# Pomchi Nail Trimming



## MirMir (Jun 23, 2016)

Hello everyone. I adopted a pomchi from a rescue one year ago Saturday. When I got her some of her paperwork said she was 1 and some of it said she was 2. So I've had her for a year now and I still cannot get her to let me trim her nails. I'm not sure if it is something she brought with her because she used to live in a crazy dog lady house and needed her nails to fight for her food, or it is something I've done. I know that cutting nails to the point where they bleed can have a negative effect on dogs and make them more scared of having their nails trimmed, but that's only ever happened twice. 
I've tried:
-regular nail clipper
-nail file (regular one not motorized)
-giving treats while clipping/in between nails
-conditioning her to not be afraid of the clipper itself
-putting a muzzle on her so she can't bite me while I try to clip
-having others hold her down while I try to clip
-clipping after bath time
-swaddling her in a blanket so she can't kick
-clipping one nail at a time while she is asleep
Basically I've tried everything except bring her to a groomer/vet or a dremmel. The only reasons why I haven't tried those is because the whole time I've had her I've either been a broke college kid or a broke unemployed recent graduate. 
She weighs 14 pounds and even with 2 adults we can't hold her down. I feel so pathetic because I can't perform this simple task.
Any time she sees I have the clipper in my hands she gets crazy eyes and this is the only time she ever bites me. At this point I'm afraid it is irreversible. 
Please help me find a way that benefits both of us!


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Every time you have forcibly held her down and clipped her nails, you have validated her fear of the experience and the clipper. The quicking a couple of times didn't help either. That isn't criticism, I know sometimes it's just got to be done, but it's still fact. 

You can get a pet dremel for about 10 bucks on ebay. I would seriously suggest you do that, so there is *no* negative association with the tool, and spend a whole lot of time counter conditioning her to having her feet being messed with (treat her for just letting you touch a paw, or nail, for a split second. Gradually build duration).


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I use a dremel for real manicures too but to get the dog used to having feet held and manipulated I start with a nail file kept near where I usually cuddle with the dogs. When she is cuddling with you handle her all over moving to her legs and handling her feet and toes telling her how pretty they are. When she doesn't mind that pick up the file and stroke it over her feet, not sanding and not hard so she gets used to a foreign object around her feet. Move to picking out a toe and stroking the file a single time on each one. Move to rubbing the file across a nail once so she gets used to the vibration from the sanding. All this is done while she is relaxed and cuddling with you. Stop when she shows you she's uncomfortable with it but before she has to yowl or mouth you or even jerk her foot away. I will pick up the foot again if it gets jerked out of my hand and release it myself to show the dog I will handle it but I always give it back! After something like that happens handling work is over for the session though.

Nail care is essential but not an emergency. Bucky came here with ingrown dewclaws, still not an emergency. Urgent yes but while it was painful he wasn't going to get seriously ill or anything from them. Overgrown nails can be painful during walking and such and dogs stand wrong if nails are too long but that's it. Ginger had needle sharp dewclaws when she came here so blunting them was sort of urgent as she caught me with them during play but blunting a nail takes very little work. Take your time to get her used to all of this. You might take 2 days to rub all her feet and a week to manipulate all her toes then after that only a couple days to rub all nails with a file or it might be the reverse. All depends on the sticky place, where she's having trouble.

We wrestled with my first dog, Sassy, for years same as you have been. She didn't bite but it sure was hard to get and hold a foot. Of course with all the struggling we did quick her every once in a while which made things worse. Not because she hurt, more that I was less confident. With food and switching to the dremel she decided it was fine and from then on her nails were kept nicely. That dremel was a top 10 best buy for sure.

It isn't just the potential hurt from getting quicked that's a problem. I've quicked dew claws with quicks that grew a strange direction using the dremel and dog just looked a bit puzzled. It's the handling and the vibration of the sanding action and the sharp sound of the clippers and the feeling of nail being trapped and so on.


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## lizzy25 (Aug 11, 2015)

ugh I'm going through the same with my one dog now. I've been counter-conditioning for weeks and working very gradually. I finally have gotten to where I can put pressure with the clippers around his front nails but not yet clip down. His back nails he still pulls away for some reason.

Part of it is because I quicked him once and since then it's been a slow process. The other is that his nails are thick so I think the clipping part takes more pressure and time to squeeze the clippers hard enough to make a clean cut of the nail.

For his front nails I actually use a scratchboard I made with sandpaper attached to a piece of plywood. I used shaping to get him to paw the sandpaper with his nails. It actually works great and trims them pretty fast. I can't however use it for his back paws because well I think it would be pretty hard to shape that. So for now his front paws look good and his back paws are a work in progress.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Try nibbling with the clipper. I couldn't do it but see Susan Garrett's blog post on it. Shouldn't put any pressure on the quick at all. Even with the dremel I sand each side of the nail then round it off rather than sanding straight across.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

I have never been able to get the hang of normal clippers. Like, I can technically do it, but the animal has to be so cooperative or I lose my nerve, afraid to clip the wrong thing. I began using a dremel years ago because Sid's nails were so so overgrown and she acted like she thought I meant to murder her when I tried to trim them. I didn't have to keep her as still to feel confident and the abrasion on the quick helped make it recede. Now I'm trying to desensitize Buddy to the dremel. He likes to bark and snap at it, like he thinks it's alive.


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