# nail clipping



## sullivan maestro (Oct 17, 2011)

my 8th year old Rough Collie hates to have his nails clipped. He growls and bark. His nails are so hard and black that I'm always afraid to hurt him. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this? I can usually only get to cut one or two nails every time I try!!!:help:


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I have a little dog who has the same issue. He is afraid of the noise and the pressure on his nails. I have never hurt him and have been his only groomer. He is five years old. I am sure I am a bit crazy by others views; but I place him in the bathtub with a little luke warm water and trim them while they are wet? I have no clue! I just tried it one day and it worked. I was tired of nothing else working. The nail is not as hard and the noise is less to his ears I guess. This may not be the safest way. You do need to be extra careful when the nail is soft. It would be very easy to cut the quick if you are not familiar with nail cutting in general IMO. I do not really know. But I am able to cut my dog's nails like this.

Surely a real groomer or someone with more experience can tell you a better method than I.

I have also tried just clipping a little of the points off on just a couple of nails per day for days until I had them all trimmed....... to try and lessen his fear. Just didn't work for mine. He has always been horrible about his feet in general even though I know the proper way to handle a pup so it isn't afraid to be physically handled, period. 

I also wanted to point out that my dogs nails are white and gray.


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## samshine (Mar 11, 2011)

I have much better luck using a dremel to sand down my dog's nails, rather than clipping. Takes a little more time but my dog is not nervous or afraid and neither am I so it's worth it. It is easy to see when you are getting too close to the quick, plus there is no squeezing action on the nails. This website has everything you need to know, plus advice on how to acclimate your dog to the dremel. You may have to spend a little time training your dog to accept this, but if you think about how many more times you will have to do your dogs nails in his lifetime being able to do it without a struggle is worth the investment of time.

Look at the bottom left side of the page for a link on how to dremel dog nails.

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~jmerenski1/doberdawn/index.html


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

What samshine said! Use a dremel. It's better for their nails and easier to control. Take it slow at first, don't just grab your dog's paw and shove the dremel at their claw and go for it. Let them hear it first, not even near their paw. Let them smell it (when it's off). Turn it on and bring it toward their paw. Make sure they're ok with all that before actually touching it to their claw. Keep it off the first few times you touch it to their claw. Then turn it on low, and only touch it to their paw for a split second. Most dogs will try to pull their paws back at first. A vibrating claw has got to feel weird! Give them time to get used to it.


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## ks75852 (Aug 17, 2011)

My 6th month old pup is the same way. He HATES it, bites at your hand, squirms, and does anything to get away from you. He will run once he gets away so you can't catch him. And his biting hurts! His nails are SOOO long and black, so you can't see the quick. And of course, his squirming only makes it much more likely to cut the quick. The vet has trouble cutting his nails because of this and keeps tailing me to just play with his paws and legs and massage him.

My dog knew how to shake already with the command "howdy," so I just molded this into "Jack, can I have your paw?" and will hold my hand in the "howdy" position, like I want to shake his paw. From there, I would see how long I could hold his paw without him biting me. At the first sign of him coming toward me I would drop his paw and say no. If he would let me hold it for a few seconds, I would say good boy and reward him with a treat. I did this every day and extended the amount of time. Praising him and rewarding him with treats. I eventually started squeezing his paws, then rubbing up and down his legs, stretching his legs, rubbing each individual paw pad, playing with each nail. Basically, seeing how much he would let me do with his foot before he tried to bite me. He has gotten a lot better, the vet even commented on it the other day when I took him to get his nails clipped. Now I have brought the nail clippers out and am getting him used to having those around him, using the same method. If he bites, I drop it and say no. The long he lets the nail clippers be around, the more praise he gets from me and he gets a cookie. It takes a long time, but it is amazing how well this works. This is also a good method to use in case your dogs foot is ever injured, you won't have to be worried about your dog jerking away from you or anything!!


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## jeffsrealm (Sep 21, 2011)

I do my dogs when they are sleeping. Especially after a hard day of play and swimming. They are passed out on the floor I just get down there and snip snip snip. They might stir a little bit but don't care. Doing it while they are awake, they don't mind too much but will yank paws away and stuff so I really prefer to do it while they are sleeping. It goes really fast. Not sure if you ever tried it but the dog doesn't need to be away to get nails done.


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## WheatenDaneMom (Nov 4, 2011)

I prefer to clip when they're sleeping too.... I also have had two people hold the dogs... one holding the head against their chest and extending the leg by the joint (as if to give blood).... and the other clips. And another way is with treats and soothing voices.... when he goes to bite, give him a treat... keep doing it until you can get the nails done - and patience.


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## ladyshadowhollyjc (Oct 28, 2008)

Nail trimming can be a really intimidating thing for an owner who has a dog that realllllly hates his nails messed with, so I can understand why you'd be afraid, but don't be!!! That makes it worse.

As a veterinary technician I do several nail trims a day at work. So many people are so surprised at how easy we make nail trims seem. One of the biggest reasons (and there are a few others) that I think really helps nail trims go so smoothly is to not be afraid to do it. I am not afraid to quick any dog (whether my own, or a clients). That doesn't mean I'm not extremely careful when I clip nails, I am, but if I quick one, I don't make a fuss over it. I act like it's no big deal and apply a little quick-stop and keep going. Dogs really feed off of us and our feelings, so going into a nail trim with confidence is absolute key.

Another trick I like to tell people, is to dab a little peanut butter or cream cheese on top of their nose to help as a distraction while you have someone else hold the dog. 

It will probably take a while for you to get to a point where nail trims are no big deal for your dog. I have a 9 1/2 year old Aussie and tonight I clipped her nails by myself with no assistance from another person or treat for the first time (she never really needed nail trims as a young dog, she kept her nails pretty worn down). If he doesn't like his feet touched at all, start there. Touch his feet often (not to the point that it stresses him out, but enough to get him used to it) and slowly introduce clippers. Keep it totally positive. If you only get 2 or 3 nails down and he starts to show signs of stress (growling/barking), stop and take a break. 


Well, that was probably more information on nail trimming than anyone ever needed to know, but that's a big part of my everyday life lol


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## WheatenDaneMom (Nov 4, 2011)

Thanks for the tip actually!! If I used peanut butter... it would be a lot faster than trying to use treats as a counter aggression method


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## titiaamor (Nov 17, 2011)

ladyshadowhollyjc said:


> Nail trimming can be a really intimidating thing for an owner who has a dog that realllllly hates his nails messed with, so I can understand why you'd be afraid, but don't be!!! That makes it worse.
> 
> As a veterinary technician I do several nail trims a day at work. So many people are so surprised at how easy we make nail trims seem. One of the biggest reasons (and there are a few others) that I think really helps nail trims go so smoothly is to not be afraid to do it. I am not afraid to quick any dog (whether my own, or a clients). That doesn't mean I'm not extremely careful when I clip nails, I am, but if I quick one, I don't make a fuss over it. I act like it's no big deal and apply a little quick-stop and keep going. Dogs really feed off of us and our feelings, so going into a nail trim with confidence is absolute key.
> 
> ...


OMGosh! This peanut butter idea just changed my life! I'm going to try it tomorrow. I'm certain it will help.


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