# Need to trim nails HELP!



## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

Cooper's nails are long overdue and desperately need to be cut. I don't want to force the little guy so I've tried sneak up on the nails when he's asleep but he's got special detectors that wake him when I do this. I just can't seem to find the right time. As I said, I don't want to hold him down because of course that will make it even worse in the future. Can anyone make a suggestion? I touch his feet often during the day. Play with the toes. Wiggle them. And he's fine. But as soon as I go for the nails - kaboom!


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## Atticus (May 17, 2011)

You also need to play with the clippers(with out clipping) .Have them on the table pick em up touch his nails with them etc. When I'm ready to clip I do one or 2 nails or one paw . Eventually all my dogs were fine with it but I do know dogs that are just terrible. Good luck!I have clipped all my other dogs nails but just realized because I get Atticus groomed more regularly I have never done his nails!!!


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## heatherk (Feb 24, 2011)

Aw, I feel for you! Trimming nails is no fun if the dog isn't comfortable with it. There's a video that I reposted once about how a professional was able to desensitize a dog to having its nails trimmed by using a partner and treats, I'll see if I can find it again. But basically, I've found that, like everything else that a dog doesn't naturally 'like' to do, you have to start slow and use lots of patience, praise, and treats, at least at first.

For a long time, I relied on Cey's daycare place to trim his nails for me, since they seemed to have no trouble (they said he would struggle at first, but then would calm down - also, they have a professional-grade grinder, whereas I only have clippers and a cheap nail grinder tool that doesn't work very well for his nails), but lately I've been doing it myself. I had to start out with like I said a lot of treats, and gradually getting the clippers closer and closer to his nails (up to 'tapping' his nails with the clippers, without actually clipping, while treating) until he let the clippers get close enough for me to clip, then I would clip real quick and also treat him. At first, I could only get one foot done at the most, and that would take a long time to do! Now, by gradually working up to it, he usually tolerates (without _too _much fussing) all of his nails getting clipped in one session. It helps if you have a partner to treat them while you are holding the clippers (or vice versa) so that the treat can come WHILE the clippers are close, at least at first.

Basically, you want them to realize that the clippers are not really going to hurt them, and that are in fact a chance for extra special treats . Keep some styptic powder open and close by just in case you do clip the quick - which WILL cause the dog a bit of pain but usually if you quickly and calmly dab some styptic powder on it (to stop the bleeding) and continue, without freaking out or anything, and try not to do it again lol, it's not that big of a deal. And definitely _do _try to continue at least a little bit, even if it's showing them the clippers and treating again, before stopping, if you clip the quick - you don't want their last remembrance of having their nails clipped being the pain of cutting the quick!

And by the way, you are doing exactly the right thing by not holding him down; if you did that, he will only become more afraid and struggle worse!

If his nails are long enough to where you really want/need all of them to be clipped, I would suggest paying a professional to do it, and maybe even to continue doing it for a while WHILE you work up to being able to do it all yourself. Of course, you have to make sure that the professional really knows how to do it without making his fear of the clippers worse, since that will only make future nail clipping sessions worse, not better. But a lot of places do know how to do it quickly and professionally and without causing more fear in the dog, and then you can just concentrate on figuring out your technique with him without the pressure of feeling like you have to get all of his nails completely clipped.

Also remember that the longer the nails are, the longer the quick grows. To get them back to normal, if they really are quite long, will take a few clippings to reduce the quick back down - you can't do it all at once!

Oh yea, speaking of grinders, you can try using a grinder instead of clippers, or a lot of people use clippers first and then a grinder to polish the nails down smooth, but that also I think takes some amount of desensitization if you are doing it yourself, so the same techniques would apply 

Good luck!


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## nlb (Feb 26, 2012)

Yeah, same problem here, but I tried a nail file and she let me do that with less fighting. Don't bother with a battery powered one, she couldn't handle that at all. lol


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

a regular nail file????


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Take him to the Vet to get those nails trimmed. Every time you visit the Vet, have them trim those nails. Dexter was a big baby...he acted like someone was killing him, but oh so worth the nails getting trimmed. Dexter is better now...but, Vet still trims the nails.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree with having someone else do it, if it's a problem. Kodi was AWFUL about it. Unfortunately, the vet was the wrong answer for us... Instead of taking their time with him, two techs pinned him down while the vet clipped his nails. It souded like someone was being murdered in the back room. He was traumatized as well as reluctant after that. We finally found a wonderful groomer who takes her time. I keep feeding him cookies to distract him while she clips his nails. He still doesn't like it, but he no longer screams and pants when he sees the clippers.

So if your vet will take the time, use your vet. If not, find a groomer that will do it slowly and gently.


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## nlb (Feb 26, 2012)

loriabigail said:


> a regular nail file????


Yes, I have a good metal file that I use on myself. Even when you cut with clippers there is sometimes those jagged edges to file. You won't be able to do all of them at one time. A couple at a time. Cutting is still my preferred choice though.


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

I found that with my two, they don't mind having the back paws done at all, so maybe you could try that first. If they really need to be trimmed now, go to the vet or a groomer. Then when they need to be trimmed again, just do a few at a time until he gets used to it.

Kodi's nails don't grow that fast and he is very good about me trimming them. Plus they are white nails which makes it much easier. Shelby has black nails, so it is a little harder, but I just take it slow. Also, her nails grow VERY fast, so I really have to stay on top of it. Whenshe had her surgery last week, they must have taken advantage of the fact that she was sedated, because her nails are very short right now.


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

I actually did one of the back paws last week but since then no such luck. I will keep working at it though. I don't really want to have the vet do it because they usually hold them down and that could be the start of a bad experience. I used to hold my Molly down but I'm trying to do it different with Cooper. Also, it is much better to do it frequently and easier if I do it. So....we'll see.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

If you have a grooming table, you can try smearing some peanut butter or other treat on the grooming arm. That way they are distracted while you are doing the nails. However, some dogs get so riled up with nail trimming, that if they are anxious they may not fall for the treat. For dogs who really hate the nail clipper, I'd keep the session short. Like clip one nail, treat, and let them
go. Do one nail at a time like this till you can do two nails at a time, then three, etc. Dogs seem to calm down when someone else holds them and you trim the nails. Just try not to cut the quick too often because this will give them a negative view on nail clipping no matter how many treats you use.


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

what agreat idea. i don't have a grooming table but maybe I can improvise. today I've been treating him every time he goes to sniff the clippers. then I moved the clipper closer to me and treated. hye's more wary of that but we're trying. I like the peanut butter idea. 

is PB okay for dogs?


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## Becky Chittenden (Feb 4, 2009)

I clip the nails then grind. I have a really good grinder that I use for the shelties but was afraid I'd catch paw hair with the Havs and was using a metal nail file until I bought a PediPaws. Even the ones who hated having their feet messed with didn't mind this grinder. It isn't nearly as good, but after a couple times they got better about clipping too.


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

loriabigail said:


> what agreat idea. i don't have a grooming table but maybe I can improvise. today I've been treating him every time he goes to sniff the clippers. then I moved the clipper closer to me and treated. hye's more wary of that but we're trying. I like the peanut butter idea.
> 
> is PB okay for dogs?


You can make a makeshift grooming table by putting a table up against the fridge, and smearing the PB on the fridge. I think small amounts of PB is okay. Some dogs don't like PB, so you can try something else that's rather thick you can smear on something, but takes the dog a few minutes to lick off. You can try chicken flavored toothpaste. Dogs love it and you can kill two birds with one stone - clip some nails AND brush their teeth! lol

I just grind Louis's nails because they are right at the quick. He is so relaxed with his nails and the grinder it's not even funny! He'll let me grind his nails while he's standing up, or in my lap, on his back like a baby. He's limp the whole time. Of course he came to me this way, so kudos to whoever trained him well!


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

I use a head lamp so I can have both hands free.

Also, when I was trying to get him used to nail trimming, I just did a little everyday.

now, when I start to trim his nail, he literally goes belly up, like he's surrendering, and he still pulls his paws from my hand. he has all black nails so I'm very very careful to just take a little at a time. don't want to hit the quick, which I have before (hence his distaste for nail trimming). and I always give a treat at the end. Oh, my little guy has a surrender move when he really has had enough, he hoists his front paws over my shoulder, like he's giving me a hug.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

We used to trim Gucci's nails, I would hold her and My DH would trim but it got to be SOOO Dreadful we started taking her to the groomer and they clip them real quick while we wait, she usually stops whatever she's' doing and comes to clip them and its amazing, Gucci doesn't fight or squirm or anything, I think she's too busy worrying if I am going to walk out the door to even notice, Best $10 we spend every month or so..lol 

Props to those that stick it out and come up with a successful home-clipping routine!

Kara


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I'm sorry that we forgot to go over that when you were here. It really is easier for 2 people to get one used to it to start with. 

There has to be some holding the dog in place, but it's VERY important how it's done. Holding pressure has to only match the pressure the dog is using to get out of it, and release the INSTANT the dog relaxes. Massaging while the dog is relaxing. It's kind of hard to describe in words. Any pressure kept on the dog anywhere after the instant he relaxes, just escalates his anxiety. Timing of the release is most important.

The family that came to get the little girl, Joy, brought their several year old dog, that came from here, with them. His front nails were very long, and they said anyone they've taken him to had a fight with him cutting his front nails. Pam and I sat on the floor, laying him on a big dog bed pillow. Dont' pick the dog up to turn him over, but make sure he understands that he's going on his back by rolling him over while massaging him.

Bo started to struggle, as he had learned to do. Pam told the family that it might take weeks to get him to relax, and this was what they needed to work on. I explained to Rosemary what we were doing as we were doing it. The Dad wanted to come in and "help" us hold him to start with, but I told him we had him, and it would be better to just let us do it. It looked like Bo was putting up quite a struggle, and he thouht more power was required, but that was the problem, and not the solution. Pam had his front legs, and I had his back legs, massaging his quardriceps with the palms of my hands, all the while not allowing him to get up. In about 10 minutes, Pam was able to clip his front nails while he lay there relaxed, and only after he would allow us to "hold" (with no pressure) him in place. The clipping was done ONLY after he was completely relaxed, and would stay relaxed.

I'm not sure they're going to be able to do it to start with, but I think they have a much better understanding of how to do it. They had been taking him to a groomer that took three people to hold him, and it was always a big fight. I think they were being too heavy handed, and getting in too big of a hurry. After we finished, Bo was very calm, wagging his tail when he got up, and he gave both Pam and me kisses. I hope he has a better time of it from now on, but it will depend on how he is handled.

To start with, getting the nails clipped is not the goal, but getting him to lie there relaxed is.

Pam doesn't just grab a nail with the clippers and cut. She puts a little pressure on the nail where she thinks she wants to clip with the clippers, but doesn't cut if the dog makes any sign of discomfort. If the dog shows no response to pressure on the nail from the clippers, she goes ahead and cuts. If there is a response, she will move farther down the nail, unti she finds the right spot. This helps a lot. You certainly don't want a dog to feel ANY pain.

She use emery boards from Sally Beauty Supply, to round over the sharp edges left by the clippers.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

With my own dog I had the luxury of taking the time to train her to accept nail clipping from an early age. I did it every week for the first 3 months or so, but I only clipped a tiny shaving off the end (they were never overgrown) and I avoided cutting it close to the quick (she has white nails so this is easy). If you do that the dog learns that it doesn't hurt! Then a big praise and nice treat. You might want to do just one foot over 4 days, then work to increase it up to all feet. After a while as long as you never cut a nail too short he should be able to tolerate it. As soon as one nail is cut too short or you're being too rough, it kind of ruins the dog. 

First you need to train him to accept being held to have the nails clipped. If you're just grabbing him and he doesn't know what's up, then you clip his nails, and clip them too short so that it's uncomfortable, well, I wouldn't blame him for flipping out. Play with the paws, praise and treat if he tolerates it for a split second, the moment he is quiet. Do not reward or sooth crying, and don't back away if he complains. However, you need to know there is a difference between protesting and freaking out. Start with the back feet, they have less feeling in them. For the front feet, bend the paws backward. Out of sight out of mind seems to be true with many dogs. Fortunately, Hanna is very good for her nails I either do it on my lap or in the sink, and she doesn't cry, growl or try to run away. She does however, run gleefully away from me when she's done, then sits on the other side of the room and glares.


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## atsilvers27 (Jul 5, 2011)

Becky Chittenden said:


> I clip the nails then grind. I have a really good grinder that I use for the shelties but was afraid I'd catch paw hair with the Havs and was using a metal nail file until I bought a PediPaws. Even the ones who hated having their feet messed with didn't mind this grinder. It isn't nearly as good, but after a couple times they got better about clipping too.


Yes, I don't think I'll ever use a grinder on Hanna, I don't want to risk ripping a patch of hair out or getting it tangled in her coat!


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## tokipoke (Feb 13, 2012)

atsilvers27 said:


> Yes, I don't think I'll ever use a grinder on Hanna, I don't want to risk ripping a patch of hair out or getting it tangled in her coat!


The grinder is great to use on long drop coats if the dog stays still (which mine does), but we all know this isn't the case for all dogs. If people are really fearful of the long hair on the paws, you can use old pantyhose and poke the nails through and grind. It keeps the hair back. Or, if you have a stand drier, you can turn it on low so that it will be blowing the hair back as you grind.


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## MopTop Havanese (Sep 25, 2006)

Or you can grind right after a bath when their hair is still wet- makes it much easier to hold the hair out of the way!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Tom King said:


> I'm sorry that we forgot to go over that when you were here. It really is easier for 2 people to get one used to it to start with.
> 
> There has to be some holding the dog in place, but it's VERY important how it's done. Holding pressure has to only match the pressure the dog is using to get out of it, and release the INSTANT the dog relaxes. Massaging while the dog is relaxing. It's kind of hard to describe in words. Any pressure kept on the dog anywhere after the instant he relaxes, just escalates his anxiety. Timing of the release is most important.
> 
> ...


This is so, SO important, and if you make the dog afraid to start with, it can take AGES to get them over it. I saw Pam click Kodi's nails at their house, and there was no trouble. When we got home, I tried doing it by myself, but I just couldn't hold a squirming puppy, get his nail free of all the surrounding hair and find the right place to cut. Then I made the mistake of asking my DH to hold him. His idea of "holding" him was to pin him. All we accomplished was a stressed out, screaming puppy without his nails cut. THEN I took him to the vet, and there, again, they used two techs to pin him down (screaming bloody murder... you would have thought he WAS being murdered!!!) while the vet clipped his nails. They suggested I bring him in "more often so that he got used to it". This didn't seem to me to be a good way to get a puppy used to nail clipping.

Fortunately, I then found a wonderful groomer, who also happened to be the instructor of our puppy class. It has taken a year and a half to get over those early traumatic nail clippings, but she takes her time, and I feed him cookies while she carefully and gently does his nails. I think if I'd had the RIGHT kind of help from the beginning, he never would have become so traumatized about nail clipping, but at least we've made good progress getting him used to it again.


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## Charleysmom (Dec 6, 2011)

This is all so helpful. thank you. I will do as everyone has suggested. obviously I haven't been doing it the right way and it seems Cooper is on to me trying to be sneaky about it. He's such a smart puppy. I've been waiting until he's sleepy but he wakes up if I touch his front paws. The back paws are actually all trimmed except two nails.

While I'm getting this figured out - will his nails/quicks grow too long?

Massaging - do I just massage the muscles on his legs, neck etc. Is a puppy massage much different that a human massage?


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

The massaging is only for communication. It lets them know you have no malice in holding them. Just something to help them feel good about their situation. During relaxation, you massage whatever you have in your hand.

Lori, if you haven't registered Cooper yet, we register males as Starborn and females as Starborn's. It just helps us quickly recognize a dog years down the road. Belle has been the only exception, because she has "Twinkle's" in her name, and two possessives in a row didn't sound good.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The nice thing about having the Starborn (or Starborn's) prefix is that you can be pretty sure of getting the registered name you want. I'm pretty sure Pam & Tom could tell you if there was another "Starborn Cooper".


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I can cut Zoeys nails without a problem. Maddie fights and is very strong for a 8 lb Havanese. I haven't tried a file yet but would like too. I just took maddie in and she let the groomer do it with out a fuss. Zoey has a bad habit of coming up and licking me and then so quick paws my face. I have had bad scratches looks like a cat scratch. So I think filing would be a good idea.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

My dogs used to hate nail trimming and now are becoming much better. I use a dremel, not clippers. For at least 6 weeks, I would turn on the dremmel and give them treats every day - no trimming yet. Eventually they would run to me when I turn it on. Then I started touching a nail with it and giving them a treat. Finally I started trimming just one nail. This has to be a very gradual conditioning process and requires lots of patience. We now are up to full nail trims. My husband does hold them but they are really good and get lots of treats afterwards. We try to trim them lightly about every 7-10 days. Then you can do it quickly and get to the fun part (treats) very fast.

Nancy


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## Rene831 (Mar 25, 2012)

Becky Chittenden said:


> I clip the nails then grind. I have a really good grinder that I use for the shelties but was afraid I'd catch paw hair with the Havs and was using a metal nail file until I bought a PediPaws. Even the ones who hated having their feet messed with didn't mind this grinder. It isn't nearly as good, but after a couple times they got better about clipping too.


 I read somewhere for long hair paws use cheese cloth to poke the nails threw to protect from hair pulling during grinding. I dont own a grinder but it seems that is one more thing for the dog to get use too. I bet it works if you have a dog that will cooperate.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I heard you can also use an old pair of panyhose to poke the nails through.

Nancy


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

for some bizarre reason I find Tillie behaves and doesn't fight as much when I am clipping her nails by myself!? When my DH is here to 'help' me she FIGHTS like the dickens and it takes me 3 times as long as when I do it by myself!! No idea why... anywho... just thought I'd throw this out there as I JUST clipped her front paws. Getting the hair out of the way CAN be a problem, but I just deal with it, never used anything to hold the hair back.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

TilliesMom said:


> for some bizarre reason I find Tillie behaves and doesn't fight as much when I am clipping her nails by myself!? When my DH is here to 'help' me she FIGHTS like the dickens and it takes me 3 times as long as when I do it by myself!! No idea why... anywho... just thought I'd throw this out there as I JUST clipped her front paws. Getting the hair out of the way CAN be a problem, but I just deal with it, never used anything to hold the hair back.


I KNOW why Kodi is worse if my husband "helps". He doesn't know how/when to soften up his hold, so he makes Kodi panic.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

krandall said:


> I KNOW why Kodi is worse if my husband "helps". He doesn't know how/when to soften up his hold, so he makes Kodi panic.


oh yes, that is probably it... she could feel more 'trapped' too.
thankfully I didn't clip any quicks today! wooooot! This poor girl, I have gotten the quick TOO many times, but she keeps on letting me clip her nails. sweet little thing. Today I just took off the slightest of slices from the tips... they'll probably need to be trimmed again next week! LOL


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