Frightened of having her nails clipped

[HeyRunDog]

I've finally bitten the bullet and made Grace an appointment at the vets to have her overlong nails clipped under sedation and today's the day.

Grace suffers from multiple corns so her walks have only been on grass or wearing boots. This means her nails aren't being worn down. She won't let me cut them with clippers and the electric nail grinder is next to useless. She used to go to a local dog groomers fortnightly to get them shortened but when she started to give the Greyhound Scream of Death whenever the clippers came near her feet she wouldn't see her any more. And before you ask, no she didn't hurt or traumatise her.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed she's OK and in the future regular goes with the nail grinder will keep them under control, not in the least for the benefit my bank balance.

[DocsDoctor]

Good luck to you and Grace! Doc and Ken both grew to be okay with having their nails clipped, but I ended up acquiring an electric grinder for Ken because it was so difficult to see how much to cut away with his dark nails. Hopefully once Grace's are back under control you will find regular sessions with the grinder prove adequate. If not, are you anywhere near your adoption kennels? If and when those reopen to visitors the staff would I am sure be happy to clip them in return for a small donation. Ours used to set up a "nail bar" at its open days and always did a brisk trade, using those guillotine clippers - very quick and safe if you know what you are doing.

Tiger is still being  an a**e about his: I need to put his muzzle on and then crawl around after him round the living room, clippers in one hand and treats in the other. Can't use the electric grinder, because he hates the sound. Tried having him lie down on his bed, but then he remembered about his bed-guarding issues and wanted to be Snapper Gar in deed as well as name . Fortunately it's only his dew claws that usually need trimming.
 

[racindog]

2 hours ago, DocsDoctor said:

Good luck to you and Grace! Doc and Ken both grew to be okay with having their nails clipped, but I ended up acquiring an electric grinder for Ken because it was so difficult to see how much to cut away with his dark nails. Hopefully once Grace's are back under control you will find regular sessions with the grinder prove adequate. If not, are you anywhere near your adoption kennels? If and when those reopen to visitors the staff would I am sure be happy to clip them in return for a small donation. Ours used to set up a "nail bar" at its open days and always did a brisk trade, using those guillotine clippers - very quick and safe if you know what you are doing.

Tiger is still being  an a**e about his: I need to put his muzzle on and then crawl around after him round the living room, clippers in one hand and treats in the other. Can't use the electric grinder, because he hates the sound. Tried having him lie down on his bed, but then he remembered about his bed-guarding issues and wanted to be Snapper Gar in deed as well as name . Fortunately it's only his dew claws that usually need trimming.
 

I so identify with your description of dealing with Tiger. What an appropriate name! I don't have an issue with greyhound Octane but Turbo, my working Malinois pup (50 lb/10 months old), is a lot like Tiger. First I have to muzzle him so he doesn't seriously bite me and get treats ready. But I literally have to man handle him and lay on him to hold him down so I can do it. And I use a grinder because I don't want him to ever get quicked in the least or there would be no hope of ever doing it sanely.  I have been trying to use treats etc since he was 8 weeks old! He carries on so bad no one would ever suspect that he had ever had it done before- much less that I have been working with him on it for 10 months now. I keep hoping that one magical day he will become 'enlightened' and let me do it without a fight but it hasn't happened yet.  You have to be so careful that he doesn't injure himself trying to resist because his KNPV police dog genes are such that he will never ever give up in a fight regardless of anything. Interestingly it is always much easier to trim the back feet for some reason. He doesn't resist near as much over his back feet. A highly regarded military trainer told me to put his muzzle on and smear peanut butter onto a wall of a kennel or something and let him eat the peanut butter through the muzzle while I did it but I have not tried that yet.

[FiveRoooooers]

3 hours ago, racindog said:

A highly regarded military trainer told me to put his muzzle on and smear peanut butter onto a wall of a kennel or something and let him eat the peanut butter through the muzzle while I did it but I have not tried that yet.

This method worked for Zeke’s-aron i. When I first adopted him (& LadyBug) at age 9, he had no self-confidence or self-esteem. Nail dremeling was a huge event for him to try to deal with and I had the bite mark on the back of my head as evidence. We felt terrible together over that. A muzzle  with PB along with time and patience and it wasn’t long before Zeke was “meh, wots the big deal.” 

[HeyRunDog]

Thanks for your replies

Grace survived. Not that I was in any doubt she would I picked her up an hour after leaving her at the vets. She then slept most of the day but eventually felt recovered enough to have a late tea.

20 hours ago, DocsDoctor said:

If not, are you anywhere near your adoption kennels? If and when those reopen to visitors the staff would I am sure be happy to clip them in return for a small donation. Ours used to set up a "nail bar" at its open days and always did a brisk trade, using those guillotine clippers - very quick and safe if you know what you are doing.

Yes my adoption kennels have restarted clipping sessions by appointment but they are to far away just to go to get her nails clipped. Perhaps once the Covid restrictions have been lifted and the paddock is available for the hounds to run around it will be worth considering.

17 hours ago, racindog said:

A highly regarded military trainer told me to put his muzzle on and smear peanut butter onto a wall of a kennel or something and let him eat the peanut butter through the muzzle while I did it but I have not tried that yet.

Good idea but not sure it would work with Grace as she gets that stressed she becomes food unresponsive, if that's a term

 

[Anya]

Cleo will not let me near her with the clippers. 2nd time I tried to clip her nails she went ballistic and almost bit me. I've had to return 2 different models to Amazon and am now looking at using a Dremel. Which brands would you Dremel users recommend? Ideally it should be quiet, FAST and not too expensive.

Thanks!

 

[HeyRunDog]

Amazon have a large selection and unless you go for the well known branded ones like Wahl or Dremel they are cheap and much the same. None of them are "fast" as that would produce too much heat so it's a case of little and often with treats. And if you take the cover off they can also be used for grinding down corns.

I would recommend going for a cordless one because you can guarantee your hound won't let you grind her nails near a plug socket. I often use it on Grace's nails in the back of the car because it means I don't have to bend down

[cleptogrey]

depending upon what's going on w/ the current lockdown contact a groomer or vet. best i would say a groomer-they handle crazy nail phobic dogs all the time. 

[Anya]

Thanks for your replies and recommendations. I'll sweet talk the vet into doing them initially as the groomer I use for my other dog only does small dogs. Meanwhile I'll loosen the purse strings and check out those  brands you mentioned