Advice on clipping a dog's nails

[binaryline]

So I have this giant hound -- a 90 lb.+ Rhodesian Ridgeback mix -- and he's very shy about having his nails clipped. I can clip the nails on his rear paws just fine if I give him his Kong toy filled with peanut butter. However, he loses his mind if I try to clip his front paws... to the point that no amount of effort can hold him still.

My mom suggested that I slap some peanut butter on the wall so that he will be so interested in the wall-butter that he won't worry about the claws (the Kong trick only works for the back paws, as he uses his front paws to hold the Kong toy). Yeah, so... any success with this technique? I'm a student, so taking him to a groomer is kind of an excessive expense unless it's *absolutely* necessary.

[Bunny]

1. I have a ten pound pug who acts the same way

when I try to do her nails. Scratches the shit out of me. But their nails have to be done because they will curl under and grow into their feet. A very bad thing. My vet only charges six dollars for a nail clipping. Have you asked your vet? Good luck - I can sympathize.

[retread]

2. Use a Dremel tool w/ the round sandpaper. See following link.

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merenski/doberdawn/index.html Follow the how to dremel link on the left. It works!!!

[arwalden]

3. CAUTION WITH DREMEL TOOLS!!!!

If your pup is a long-hair breed, then the fur can become wrapped around the spinning grinder bit. OUCH!

[arwalden]

4. I Have An Unusual Solution That Works For Me...

In fact, I just used it on my dog last night.

My dog is the same way with her front paws. She simply can't help herself, the moment I isolate and expose one nail for clipping, she pulls her paw back. The more firm I grasp her paw, the more her instinct is to fight back and pull away.

(I hope you realize they aren't being uncooperative to "spite" you. Don't lose your patience... don't get angry... it's purely instinct on their part.)

My solution is to bend her paw backward (as though she were a horse and I were putting on a horseshoe) and clip it from the upside down position.

It's NOT PERFECT. Sometimes she still pulls away, but only about 25% of the time...which gives me a 75% success rate. And 75% is better than 5% and risking a cut into the quick. OUCH!!

I don't know why this works for her, but it's apparently less stressful or less threatening to her. Maybe she doesn't feel as "trapped" or vulnerable.

Good luck!

-- Allen

P.S. Do you keep styptic powder handy? I do. I don't draw blood very often, but it's good to have in case of an accident. The styptic powder I use clots the nail almost instantly and it contains an antiseptic and analgesic as well.

[Booberdawg]

5. Boober weighs 20 pounds

And there is no way on g-d's green earth that I can ever clip his nails. He doesn't even like to have his paws touched - some dogs are just sensitive about it.

I tried it once several years ago with my brother helping me. After about 10 minutes Mick and I and the dog had all worked up a sweat fighting and I only got one frickin nail clipped. I gave up - it's just not worth it if it upsets him that much.

My vet only charges $10 to trim his nails every several months. The groomer always trims his nails as part of her regular routine, so we don't have to make a special visit to the vet very often.

As long as I'm not in the room he is resigned to the ordeal and doesn't fight it and the job gets done - whether it is the groomer or the vet. If I'm in the room he carries on and has to put up a pathetic and pitiful show for mom and carries on like a banchee. The first and only time I stayed in the exam room with him while they trimmed his nails, the customers in the waiting room were horrified with all the noise and commotion and thought we were sawing his legs off. LOL!

I think you know what my advice is - take that big baby to the vet and have them do it. You say he "loses his mind" and is "shy" about having his nails clipped and no amount of effort can hold him still, and you are also resorting to bribes. It's just not worth it - if it upsets him that bad then I would recommend letting the vet do it. He won't put up as big a fuss and you don't have to be "the bad guy" that pup associates with this.

If only for the pup's sake, take him to the vet and let them do it. It's just not worth all the trauma that pooch goes though for you to do it and just to save a couple bucks.

[FlaGranny]

6. My dog hates it too.

Needs one person to hold her and the other to clip the nails. The vet used to do it for nothing during her twice yearly visits. But since I moved to a new house without a fenced yard, I now take her for two good walks a day, and her nails are worn down by the pavement. She loves the walks and now rarely has to get her nails clipped. Happy little dog.

Edit: changed sentence