Nails

[OntarioSheltie]

OK - I've got all the tools and am ready to go! Unfortunately, Bacca doesn't want anything to do with nail trimming!

He was o.k. until a few weeks ago. But now that he's testing his adolescent muscles a little, trimming nails is something I keep putting off.

How do you get your dog to lie still while you do the nails? On the floor, on a table, using a groomer's neck thing?

I'm really concerned about this because with my last pup, the quick finally grew too long to ever cut nails short enough for his comfort.

I really want to be able to trim weekly, but not if its going to be battle royale! It's important because I'm also in hi-fi doggie training mode to get him to stop nipping and jumping. Trying to keep things positive !

I bribe Sadie with treats, it works every time

If she's fearful I take small steps and then reward her. I make her lie down, give her a treat, pick up her paw while she's lying down, give her a treat, pick up each of her paws, treat in between each one. When she's comfortable with this I then start holding the dremel/petacure at the same time, put it up to her paws with it turned off, give her lots of treats and praise. Then I graduate to having it turned on, let her sniff it (obviously not the part that rotates), touch her nail with it for a second, etc. Once she was comfortable with the process I only gave her one or two baby carrots. I'd also like to point out that I kept treats extremely small.

I hope thats useful to you!

 

[Ann]

Patience!

Ontario's suggestions are great, Barb. I followed the directions that came with the Pedicure that suggest the same type of schedule. It seemed endless...a day or two of just letting them sniff it, then holding it against them, then finally turning it on and giving treats every time it came out. When I started I only did one nail and stopped, then two the next day, then three and so on. LOTS of treats (small so they don't blow up like balloons) and praise. If they got really twitchy I stopped and let them go, then tried again a bit later.

I found it works best if I sit on the couch and kind of drape the dog across my lap. This worked for Pixie but not for Barkley who's a squirmer. I have to sit on the floor with his back against me. For some reason, he's quiet when I do that.

As impatient as I got with the initial process, it really was worth the time. Each time I do it now they get a little better. It's not a quick thing, so be patient, especially since Bacca's a pup. Good luck!

 

[BarbV]

Well, while I was waiting for responses, I ended up doing exactly what you suggested.

I took the Peticure out of the box and put it on the floor, just lying around for Bacca to sniff. Then I picked it up, with a treat, let him sniff and treat. Then I turned it on for a second. Then treat. Then on, bring to him and treat again. Did this for several times on Saturday and Sunday. Then the real test on Sunday night.

I brought him up on the couch with lots of treats and actually managed about 1 second for each nail! Bacca's biggest problem is that he does not like to be held down and he does not like his paws squeezed (so we've been working on that OUTSIDE of nail trimming.

Progress!