arjay Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) My 11 month rottweiler, does not like me cutting his nails with the clippers. I remember it was abit easier when he was alot younger for me to approach his nails, but now he will bite my hand(not hard) when I hold any of his paws. I did use treats back than, but I kinda concentrated on other training tricks and didnt do the whole paw/nail thing.,maybe Im not doing it right? Can anyone tell me how to start from scratch and make him gain confidence when I do approach his nails.? Edited February 2, 2012 by arjay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben and Jerry Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Are you able to just play with his paws whilst playing or when he's relaxed or are you just trying to play with them when you have clippers in your hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjay Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Are you able to just play with his paws whilst playing or when he's relaxed or are you just trying to play with them when you have clippers in your hand? Everytime I just play with his paws, he will try to remove my hands with his mouth or try to move away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 does he do a 'shake' or 'paw' trick? you could start with that, treat for touching his paw to your hand, then gently hold his paw for a second then treat that, then slowly build up the time. Then repeat with the clippers in your other hand, then treat for just touching the clippers to his paw etc. It will take time and patience though :) Also if you do regular pats or massage, include his paws in the pat in a casual way. I did this with my girl who hated having her ears cleaned, I would scratch her on the top of the head, behind the ears, then poke inside her ears and then keep on scritching the rest of her head, so it just became routine. I actually gave up on my boy and clippers because he already had a negative experience and bought a dremel. I am happier with this too because he has black nails and I don't fear using the dremel as much as clippers. Which means I now clip one dog's nails and dremel the other :rolleyes: but they seem happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Is there someone I can pay to cut nails? I need to do Lucys but reckon she'll be hard to do (she last had them done when she was under GA being desexed). I wondered if vets or groomers just cut nails for a cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben and Jerry Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Is there someone I can pay to cut nails? I need to do Lucys but reckon she'll be hard to do (she last had them done when she was under GA being desexed). I wondered if vets or groomers just cut nails for a cost? I guess it depends on the groomers, but we have a local groomer who will do nails for $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest donatella Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Thats really good, I'd pay that, might do some calling, thanks (sorry to side track the topic too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 groomers or vet nurses will do nails. To the OP - have you tried just telling your dog 'NO' when being silly over his feet and just get on with doing them? I'd never let my dogs fart about if they are having their nails done. The Giants I find easier to roll onto their backs then I can easily see the nail and where it wants to be trimmed to, the minis get held upside down on my lap. Dogs in the shop get trimmed on the table and again i don't let them behave silly, there really should be no need to spend weeks with treats and just touching the foot (unless the dog has suffered some trauma over having their feet touched) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 While I agree with Becks to an extent, I worry that if the OP's dog is mouthing already that pushing the dog out of it's comfort zone too far could lead to a nasty bite. Especially in the hands of someone who I assume isn't a professional groomer. This sounds like for whatever reason the dog is a bit traumatised by it, and it only takes a minute a few times a day to build a positive association with having his feet handled. I have done less conditioning with Weez and the dremel because he wasn't already afraid of it, and we will just hold him down and get on with it, but if I were going to go back to the clippers which he is already afraid of, I would be a lot more wary about making his fear greater with each session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I think unless the dog is in pain the second you stop the dog wins, Toby used to be a little terror, mouthing my hand and going for the clippers. I persisted, even if I just did one nail and then gave him a treat. Always end the hold on your terms and do short sessions, often. Toby is now an angel to do and sits there calmly looking bored. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzledx2 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 $10 for the risk of being bitten..... You would have to be honest with the groomer and for their own safety they would more than likely muzzle him. This is likely to push him way out of his comfort zone. Do you think he could cope with that? He is pushing the bounderies by mouthing you in protest. I would be embarking on a routine of de-sensitizing him and teaching him that he may not like it but he does have to accept people touching his feet. Use rewards and perhaps work up to a tiny clip of the tips just before his dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 the second you stop the dog wins Agree with this too, I think the worst thing I did was stop the trimming session when Weez got nicked. Since then when clipping the Foxdog whenever she has a little yelp I make sure I clip at least 2 more nails before ending the session, and she is still fine with the clippers (although she's also a much braver dog generally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Reasons to trim your dogs nails every week from puppyhood? See some posts above. You want the procedure to be a regular, "no big deal" part of the dog's life. Ditto grooming generally. Nail clipping is an important part of dog husbandry that should be attended to regularly. The less often nails are clipped, the longer the quick grows and the longer nails have to remain as a result. I'm with others here. The dog isn't going to like it but they do have to tolerate it. Reward that tolerance but don't take 'no' for an answer in a pup and you will pretty quicky have a dog that handles its nails being clipped with minimal fuss. Even if you do have to dig them out from under the bed when the Dremel comes out. ;) For a mouthing dog, I'd probably seek the help of an additional person and offer treats while the nails are done. Having someone to keep the foot steady and treat the dog will help. You don't have to do 20 nails per session.. even one or two then release and treat or play. You also don't have to take all excess off - even a teeny bit is good if you lack confidence with clippers (get a good set or a Dremel and it's way easier btw) Buy some quick stop or have cornflour on hand for any quick that is cut. The idea that a dog will only allow its feet to be handled by a stranger isn't a good one. What happens if it picks up a thorn? A desensitisation process would be good for dogs showing resistance or aggression. Start with just handling feet and rewarding and progress from there. It might be a good thing to do just before the dog's meal time. Edited February 3, 2012 by Telida Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinabean Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 While I agree with Becks to an extent, I worry that if the OP's dog is mouthing already that pushing the dog out of it's comfort zone too far could lead to a nasty bite. Especially in the hands of someone who I assume isn't a professional groomer. This sounds like for whatever reason the dog is a bit traumatised by it, and it only takes a minute a few times a day to build a positive association with having his feet handled. I have done less conditioning with Weez and the dremel because he wasn't already afraid of it, and we will just hold him down and get on with it, but if I were going to go back to the clippers which he is already afraid of, I would be a lot more wary about making his fear greater with each session. Like Weasels, I have had much better success at doing my dog's nails using a dremel. I'm a novice dog owner and in hindsight I've made many mistakes with my dog. One of them was not getting him more used to having his feet handled. He has always struggled and hated his nails being clipped, right from puppyhood. He's not food motivated, so treats went untouched while he got completey stressed by the clippers. He is otherwise a sweet compliant boy but he was stressed enough to mouth my hands and try to bite the clippers. It was always hard to see what I was doing. I bought him a muzzle, just to do his nails (he has never otherwise shown any tendency to fear-bite!) It failed dismally to stay on his Brachy head, though he didn't bite me, thankfully. As he grew bigger and stronger (he's a Boxer) it became increasingly hard to do his nails. Some of them stay worn down by walking but there are a few that get long and require shortening. In desperation I bought a dremel. From the very first use, it was a success. I tired him out with a good long walk, then tethered him (very short tether) and lightly dremelled his nails. He was curious but not distressed and I rewarded him afterwards with a game, to end on a positive note. I made sure I repeated the experience regularly after that. And he now doesn't mind it at all. Good luck with your dog. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydoo Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Is there someone I can pay to cut nails? I need to do Lucys but reckon she'll be hard to do (she last had them done when she was under GA being desexed). I wondered if vets or groomers just cut nails for a cost? I have had Billie's nails trimmed at a vet surgery for $20. I'd be happy for one of the nurses to do it (and expected this) but each time I've taken her in our vet has done them herself. I've seen grooming ads for $10-$15 but stick with the vet as it is a convenient location and Billie seems to love going there for any reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamSnag Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Heres Photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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