Trim Nails

[Guest neelow]

we are newbies to greyhounds, but not to dogs, and our greyhound, Klute will not let us touch his feet, much less clip his nails. Any suggestions??? Ruining my wood floors!!

[Hubcitypam]

Let a groomer or the vet do it. Honestly. I had one that wouldn't let me touch his nails but let the groomer do it without a peep. She said quite a few dogs are like that. Groomer will be cheaper, but either one is money well spent as opposed to a wrestling match/freak out session. I know lots on here will say that I'm a weenie, but so be it.

[muddgirl]

Yeah, my greyhound has thick black nails (so I have a hard time seeing the quick) and will whine and moan when I try to groom them. For me, it is worth the $10 every few weeks to take him to the groomer (although I DO have to remember to do it regularly or they get very long).

[schultzlc]

I had the same problem with Luna, so I had the Vet do it the first time. I began holding her feet while petting her so she got used to the idea. These days she's pretty much bomb-proof when it comes to having her nails clipped, and will usually nap through it.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Let the vet or groomer do it. (If it's the groomer, take a copy of your rabies paperwork in case they want to see it.) Take your own muzzle, just in case it's needed (or they may have to use one of theirs, which will be tighter and not the typical basket muzzle).

 

Afterwards, take Klute for a treat. The object is to make sure you're not the bad guy. Also, make a point of stopping by the nail-clipping place with Klute and just having the staff give him a treat. You don't want Klute having a bad reaction to just walking into the place, so be sure that some visits there are nice, harmless ones with a reward at the end.

 

Also, spend the extra dollar or two to have his nails dremeled rather than just clipped. He might fight too much to let them dremel the nails (although most dogs prefer filing to clipping), but try to get him used to the filing. He's less likely to be quicked, his nails will be smoother and shorter, and he might get relaxed enough to let you dremel them. (I'm not sure vets offices will dremel, but most groomers will.)

Edited April 23, 2012 by KF_in_Georgia

[Guest neelow]

Thanks guys for the responses!! But this was with the groomer. Three tried to hold him down and didn't want a bad exp. What to now!!

[EllenEveBaz]

My first grey, Eve, was like Klute. It wasn't so much the nail clipping, it was holding the leg. She'd let out the Greyhound Scream of Death (GSOD) anytime someone -- even the vet -- even thought about holding her feet, and buck and jerk like a bronco. Like Klute, she was refused by professional groomers.

 

After months of sweet talk, desensitation attempts, bribes, getting one or two nails at a time clipped, I was desperate. I used a controversial method -- the neck scruff. I gently but authoritatively grabbed the loose skin at the back of her neck with one hand, and moved it LEFT RIGHT one time each. This is how mother dogs sometimes discipline their puppies. I said in a firm voice, "Nail clipping is necessary for your safety. You WILL let me do it." And she did. I almost fell over from shock. She never liked nail clipping, but she put up with it. I think I only had to re-scruff once over the next 7 years.

 

This post is probably going to get some flak from people who like to use only positive training methods, but as I said, I was desperate. Eve was a confident girl who didn't have a nervous bone in her body. A neck scruff wasn't going to traumatize her. She did make sure that she got her required treat after every foot trimmed.

 

I've never used the neck scruff on any of my other greys -- the traditional desensitization methods (sweet talk, touching feet gently, treats) worked just fine on all of them except one. He had pemphigus -- an autoimmune disease characterized by abnormally growing, painful nails. You can imagine what nail trimming was like. Early on I was giving him a bath in the tub, and he became very docile. Sure enough, he let me clip his nails in the tub. I did always put on his muzzle, just in case.

[3greytjoys]

We have a couple of extremely paw/nail sensitive hounds. Our most difficult hound to nail trim requires two humans. We go into a carpeted transition room (away from dog's "safe zone" dog beds). We basket muzzle him first. While dog is standing, one person keeps hounds attention by non-stop hand feeding of small cubed HIGH value treats that hound never gets any other time. He also holds hound's collar. Second person wears small head/hat light, and clips nails. (We don't let dog see/notice the head light.) We keep a blood clotting product with paper towels within arms reach, just in case. All of our hounds allow dremeling which is ideal, except this boy. He still freaks if he hears the dremel, even from afar.

 

I understand the previous poster was in a unique situation, but for others (especially a new Greyhound owner) I respectfully disagree with a scruff shake, especially for Greyhounds. They are a sensitive breed with thin skin and very sensitive necks. The OP already has a highly touchy/paw sensitive animal. We have no idea if that dog was mistreated in the past, or what painful events caused the hound's paw sensitivity. That method could be asking for more trouble. It often BACKFIRES by teaching certain dogs to become reactive aggressive towards humans, not to mention medical problems. It could seriously risk damaging any TRUST the hound has built up for the new owner, and could be asking for their hound to attack them. In my opinion, humans gaining and keeping their dog's trust is the most important thing for any owner.

 

A veterinarian should be able to clip the hound's nails, if nothing else works at home. (I think our vet charges about $15. but they've only done our hounds when they happen to be in surgery for a dental, etc.)

Edited April 24, 2012 by 3greytjoys

[Brandiandwe]

We just had Brandi's nails done by the vet. We've done desensitization, tried it ourselves, but it's too hard. We'll keep working with lots of treats and reassurance but we'll see.

[Guest sirsmom]

We do the vet or Petsmart. There is someone really good at Petsmart that the kids love (cookies involved, ahem)

[GeorgeofNE]

Make an appointment at your vet's office with a vet tech.

 

Let them take care of it.

 

They HAVE to be done if they're so long they're scratching your floors.

 

 

 

 

[pabozem]

At one of the gatherings I went to they did nail trims. I think it was the late Kathy Gilley of the Gilley Girls who was doing the trimming. If she came across a dog that absolutely didn't want his/her nails trimmed, she had someone pick the dog up (arms in front and in back of the dog's legs) and suspend them in the air. They were so concerned about being up in the air instead of their feet that Kathy was able to trim the nails without much drama.

 

If that doesn't work, I second letting your vet do the trimming. They have years of experinece and can probably get it done without too much fuss. And you get to be the good guy when you rescue him.

[Guest LindsaySF]

At one of the gatherings I went to they did nail trims. I think it was the late Kathy Gilley of the Gilley Girls who was doing the trimming. If she came across a dog that absolutely didn't want his/her nails trimmed, she had someone pick the dog up (arms in front and in back of the dog's legs) and suspend them in the air. They were so concerned about being up in the air instead of their feet that Kathy was able to trim the nails without much drama.

 

If that doesn't work, I second letting your vet do the trimming. They have years of experinece and can probably get it done without too much fuss. And you get to be the good guy when you rescue him.

This. I have resorted to the holding the dog in the air method as well.

 

Sometimes they don't want their paws picked up, restrained, or held. You can trim the nails while letting the paw (mostly) touch the floor. Many dogs don't protest as much to that.

[GreytNut]

If your dog is food-motivated, try this: Get a turnout muzzle with a poop cup. Smear creamy peanut butter all over the inside of the cup. Then Dremel or clip while your dog lies on his bed happily licking peanut butter out of the muzzle. It will keep him occupied and it will keep you from getting bitten.

 

This is the method I use with Riley. He is baaaaaad about having his nails done.