Surprised By My Girl!

[RiverStar-Aura]

Last night I was clipping my Aussie Kirah's nails and accidentally got the quick. Kirah, who is chicken of many things (runs from people carrying buckets, tools, the cone currently on Zeus etc) didn't even flinch.

She made no noise and didn't fuss -- just stood still wagging her tail. I had a panic attack as it's the first time I've ever hit the quick but she was a real champ!!

Dogs are so full of surprises!!

[tdierikx]

I was doing my furkids' nails the other night... they are all different in their reactions...

Zeddy - hates her feet getting touched, even to the point of putting her mouth on you (but not biting down) - she will even chew he own nails to avoid having me do them... lol!

Trouble - sits there with a bored expression on her face and lets you clip away.

Pickles - no way no how are you getting the clippers near her feet - it's a 2 person job to get her nails clipped.

Harper - is scared of the noise made when the clippers do their thing - have to clip then calm, and repeat as many times as necessary to get them all done.

T.

[Tralee]

I dread doing their nails

I will invest in a battery operated nail dremmel one oneday.

[Teebs]

$12 at the vets... im never doing another animals nails again!

Atlas was a nightmare, 2 people job and i was never strong enough to hold him down! Love my vet!

[fainty_girl]

You're lucky! I wish my dog was like that!

Only one of my dogs needs her nails clipped and she is very difficult about it...many years ago we took her to the vet and when they saw how difficult she was going to be, suddenly they said that she didn't need them done (they were very long!). Then years later when I knew that she could go under reversible sedation, she had it done a few times like that, but it cost about $120 each time, so it was very pricy.

Then we tried her at a different vet because a friend recommended them and they offered a better price for sedating her, but when she went there the vet was able to clip them without sedating her, I couldn't believe it when I heard, apparently it is the vet's specialty :) . I've taken her a few times and the vet muzzles her, and covers her eyes with a towel and that really seems to help her. It still takes the vet and another 2 people to hold her though, but she just squirms around a whole lot, and because she is such a ball of muscle a few extra pairs of hands are always needed. It's a whole lot better than sedating her and only takes a few minutes, so I'll continue to leave it to the professionals, they do a great job.

[noisymina]

The vet and I used to both end up on the floor wrestling Kaisie for nail clips. :laugh: Most undignified. :laugh:

I have bought a Wahl nail grinder for Wednesday. After getting her used to the nail file over a few weeks, I finally took out the grinder and it's easy peasy! She was already used to the clippers, so the noise does not bother her as it is much the same. :D Love it!

[BC Crazy]

Very lucky here as both mine are a dream to do their nails. Sonny doesn't like but stands like a statue while I do them. Stella is wonderful too. OH usually just flips her over onto her back & scratches her belly :laugh:

she will lay like this all day so I do hers then, she doesn't move a muscle. Unorthadox perhaps but works like a charm :)

Edited December 4, 2012 by BC Crazy

[mixeduppup]

I once got a tiny bit of the quick of Baxter's nail (it didn't even bleed) and he acted so melodramatic and didn't speak to me all day :laugh:

[minimax]

You're lucky! I wish my dog was like that!

Only one of my dogs needs her nails clipped and she is very difficult about it...many years ago we took her to the vet and when they saw how difficult she was going to be, suddenly they said that she didn't need them done (they were very long!). Then years later when I knew that she could go under reversible sedation, she had it done a few times like that, but it cost about $120 each time, so it was very pricy.

My vet has said this before, that they don't need doing when I know they very much DO need doing, just because she's a pain in the butt to hold, and it really annoys me.

Whenever I go to Canberra I get my boys breeder to do both my guys, and even she struggles with them! My girl screams and struggles and pees in protest :laugh:

[poochmad]

Our male absolutely hates having his nails done and he was so bad, I had to put him between my knees while my husband cut the nails. It was a stress for everyone. We tried the dremmel but he is such a sook he ran away as soon as it came on. It also doesn't help that both dogs have black thick nails. It got to be so bad that we dreaded cutting the nails until they came really long and we were forced to do it.

I came up with the idea of giving him his favourite treats, not pinning him down, but just giving him treat after treat after treat. It works wonders. We do their nails fortnightly and both dogs lie quite relaxed on their side having their nails trimmed while they wolf down their favourite treats. After the stress we went through I don't care how many packets of doggy biscuits we go through as long as it is done quickly and relatively stress free.

[disintegratus]

2 of mine have no issues having their nails done, the young one I'm not sure, I haven't had to clip them yet! But we do a bit of work getting her used to me handing her feet, ears, eyes etc. She doesn't enjoy it overly but she's getting used to the idea. Mostly she's just confused.

I spent a long long time getting Harley okay with having his nails clipped, and he's never been entirely comfortable with it, but he tolerated it. Then I ruined it when I took him to the vet and thought I'd get them to do it while I was there. Christ knows what they did, but now all my hard work's been undone, and it's super painful to clip his nails. It took me about 3 or 4 weeks to get him to let me pick up his paw again.

[RiverStar-Aura]

Since both of mine were pups I worked with them on the 'foot' command. I get them in a sit, tap on the leg I need whilst saying 'foot' so they lift it up and sit there until I'm done.

It's worked wonders for both of them and Zeus is currently wearing a cone for a hotspot on his leg, which requires twice daily neocort so the 'foot' command comes in handy.

[Aphelion]

The only time I cut the quick was when my boy was a pup, back when didn't mind his nails being clipped. He's usually the melodramatic sooky type. I nearly had a heart attack each time he started screaming and limping as a puppy (he was always fine and the only times he really hurt himself he didn't make a big deal of it). He didn't even seem to notice when I cut the quick. He was fine having his nails clipped for a long time afterwards...and then one day he had a big panic about it (which was really fun with 70kgs of weight behind the flailing legs and paws). I've managed to get him over the big dramatic panic, but he hates it still and he gets very sulky and still.