trimming toenails

[k9lexi]

If any has owned a dog that hates to have his/her toenails done and has overcome the issue, I would be interested to hear how you did it. Thanks!

[fetch]

Counterconditioning has worked for me on dogs that are not handler aggressive or are prone to redirection.

http://drsophiayin.com/videos/entry/tra ... nail_trims

[Raven]

What I did with two truly and reluctant beasts, in steps over time:

I got them used to the sight of the trimmers: leaving them on the floor, their bed, etc. and served treats off them. After they were used to the sight, I casually and gently tapped their nails with it (no clipping). Wash, rinse, repeat kind of thing. (Is your guy/gal accustomed to being touched all over, especially their feet?)

Then I proceeded to clipping just barely the tip of one nail. End of session. Life goes on.

Kept exposing them to the clippers ( and tapping, serving treats from them) with positive endings...then a day here or there, I would clip just a tip.

Might sound excessive, but none of it was really time consuming and it worked for me with adopted adults dogs.

The guy I now have was the worst, but I worked up to using a Dremel on him. He lays on his side with head down while I sand away. He's even nodded off a couple times.

P.S.: quietly mark/reward desired responses (non-responses) so as not to elevate their stress, or spike excitement by your enthusiasm, but that's just my .

[Raven]

I knew I forgot a couple things!

The sound of a nail being clipped along with the new sensation can heighten their WTH? response. To help get them used to the sound, you can snip something with the clippers when you handle them. I used thick zip-ties.

Don't handle the clippers or the dog if you're feeling tense about it. You know they'll pick up on it.

Keep us posted on the progress.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

You have a pup (under 6 months) right? H was a fidget-y little monster as a pup so I had to keep him on lead or work in a closed bathroom just to corral him. We started off pretty much the same way as Sharon described above. For my pup I literally would do this for 30 seconds starting out and so they didn't associate the closed door of a bathroom or the leash went on, I would vary my approaches; sometimes after a walk, sometimes while in the shower, sometimes we'd just go into the bathroom and play, sometimes after OB, before OB... etc. Build up time while working towards actual placement of the clippers on the nail. I also got him used to handling paws, lifting, moving, leaning over him (because sometimes that has to happen) and all other sorts of handling. Some days I could progress farther and some days it was back to square one. Key is to keep everyone relaxed and not push too far too fast.

Oh and apply pressure fast once you get to the actual clipping stage - it totally feels weird to them when you do the slow clip which we sometimes do unknowingly in trying not to cut off too much. I didn't work too long on letting the clipper linger there so sometimes he freaks when I'm trying to make sure I'm not about to cut the wick.

[Dutchringgirl]

I plan a block of time. Treats, clippers, Show them the clipper, let them sniff, treat, reapeat, touch the nail, treat, repeat, put the clipper on the nail, treat, repeat, Depending on how long this took, stop. Ditto Kira, make sure they are tired and relaxed.

I also agree with Kira to clip fast, dont go for too much nail, just get them the idea. Make sure you have a REALLY GOOD set of clippers, the cheap ones suck and will pinch them and it hurts.

If they let you clip one, treat, stop.

Make sure too that they are totally fine with handling the paws and nails.

Dont be nervous yourself, they will feed off of that. Dont grab or pull. it must be fun.

[Stacy_R]

Make sure too that they are totally fine with handling the paws and nails.

This must be step #1. And is exactly why I trained Tyson with a "chin" command: I say "chin" and he puts his muzzle in my hand. Then I worked with manipulating his muzzle (lips up, teeth check, etc). Then it has to transition and generalize to the vet's office for stress-free exams.

Dont be nervous yourself, they will feed off of that. Dont grab or pull. it must be fun.

Truth.

[LyonsFamily]

Odin has gotten crabbier as he gets older and his arthritis gets worse. Unfortunately, when his toe nails get longer, it affects his back more, so he's either crabbier or we have to do them more often.

I conditioned with car rides in exchange for a nail trims. We started with one nail, then a car ride, and worked our way up. He gets soooo excited for nail trims now because car rides are his favorite thing. I use a basket muzzle and treats as we go as well.

The only downside is he expects a car ride when anybody else gets a nail trim too. I can't trim Elli's nails in front of him anymore because he gets too excited and he will actually prevent me from doing them so that we can get to the car faster. If I bring him to work with me on drop in nail trim days, he sounds like a firecracker going off in the cage whenever he sees the clippers or hears the dremel.

[k9lexi]

Thanks! Lots of good information . I'll have to type up some notes and see which works best for Lexi

[MultiPurposeK9]

I use a Dremel, clicker and food reward. Never have had an issue. I sand while they are standing.

[Dutchringgirl]

I use a dremel too as well, and Yes, even on Sadie. Slow, treats and easy.

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

You know what's nice? Concrete. H is so active now I hardly have to trim his toenails anymore because the concrete wears it down for me. If you're in suburbia/city eventually the concrete becomes useful and not so much of a PITA. Tile can also assist but it's sad when it gets scratched.

We've been working towards a dremel too but H want things that buzz in his mouth... yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh... Those are fun sessions...

[Stacy_R]

I used to use the dremel on my schnauzer because her nails are ridiculously thick. However, after talking with a very good friend (who happens to be Tyson's trainer) who has been (and still is) a professional groomer (grooming show dogs) it seems that the dremel may actually be bad for the nails. In a nutshell, it tends to break and weaken the nail bed...later in life, the nails tend to break at the base.

To each their own...just food for thought.

[Dutchringgirl]

Interesting Stacy, thanks for the info. I had bought a nice pair of trimmers, and Sadie is really good now, so I just grab them and can do a quick trim.

[Stacy_R]

My pleasure.

[icvanstra]

I use a dremel and with Cino this is how I did it.

1) play, play, play and then play some more
2) once tired enough that he doesn't care what I do
3) start desensitizing my running the dremel around him, increasingly touching the base to him while it is running, and as that got to be normal, touched the other end to a nail, barely taking off any nail.
4) once all that is 'normal' start getting more aggressive on the sanding.

Took it slow and patient. The key for me was when I realized that getting him worn our from playing fetch made so I could even touch him with it running.

[LyonsFamily]

I used to use the dremel on my schnauzer because her nails are ridiculously thick. However, after talking with a very good friend (who happens to be Tyson's trainer) who has been (and still is) a professional groomer (grooming show dogs) it seems that the dremel may actually be bad for the nails. In a nutshell, it tends to break and weaken the nail bed...later in life, the nails tend to break at the base.

To each their own...just food for thought.

I've never encountered that. I've been grooming professionally for 6 years and grew up showing dogs. I encounter quite the opposite actually. When dremmelled correctly, there aren't any sharp bit to get caught. Getting a part of the nail caught is what causes the cracks. I've fixed a lot of dogs with split nails by slowly dremmeling them smoother and smoother over time.

Diet and disease are responsible for bad nail beds. Look at human nails. If you file the tops smooth, does that affect your cuticle? My guess is someone is using the dremmel as they would a clipper and applying pressure to get the nail down short, fast. Long nails need to be clipped first. The dremmel is used to smooth the nail and should only be used as the sole tool on a nail that gets done very frequently.

[TexasDobe]

I used to use the dremel on my schnauzer because her nails are ridiculously thick. However, after talking with a very good friend (who happens to be Tyson's trainer) who has been (and still is) a professional groomer (grooming show dogs) it seems that the dremel may actually be bad for the nails. In a nutshell, it tends to break and weaken the nail bed...later in life, the nails tend to break at the base.

To each their own...just food for thought.

I know a ton of people in the show world and a few in the performance and they all dremel. I have never heard of a problem with the nails with any of them. Also with how I know the nail grows I do see a problem with what your groomer is saying. The grow from the base from what I understand. I maybe wrong but the oldest nail in at the tip. If this is true then taking the oldest part off will reduce the chance of a break.

[Stacy_R]

I've never encountered that. I've been grooming professionally for 6 years and grew up showing dogs. I encounter quite the opposite actually. When dremmelled correctly, there aren't any sharp bit to get caught. Getting a part of the nail caught is what causes the cracks. I've fixed a lot of dogs with split nails by slowly dremmeling them smoother and smoother over time.

Diet and disease are responsible for bad nail beds. Look at human nails. If you file the tops smooth, does that affect your cuticle? My guess is someone is using the dremmel as they would a clipper and applying pressure to get the nail down short, fast. Long nails need to be clipped first. The dremmel is used to smooth the nail and should only be used as the sole tool on a nail that gets done very frequently.

I know a ton of people in the show world and a few in the performance and they all dremel. I have never heard of a problem with the nails with any of them. Also with how I know the nail grows I do see a problem with what your groomer is saying. The grow from the base from what I understand. I maybe wrong but the oldest nail in at the tip. If this is true then taking the oldest part off will reduce the chance of a break.

Like I said...to each their own. She and I are on the same page as far as overall health goes (nutritionally as well as vaccinations, etc). She's been grooming dogs for 20+ years and I was just sharing what she has seen over that period of time.

[k9lexi]

Okay, I suck! I tried a few things and finally was ready to take what I thought was a tiny bit off a nail, yipe, nail bleeds ... just a little but I feel real bad about it. It had been several weeks since I had the professional do her nails so I thought it could be time. They looked long to me. Now my husband tells me either leave it to the professionals or get a dremmel. Please don't agree that I suck and I'm a bad mom, I already got it. My question for the group is how likely is it that a dremmel can make a nail bleed and how would I know when to stop?