Nails Clipped!

[InvisibleTouch]

Okay, this is insignificant and silly, but I feel a sense of accomplishment about it: this morning I managed to clip the nails on both dogs, even the dewclaws on the Pomeranian. Maybe it's not as insignificant as it sounds, because my big girl has black nails and I'm always terrified I'll cut too close, she'll bleed, and then she'll never let me touch her feet again; and with the Pom, he utterly hates having his feet touched already, so it's almost impossible to clip a nail without getting bitten. Somehow it worked fine, though. Given that the groomer charges $8 per dog to clip nails, I had an economic incentive to become self-sufficient. Hope it goes as smoothly next time....

[livetohike]

1. Congratulations!

I can only do my dogs' nails one nail at a time. They will let me do one and then pull away. I think it's my nervousness that they sense and therefore makes them nervous too.

They both have dark nails - so it's really hard to do, as you know.

[sleepyhead]

2. Make it part of your playtime

Massage their feet daily and give them a tasty treat - spoil them a bit and when it comes time to cut the nails they will look forward to having the quality time (and the treats). Be very careful about how much you cut, and have some styptic powder on hand just in case (if all else fails you can use flour or cornstarch - or stick the errant nail into a bar of soap).