hands trying to hold them still!!!). I started doing clicker training with him (which he picked up so super fast!!!) and then incorporated the clicker into nail clipping. I taught him the 'touch' command, and made him touch the clippers with his nose and paws. It literally took one session with the clicker to have him giving me his paw to clip his nails!! I just made it so that the clip sound of the clippers meant a treat!

When I clip his nails, I just take of tiny bits at a time so I can see when I'm getting closer to the quick. Funny, I have nicked him a couple of times still, and yet he still just sits there waiting for his treats, still offering me his paws!! Silly boy!