Bad dog for nail trimming

[Jenski]

There are great tips here for working with dogs. I incorporate nail trimming time into our relaxing evening time together . . . pup-pile on the living room rug, nice music playing, everyone winding down . . . and I just sort of tie that in to my petting / inspection of their general condition. If things tense up, I just move on to petting and come back to the nails later ~ but we always finish the process. Pup Mama is benevolent, but She is the leader.

Part of it is trust, and that only comes with time. The rest is not so much discipline for us, but leadership, I guess. I won't tolerate any aggression from my pack, and they don't offer any.

Good luck! The previous postings mentioning patience were right; nail trimming need not be a stressful event, and if they just take it as something normal in the day's events it goes so much smoother.

 

[Beekissed]

You might even have someone else try it. My neighbor had a dog who did this and so she had let his nails get so long that his toes were put in stressed positions when they went for their daily walks.

I asked her one day why she didn't trim his nails and she said the vet even refused to do them because he bites. I asked her if I could try and she was pretty scared to let me but I told her to have a little faith. I had my biggest boy turn him on his side and keep his face turned away from the "work" area and I just did the job quickly and quietly. The dog never even tried to bite and acted like nothing had happened to him. I think the fear my neighbor and the vet showed, made the dog more nervous and fearful also.

Its sort of like babies of "nervous nellie" moms who cry and fret all the time....I think they pick up on their mom's nervousness and fear and react to it.

 

[Xtina]

Thanks guys, every bit of advice helps!

 

[snugglepup]

Wolf-Kim gave a great response. I see dogs very frequently for nail trimming issues, and can usually make significant process in just a few sessions. Handing issues respond WONDERFULLY to desensitization and counterconditioning.

Here is a good video showing one way of using clicker training to work on this behavior:

However, you can also make a Doggie Nail File and teach the pup to wear down his own nails.

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/nailfile.html

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Being permitted to trim nails is a combination of the dog accepting you as the leader thus doing the activity you request (in this case just holding still while you have a paw), trusting you not to hurt them and being able to control their emotions (as in not give in to panic).

You need to work on all those and see which is the area(s) your having issues with. First off take the dog and just hold a paw and rub the toe and nail and expect it to submit, be still and stay calm. Can you do that? and if not what part fails? If the dog says no period, your not touching my paws do some leadership work, make it clear to the dog that you are the pack leader. If the dog will not remain still go to obedience and work on your sit and down stays, and if the dog is not able to remain calm work on relaxation, do massage or even try some herbals like Rescue Remady which works very well on dogs. Do this as a daily routine, not a one shot gotta get it done that puts pressure on both of you. Work at it one paw at a time and work when the dog is relaxed almost tired, but not exhausted.

After you get there with just your hand have the clipper near by and massage the dog with it. See if/where you break down then. After that I have gotten those bamboo sticks for cooking meat on and clipped those while holding the paw of a dog that had no trust, of course he never felt a thing, but since he had been quicked before he needed a few days of that to realise that he was not going to be hurt. When you do move on to clipping him don't go for getting it done either, just take the tips so the dog is unaware of the change and not upset. Keep going daily till you have what you want for length, if you shorten them right up the paw changes the way goes for him and it may make him uneasy, plus you risk quicking a dog that has an overgown nail as the veins grow out too long.

Do not ever out of fear or aggression allow a dog to bare teeth to you or growl. Scruff shake that no matter what the dog's history is, even abused dogs know the pack way of telling them they have been wrong. To allow that behaviour is a greater risk to them than to stop it, dogs that don't get corrected on that are put down in huge numbers every day. Not all dogs need a full scruff shake, many will respond to a light growl and teeth like grasp around the scruff but for sure do something dominent to stop that. Never tolorate that from any dog anytime.

Make this a lifestyle change, part of the daily routine, not just a once a year or as needed training thing and you will have way better sucess. Pick a paw up any old time you feel like it while petting your dog and hold and massage it expecting him to allow it properly. Paws are a big deal to some dogs, it may not have to do with the history at all. If you take their paw they can't leave so it is like a loss of control for them. The higher they are in the pack the less they want to give you that, and the lower they are the more anious they will get at you taking it.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

It is a must to get the dog to willingly accept clippers or the dremel. People who allow their animals to get nervous and skittish about it, and then take the dog to the vet to have them done are only adding to the problem.

Having worked in a kennel, I have dealt with plenty of nervous dogs. Due to time restraint, we don't have the time to patiently train the dogs to accept the trimming. So what ends up happening is the animal is muzzled and/or sedated and then restrained by oh so many handlers. The dog is not harmed, but they panick when restrained, so it only adds negative feelings toward the task of nail trimming.

I am so glad that you are willing to help your dogs overcome this fear. Ignoring it and then expecting professionals to nail trim in a few minutes only evades the problem and allows the dog's negativity towards trimming grow.

Think about it as a needle fear for humans. If you are calm and relaxed, it goes by quick. If you are anxious and nervous, jerking and pulling away, and have to be sat upon and handcuffed to recieve a shot, you're not exactly going to look forward to your next vaccination now are you? Now, not only are you fearful of the needle but now you are fearful of the people and restraints from being "forced".

-Kim

 

[SilverM0on]

if you want it easy do like me
wait for her to be asleep
if she wake up you can finish in her next nap

 

[Xtina]

After reading all the advice, I began desensitizing her to foot touching and the sight and sound of the clippers tonight. I noticed her beginning to relax, and knowing that I didn't have to trim anything made me relax too. I will keep this up every day. Keep up those responses, every bit helps!

Does anyone here know how to tell if a dog has wolf in its recent ancestry? I was watching a program on OPB tonight about wolves and it got me to thinking for the first time whether she might have some wolf in her. If not wolf, then she definitely has some spitz breed and I read that those are worse about nail trimming than most other breeds.

 

[Beekissed]

My neighbor has a stray she picked up and I suspect it has some wolf in its background somewhere.....every dog it comes in contact with hates it with a passion! Even my sweet, ol' Lucy Lou~who I've never seen attack another animal~went crazy when he came in the yard! She is usually very gentle and obedient but she went after him like she was Cujo. The neighbor says all her dogs and her neighbor's dogs have the same reaction! He also does not bark but will frequently howl.

 

[joebryant]

It takes two to cut a dog's nails in peace.

1. Put some peanut butter in a saucer and have a flat spatula for the dog to lick from.

2. The one doing the clipping sits on the floor with the dog turned upside down between his/her legs.

3. The second person sits in a chair feeding the dog peanut butter non-stop, letting the dog lick peanut butter off the spatula while the person with the dog clips its nails (unnoticed by the dog that can only think of ONE thing at a time; that's peanut butter).

We used to go through hell and half of Georgia trimming our two Welsh corgis' nails before discovering this method. Try it. We sometimes accidentally clip the nerve section, and, believe it or not, the dog doesn't even notice or yelp. Used to, that would be cause for screams of pain and fighting from the dog(s).

Ours get excited now when we mention trimming nails (seriously) and want to get started quickly.
!@#$%#* chow hounds!