Trimming Nails

[Guest makalataylor]

When I got Molly I took her to the vet to get her nails done(beginning of August), however she needs them again and our vet only takes appointments and they open after I go to work, and close before I get off (I work 8-5)...to go Saturday there is a long wait because they do not do appointments.

 

I was thinking about taking her to a dog groomer or to Petco to have them dremmel them, but Molly does not like her feet touched. She yanks them away and on rare occasion snarls. I would assume I would need to take the muzzle for her? I just don't want to run into issues because they think she is aggressive. People are already scared of her! =0

 

Is there anything I can do to get her used to having her nails done? I have always done my own dog's nails if they were light, but dark nails make me nervous.

[greyhoundlady]

I take my girl to a dog groomer to have her nails done. They will either clip or dremel. I stay with her the whole time, rubbing her head and talking to her while the groomer clips her nails. I did bring her basket muzzle the first time she went and the groomer said - Let's try without it. My girl does not like her feet handled, but tolerates the groomer, with me as extra security.

 

I don't think groomers are concerned if you bring a muzzle - they probably appreciate that you care .

 

I believe there a steps you can take to get Molly used to having her paws handled - others will probably give ideas, like treating and touching - but I find the 10 minutes at the groomer, and then done, works best for me. I used to dremel two of my past greys, who considered the experience a spa treatment. Not my current little one though.

[JaimeL]

I do my dogs nails myself, took awhile to get them used to a dremel. Otherwise, independent groomers are very flexible and will let you stay with your hound. Petsmart takes them in back and you have to wait in the lobby area, that did not work out so well for me.

[cleptogrey]

bring a muzzle and treats for after the beautification. if it's only dremeling then you should-- haha--do it weekly. cut and dremeled, you can get away with once a month. it's worth every penny. i personally like using an old fashioned ma and pa grooming shop, a couple do still exist. the owner needs the cash and as others have stated they will usually let you pet the dog and steady them.

[FiveRoooooers]

I dremel everyone's nails once a week and it goes pretty quickly since the nails are short from weekly filing. Angel Andy was pretty adamant about not having his nails dremeled. I put peanut butter in the stool guard on his muzzle and that was distraction enough that I could get all four feet done. Start out slow - one nail at a time if necessary - until Molly is comfortable with 1) her feet being handled and 2) the dremeling. You can do it.

[XTRAWLD]

I dremel. Clipping is just too scary for me with black nails (plus they are strong as all else!) I tend to do them once a month though. A rule of thumb I use is if I can hear him "clicking" on the floor, it's time.

 

Muzzle if she's getting upset. You want to be firm but gentle. Pulling her paws back and you conceding teaches her that she's winning (Of course determine that you haven't hit the quick or are applying too much pressure or in one spot for too long and accidentally heating up the nail with the dremel). Ry puts up with me, as I don't give up. He could pull his paw away 8 times, and I'll come back 9. He gets pretty heavily rewarded when we are done and nicely body rubbed after every paw is complete.

 

Kasey just LOVED his pawdicures. He often would just fall asleep while I did them. Made it a breeze because I could be so fast. With a dog that always pulls his paw back, it takes a little longer to finish up. PB in the muzzle sounds like just the ticket for you. If you start dremeling go slow, let her get used to the sound and the feeling, and have a very short session. Good luck!

[KickReturn]

I muzzle and have a helper control the head and feed treats while I go to work with the dremmel with the dog standing. I sometimes use my body to pin the dog against a wall if they are trying too hard to pull away. I have also done a friends dog that would roach while I did her nails - but she's a goofy princess.

Edited November 30, 2016 by KickReturn

[ramonaghan]

I muzzle and have a helper control the head and feed treats while I go to work with the dremmel with the dog standing. I sometimes use my body to pin the dog against a wall if they are trying too hard to pull away. I have also done a friends dog that would roach while I did her nails - but she's a goofy princess.

 

When did you meet Sweep?

 

[Sundrop]

You might want to look for a different vet just for nail trimming (not to switch for everything, just for nails). Our old vet only took appointments and it drove me batty because they were always running late and we'd wait for 30-60 minutes just to get nails done. Our current vet takes walk-ins because they are a larger facility with more vet techs and also open on weekends.

 

Our boy get very hostile when we touch his feet, but when the vet trims nails, he stands like a statue. I think he's a bit scared at the vet, in general, and we even told them he needed to be muzzled. They took him to the back room (we didn't want to potentially trigger him) and they said he was totally fine. They don't even bother muzzling him anymore because he just stands there...I think just to make it end faster - hah!

[Hubcitypam]

You might want to look for a different vet just for nail trimming (not to switch for everything, just for nails). Our old vet only took appointments and it drove me batty because they were always running late and we'd wait for 30-60 minutes just to get nails done. Our current vet takes walk-ins because they are a larger facility with more vet techs and also open on weekends.

 

I do this. I actually have three vets - one for nail trims and minor owies because he's close, one for second opinions and a main one.

[krissy]

Here's a Kikopup video on how to desensitize and countercondition to nail trimmers, dremmels, etc.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHgBvnQ71ss

[tra708]

when we first got connie, she HATED it when you touched her paws. i knew i wanted to dremel, so i gradually got her used to her paws being handled. I started with just brushing them with my hand and slowly progressed over the months. (meanwhile, her nails got pretty long!) But it worked and now she doesn't mind the dremel. I hope you have success with whatever method you use!