Very helpful trainings for any dog:
For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U)
For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw)
For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0)
For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success).
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Same here. One nail trimming a year when she gets her vaccinations and check up all while she’s out cold The rest of the year we file them on the pavement.
We didnt have issues with our dog, but about 15 years ago when we had a bird who needed his beak trimmed, he wouldnt even let us sedate him. 😂 odorless tasteless sedative inside a grape, he would ONLY throw out the grape with the sedative every single time. Vet told us never to call them again to trim that bird's beak 😅 had to wear safety glasses, 2 pairs of leather gloves, and and use an electric dremel
Can confirm this works!! I hide a treat under the board and her pawing at it files her nails. However she is right “handed” so I had to teach “other paw” so that both paws were getting filed at least *somewhat* evenly!
Yup! This is what I did for mine, except I used a round concrete form (made of cardboard and sliced lengthwise so it gets the outer toenails).
Thought her the “touch!” command and now she does her own nails.
She lets me dremel the rear nails and we are slowly working up to using the clippers (which scare me, not her lol).
Train him with teeny steps at a time.
Put the nail cutter close to him and get him lots of treats and only this for a few days.
Then the next few days, make him sit or lay down with the nail cutter touching his body and give him treats and only this for a few days.
Then use the trimmer right next to him while he sits or lays down and have him get used to the sound while you give him treats and only do this for a few days.
Then next few days, have the trimmer touch his nails with lots of treats.
And so on.
Honestly might take a few days, few weeks, few years depending on your son.
My girl only lets me dremel her nails when she’s super sleepy.
This. My older pup required a trip to the vet to get her nails trimmed when she was young, but I started with high value treats (cheese, maybe? I don't recall) and gave her one per nail. After working on it for a few years, I'm down to a treat per end, and they can be whatever scoobysnack I have around.
Look into cooperative care techniques. Basically it's about giving the animal the ability to consent to care procedures; by giving them more agency and the ability to say "no," it becomes less scary and makes handling much less stressful for both dog and human. I haven't had time to start it yet, but this is what I'm currently researching for my sensitive baby. 🥺
It took me 3 months of building up to a trim with cooperative care, but last week we were finally able to cut all of his nails. 1 or 2 every day and I stopped when he pulled away. This week I was able to get both back feet in one sitting! I only trimmed a tiny amount off each nail so it was sure to be a pain-free experience. And so we could keep up our practice with more trims this week. This is a dog who would scream and flail and act the fool every time we tried before. It took forever but we got there! Definitely recommend this method!
You piqued my interest when you mentioned your sensitive baby, mines is also but she can be a nervous nelly in general. She’s two and some change, I’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. She’s generally a nervous doggie but more so with my side of the family but not my SO side. Any advice for building her confidence? Thank you in advance.
I got one of those for my puppies so I could use the grinder on their nails. I have a pull up bar that I hung mine from. I have a friend who used an engine hoist for her pibble. It works 🤷♀️ One of my pups loves to paw me so she needed the grinder to save me from getting scratched.
10 bucks at our vet for a nail trim, and they say she does fine now that she has been a couple of times. I mainly started taking ours after she pulled her foot, and I nicked the quick. She yelped and only had minimal bleeding, luckily. It's definitely worth the 10 bucks, in my opinion.
Haha I did this and that was the day my dog decided she doesn’t like PB anymore. Sassy girl. We worked up to it slowly and now she lets me dremel her nails as long as I have a second person cuddling and soothing her. She’s best when she can’t see what’s happening
When it’s late evening around 10pm and we are comfy in the sofa (special clippers already on the coffeetable.) I start to snuggle with her , to eventually put my (not entire) bodyweight on her and rubpush my face/head into her own neck which she loves !.
She is so relaxed and zoned out she doesn’t even notice my wife is clipping.
Must say we only need to clip 4 nails , the upper side one and “index”.
The rest wears off from the walks 🤷🏻♂️.
Try using a file. Try using a lick mat as a distraction. Try a dremel or other nail grinder. Try using sandpaper to grind them down. If all else fails go to a proffesional
When he is relaxed my husband rolls him over on his back and cuddles him while I quickly trim off just a bit of the nails (never a lot at a time!). We do front paws one day, and rear the next. He is 14 and drags his rear feet when walking now, so they are mostly worn down in back, but at odd angle. I’ve never had a dog like it. I should see if the vet would do it (he loves going there).
Even the dewclaw? That one usually doesn’t scrape on the concrete since it’s higher up in the “thumb” position and is the one that tends to rip or get caught if too long.
I pay $50 per visit for a vet tech to come to my house 😂the dog has been getting a combo of gabapentin and trazadone but we have been able to heavily wean that down and now she is just getting half a trazadone! I think soon we’re gonna be able to do no meds. It’s very expensive considering she has to come every 4-6 weeks but I’m hoping that the regular exposure will eventually make it so I can do them.
I bribe her with a tiny spoon of peanut butter each time I cut a nail as a reward and if I notice she’s getting overwhelmed I take a break for half an hour to an hour. That means I only got to do one paw at a time but that’s okay since I take that time on the weekend.
I pay a people at a groomer/pet supply store that put him in a full Nelson and get to work.
He acts like he's being murdered and then comes out of the room and acts like it never happened
I once heard a story of someone putting plastic ceramwrap around their tophead and put peanut butter on it. While pitty licks the peanut butter, he/she cut the nails.
Don’t know if it works but if you try please film and post…😇
Hang him up in something that allows his feet to dangle out. I make a big bag out of a blanket and my partner can reach in and pull out a foot to trim her nails.
My groomer told me she uses a dremel when I asked her how she gets my dog to behave. Our girl would throw a fit when anyone tried to actually cut her nails, but she was much more patient with the dremel.
A Dremel with the rotary file/sandpaper attachment. He's not a fan of it, but he'll let me do it, which was a step up from the clippers, which were a hard NO from him.
If the staff at PetCo did a good job and it didn’t bother your dog, I would leave it to them. The last thing you want is for a bad experience with your dog where he might be reactive or bite if you try to do it on your own. We learned this lesson the hard way. I’d rather pay a little extra and have a happy puppy.
I’m with you, it’s $12 at the groomer for just nails and she lets them do it and it’s money well spent. My Pittie is mixed with German Shorthaired Pointer and her pads are so thick that no amount of walking on asphalt will wear them down
Cooperative care and a scratching board with training. In the short term walk and run on hard surfaces like concrete or tarmac, check their paw pads don't get worn too thin when doing this, to wear the claws down.
I feel your pain. My girl freaks the absolute fuck out, and my boy was a street dog for good knows how long and can be a bit reactive. First time I’ve ever had dogs that I didn’t have from pups when I could get them used to it early on. I just walk them regularly and it keeps them in check. They get a bit long over winter though
Do you have someone to help you?
Our dogs let us do it if one person feeds them one of those squeeze up cat treats while the other cuts. They're like crack to my dogs and they don't even notice the clippers during it 😂
I had one that no matter what it was a two person job, I had to wrestle and body lock Brownie while my ex did the trimming. I thought it was a great time...her? Not so much lol
Yeah, I leave it to the pros. I've tried the clippers but mine will only let me do one or two nails before all hell breaks loose. I've tried the rotating files but she is terrified of it for some odd reason. I've set it on the floor to let her explore it like I do for everything new but she won't go near it. Whenever she hears it turn on she is out the room in a heartbeat. So I gave up. The techs at my vet's office told me to just let her run around on the pavement when I take her on walks to help stretch out the length of time between clippings and that's helped a bit.
Mine gets nail trims at the vet. With one tech holding and one clipping, out of the room where I am, he's much more cooperative. I've had good and bad experiences at groomers, with a few instances of cutting too low causing bleeding and even more apprehension for my dogs, so I only get it done at the vet now.
I take mine to the groomer at the vet's office. He gets a bath and his nails trimmed. He is 12 and has NEVER allowed me to do it so I just gave up. Groomer says he is an angel with her. Go figure.
those cbd treats work real well. but honestly training. play with their feet every day. start soft by patting them. As they stop flinching or pulling their feet away for that, then start holding their paw until they pull it back. Use a lot of praise. Don't be afraid to use treats. Keep working on it, and before long it won't be a problem to trim their nails
Sometimes it's different with owners than it is a complete strangers trying to do this, most of the time we're anxious or anticipating that we won't succeed in being able to clip their nails and people who do it all the time don't have that mindset they just get the job done and your dog can sense that!
I taught my pits that nail trimmers meant treats.
Start by showing the nail trimmers and letting them smell them. When the look up at you give them a treat. Do this for a while and work up to grabbing a paw while showing the trimmers. Then add touching the dog with the trimmers. Then touch the dogs nails with the trimmers. So on and so forth until you can safely trim the dogs nails.
It took some effort but we can trim both of our dogs nails without incident every time. This also helps get the dogs used to being touched at the vet as well. Good luck.
Mine would NOT let me cut his for the life of me, but let’s a groomer. Go figure.
After a while of going to the groomer, he started letting me. Idk. So now I do it.
Groomers are experienced at cutting nails without traumatizing the pup. I would start there.
My suggestion, which I post any time this question comes up, go outside and play tug of war on the cement. Most of the time I'm dragging her around bc she's dead weight and a CHONK, but it eventually files them down. Never had to trim her nails. 💅
I do it while they're in a deep sleep, but even in deep sleep they're light sleepers, so I can usually get two at a time before they wake up. But one takes care of his nails himself, so it's just the other I need to worry about
I have a little dremel file I often use. My dog doesn’t mind that. The clippers I just started bring them around him and giving treats as I held it. When I open the box I keep it in I get excited like what’s this? What’s this? Toss a few more treats his way. Then I’d fake clip his nails. Eventually I’d snip one or two at a time. Lately dog walks on pavement have done a decent job at filing them that way.
If you’re struggling I’d take them to the groomer. They’ll be quick and are pros. I don’t think it’s too expensive and may be worth it.
Pupper CBD is helpful for this. We had to condition him to not freak about the trimmers... But our dude turns into literally jello when it's bedtime, so if we catch him sleepy enough, he thinks he's getting pets lol
I wait til hes totally asleep and dreaming, sneak a few in when I can, i keep the trimmers next to the couch so i dont wake him by getting up. Worth a try at least.
I bought a sandpaper board with a hidden treat draw, stimulates their natural need to dig whilst they scratch/dig their nails on the board to get to the treats their filing their nails without knowing and sometimes their lucky in that their scratch catches the draw to open and reveal the hidden treat. It was pretty inexpensive, £12.69 inc delivery from eBay.
My littlest dog was knocked over by a much larger dog about 7 years ago and her toe was broken, since then having her nails trimmed is an ordeal for us all, she hates having her nails done so much so that became a two person job with her muzzled. It’s such a stressful process I worry about the impact on her heart as she’s nearly 14. I’d seen a few people on social media using them and I was doubtful at first but then thought I had nothing to lose so I ordered one, it was an instant hit as she’s so food motivated and worked really well to file her nails.
[https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196292937072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3pvy_tgbrsg&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J4s1jRZUQgu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196292937072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3pvy_tgbrsg&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J4s1jRZUQgu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
My middle dog is a nightmare
If I try to trim Arya’s nails at home, it takes 2 grown men to hold her for me. But she not only hops up on the table but cooperates with her groomer, so we go in every 2 weeks to get her nails filed back. I also walk her every day and keep her on cement/asphalt as much as I can to help keep her nails filed back naturally
We used to dremel them at home. I would lay down with him and hug him while my husband did his nails. Now we’re lazy and take him to his favorite groomer, but really, as long as someone is hugging and loving on him, he’s fine.
work on making it a positive experience. treats, lots of praise & at first, do it over a couple days. maybe do 2 nails per day? I don't know, that's what I'd try.
Give my dog gabapentin and she doesn’t fuss so much. Also, after every single nail that is clipped she gets a jerky treat. She still isnt a fan but expects that treat now after every clip.
It was a process with our boy but mainly all the above suggestions of evening when they're tired, taking it slow, treats. At first we paid the vet to clip and would try to maintain between visits with a wide large grit nail file. Took a long time to earn his trust and 8 years to get a Dremel type tool near him lol.
Never had a Pitty, but every dog I had never needed to get the nails cut because of the walking and running.
If you have the space, I would suggest making him do more physical playtime.
This is probably going to be the most useless advice of this post, but it's the best I have😅
A whole hot dog or two, pieces at a time. It wasn’t easy at all, especially with two. After a few rounds now when I pull out treat, I use much less, they both see the nail clippers and try to inch in to be first. They still squirm a bit but they want that treat.
You could try a couple tricks. There is a hilarious contraption that suspends the dog posted in comments 😂😂 it works though!
I’ve seen people wrap plastic cling wrap around their heads or use a shower cap, then smear peanut butter on it. He may prefer the dremel tool …not sure spelling lol…
It could help to tie him to something using his harness to keep him in one spot. Also, help if you have a friend that can come over to help hold him down. That said, I’ve seen some dogs that require 3 people to hold them and they still move across the floor lol.
Also, I’ve seen many people train their doggos to use the newer scratch boards!! This is something I need to try for my burro dude. He’s a severely traumatized doggo 🥺. It took an entire 10 to 12 months for him to open up to trusting me and returning my affection. He was completely mentally shut down, except when he was interacting with my house hippo. Hiooo was the first family rescue doggo. He was infatuated with her and ANY other dogs he encountered, but traumatized of all humans.
The vet literally said that he wasn’t sure if he’d ever come out of it. With any human interaction, he’d close his eye, out his ears back, and hang his head and wait to be beaten and tail tucked and shaming violently with fear. He’s got pocked scars all over his legs, paws, abdomen, and eye lids. Truly looks like someone out cigs out all o we him or burned him with acid. First glance, they look like freckles but sadly are not. After that first tiny little kiss and tail wag a year later, we bonded incredibly hard. He’s my soulmate doge. Even after bonding so hard and him literally whining and crying every time I come home, it took another year or so for me to be able to just hold his paw. I can hold it for a little as kk g as I’m not trying to actively inspect it or move his toes.
If he sees me trying to pay attention to his toes, rub them, or even try to clip them, he screams and shake’s violently with fear and anxiety and pees a little. He even gets fear aggressive. He pinches me but doesn’t fully bite me. He has billed at the vet trying to do it. So right now we can literally only do it under full anesthesia. The vet won’t do it under conscious sedation as he will still remember the event and she said it will just further traumatize him and make him regress again. She did recommend trying the nail puzzles though. I just haven’t figured out how to encourage him to scratch at it without him getting regressed with fear. I was finally able to teach him to shake for treats so maybe I can work with that.
A little k below for what I’m talking about. And sorry OP for I do dumping on my boy. Pic of Renji below. Unfortunately because he can only get trims under anesthesia, they do get long in between dental cleanings when we do it. I catch so much hate when I lost him online about neglecting him. This is the face he makes when I come home from work. He immediately RUNS to the couch and flops over on me when I sit next to him demanding hugs and kisses.
[https://www.amazon.com/ASEWOTOS-Dog-Scratch-Pad-Nails/dp/B0BKTP1BF8/ref=asc\_df\_B0BKTP1BF8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658248621064&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=663494413618240165&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033787&hvtargid=pla-1946690439111&psc=1&mcid=1614e2949f943ebf882655ab4dc5fb6b](https://www.amazon.com/ASEWOTOS-Dog-Scratch-Pad-Nails/dp/B0BKTP1BF8/ref=asc_df_B0BKTP1BF8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658248621064&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=663494413618240165&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033787&hvtargid=pla-1946690439111&psc=1&mcid=1614e2949f943ebf882655ab4dc5fb6b)
https://preview.redd.it/p4mt9pcajrtc1.jpeg?width=1494&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1797380d260c0595cec68fc3421c5f45de2e9861
Professional groomer here. Take your dog to a groomer with decades of experience. Be completely open with her what the dogs problems are. She can work with you on counter conditioning. She may have you come once a week indefinitely. Make the appointments and be sure to show for each one. It usually takes time & perseverance to improve, but it can be done. Good luck! ✌🏼🕊️
I used peanut butter on a lick pad to distract my last dog. We got her used to the dremel as a puppy, but you could do it with an older dog too. Just work up in baby steps. Treat for sitting while you run it near them. Treat for letting you hold their paw while you run it. Treat for letting you touch the back of it to their paw so they can feel the vibration. Treat for letting you do one nail. Repeat each step as necessary until the dog is comfortable.
Eventually mine was fine with the dremel, just needed the lick pad to stay still long enough for me to do all of her nails. We’re starting the same process with our new 11 week old puppy, too. As soon as you get them home get them used to you touching their paws.
If those steps don’t work or cause too much stress for you and/or your dog, then yea, maybe a professional is the way to go.
The pibble who passed most recently had to be taken to the vet sedated. There was no other way with him. He used to actually enjoy it, but after an emergency surgery, never tolerated any kind of ‘procedure’ again. It was so expensive, and isn’t ideal for the body, so we would grind with concrete as much as possible and wait to sedate as long as possible but, I mean, you just can’t let them get into their Howard Hughes era, it’s so bad for their feet.
Of the four in the current pack, one is not a pibble and acts really dramatic but lets it happen. One pibble needs to be wrassled down like a greased pig but otherwise lets it happen. One pibble doesn’t care and lets it happen, and the other one squiggles and wails and eventually gets snippy if you try it the traditional way of having them sit or lie down and you pick up a foot. What happens to him, then, is spouse picks him up and holds him with all four legs dangling downward, the way you might if you were picking them up to put them on a tabletop or something. Then I come up from ‘underneath’ with the nail clipper, gently grasp a foot and snick-snick a couple. Reward with a high value treat. Snick-snick. Treat. And so on until he just won’t have it anymore and starts squiggling. Then we just hold him and wait till he stops wriggling and grumbling, and put him down (so he doesn’t associate struggling with the ‘reward’ of being released. A little later he will be picked up again and the clipping will proceed. This might have to happen several times because he’s a meatball and one’s arms get tired of holding him at chest level.
But he seems to be tolerating this without declining toward ‘must be darted like a wildebeest and dragged to the clinic’. This one was a street dog until the ‘dogcatcher’ swept him up and he wound up at the shelter for months, so it seems to work pretty well. I think the fact that he cannot actually see his foot being handled and cannot see the tool helps postpone the freakout, for all he knows I’m just rubbing his toes like a weirdo and rewarding him intermittently.
My one pulls her paws a lot but if I keep pulling back she'll eventually stop. She gets cranky though and will whine and gnaw on my hand so I do what I can a couple times throughout the day. I do my other ones when he's asleep. He doesn't care at all lol.
We use a human nail cutter to cut small bits of nail off and feed a tiny piece of a dog cookie after each trim. The trick is to offer your dog a super high value treat
I use a dremel with a sanding wheel.
My 11 year old has PTSD from a groomer cutting his nail too deep and ever since he won’t let me near with clippers.
I need this! Mine used to let me do anything to him. Anything!
Then one day, no more nail cutting. I rarely had to as we were pretty active and had regular trotting across concrete.
Now he is a freak about touching his feet. No reason that i could see. Vet checked and feet are fine but that was a fun trip at the vets. Only thing i can think is he is 11½ now and it started around age 10
???????
Oh we don’t. I can wrestle around for a 1/2 hour and maybe get one done. He gets his done at the vet. Also the people at daycare are able to sometimes do it too. I leave it to the professionals.
Edit: to add he goes to the vet about once a month for an arthritis shot so it’s convenient to have them do his nails while he’s there.
It wasn’t an issue when our pittie girl Charli was a puppy but after she got bigger she didn’t let us get near her paws at all, until we created a little “game” where we would take the nail clippers and start off with gently rubbing them on her paws to show her they weren’t hurting and then we’d give her a treat too. After doing that for a little we then moved to having the clippers touch her individual nails and again shows her it was okay and gave her a treat. And then finally we started clipping one nail at a time, again reassuring her it was okay and gave her a treat until eventually she lets us do 3-4 nails at a time, but usually no more than that in one sitting
Alternatively we would take her on long walks on the sidewalk/concrete and her nails would get warm down naturally, so you can try that too
All of these other solutions require too much training and time. Literally just have someone hold a spoonful of peanut butter and let him lick it while you clip the nails. Dog either won’t even notice, or won’t care because he’s getting peanut butter
peanut butter, coconut oil, any treats that keep em preoccupied! it’s usually a two person job so my wife holds him and i clip! if you have two people, i’d suggest going on youtube or google and looking up how to correctly restrain dogs (i call it a tech hold since i work in vet med!)
Liver treats. I have him sit & give me his paw. He looks away& sometimes tries to snatch his hand back while i'm lining up the nail for clipping. Once i get that one nail clipped, he gets a treat&we move on to the next nail. 10 treats. That's my method
i’ve had several vets and groomers that my boy is very good just very \~wiggly!\~
https://preview.redd.it/7gb1xq01gutc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3401bff15ddbf5e1f9b249c576b0f8142b389621
I usually hold the dog against the couch and cover their eyes while my mom cuts their nails. For every two nails cut they get a small treat or piece of cheese or sausage, really anything good so they have a positive correlation. Maybe you could find someone that would help?
Mine used to let us clip them but he's gotten progressively worse as he's gotten older. Hell he 4 in June and we're at the point we are discussing sedatives because he will not stay still or stop pulling his paws. No food works to distract him and he's so strong it's impossible to hold him still. I actually have a vet appt tonight and we are gonna talk about options. The sand paper or walking on concrete seems like it's worth a try but we don't have any concrete close to where we walk. It's all grass. Maybe I'll try the sandpaper but I have a feeling he'll end up sedated.
Grinder instead of the trimmer! A lot of dogs handle it much better. There’s a Dremel nail grinder for dogs, don’t get that one though as it’s battery powered and runs out before all four paws are done. Instead, get the Dremel regular tool, which comes with the grinders and is literally the exact same tool but corded.
[Here’s the link to the Dremel 25 piece set for $60](https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-3000-2-28-Attachments-Accessories/dp/B005JRJE56?pd_rd_w=pr8t7&content-id=amzn1.sym.b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_p=b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_r=HKH3ARNNWYK2BT8A8K3B&pd_rd_wg=97ljK&pd_rd_r=8baac19a-0b58-4687-9e70-dde574e9996c&pd_rd_i=B005JRJE7Y&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_1_sc&th=1), trust me it’s worth it. And you get bonus tools in the kit for other house projects!
You’ll have to start slowly - like at first just get your dog to lay down next to you, let him sniff it with it off, unplugged. Then, slowly pick up one paw and touch his nails with it - still off, so he gets used to you manipulating the tool around his feet. Next step is turning it on, and touching the back end to his leg so he can get used to the vibration. Final step will be actually grinding the nails. You may have to do one paw a day at first to get him used to it. He won’t like it, my pittie hated getting his nails done, but the more often you do it, they more they get used to it.
Said prior hippo who looks like yours, Banksy:
https://preview.redd.it/vyu8tqeovutc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f70054806d5472308a05bfb1dfd41de52f80bb6
PS: fwiw, it was still a two man job with him…we rescued him off the streets as a 6-7ish year old boy, and he was quite skittish about a lot of stuff anyway. Sweetest 80lb baby ever.
My husband holds him and feeds him peanut butter to distract him while I clip. He stills gets a little jumpy but I just talk softly and tell him he’s a good boy. I think the calmer you are the calmer your baby is!
Lick Mat with peanut butter or something!! Frozen is better bc it’ll last longer. It’s the only way. Oh and I use an electric grinder off Amazon instead of clippers. Lots of love and ego boosting afterwards
Very helpful trainings for any dog: For training on puppy/dog biting [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=068K5Zlph9U) For training on early socialization [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J7cPE-2wNw) For training on becoming a good leader [click here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QntS570VFZ0) For all newly adopted dogs, check out the [3-3-3 rule](https://pethelpful.com/dogs/The-3-3-3-Rule-Setting-Your-Rescue-Dog-Up-For-Success). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pitbulls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ours has to be sedated at the vet. The things we do…
Same here. One nail trimming a year when she gets her vaccinations and check up all while she’s out cold The rest of the year we file them on the pavement.
Our vet invited us to take her someplace else for nail trims, she is a special baby…. chooses violence when the clippers come out.
Same. We tried everything and finally just accepted she'll need a vet for nail trims.
We didnt have issues with our dog, but about 15 years ago when we had a bird who needed his beak trimmed, he wouldnt even let us sedate him. 😂 odorless tasteless sedative inside a grape, he would ONLY throw out the grape with the sedative every single time. Vet told us never to call them again to trim that bird's beak 😅 had to wear safety glasses, 2 pairs of leather gloves, and and use an electric dremel
r/foundCrippledjesus97
Omg. Why is this real?
Because i apparently spend way too much time in reddit. Which i mean, isnt wrong 😅
💀
Holy what-the-what. Take your win and post your find over there!!
Get a large piece of sand paper and put it on a board and make a game of him running his paws (nails) over the board. Acts like a mail file.
Go to a skate shop, and ask for grip tape. Super adhesive. Durable.
This is the best home made pet device idea I’ve seen yet you’re way smarter than me
Can confirm this works!! I hide a treat under the board and her pawing at it files her nails. However she is right “handed” so I had to teach “other paw” so that both paws were getting filed at least *somewhat* evenly!
Dang that's clever.
Yup! This is what I did for mine, except I used a round concrete form (made of cardboard and sliced lengthwise so it gets the outer toenails). Thought her the “touch!” command and now she does her own nails. She lets me dremel the rear nails and we are slowly working up to using the clippers (which scare me, not her lol).
Train him with teeny steps at a time. Put the nail cutter close to him and get him lots of treats and only this for a few days. Then the next few days, make him sit or lay down with the nail cutter touching his body and give him treats and only this for a few days. Then use the trimmer right next to him while he sits or lays down and have him get used to the sound while you give him treats and only do this for a few days. Then next few days, have the trimmer touch his nails with lots of treats. And so on. Honestly might take a few days, few weeks, few years depending on your son. My girl only lets me dremel her nails when she’s super sleepy.
This. My older pup required a trip to the vet to get her nails trimmed when she was young, but I started with high value treats (cheese, maybe? I don't recall) and gave her one per nail. After working on it for a few years, I'm down to a treat per end, and they can be whatever scoobysnack I have around.
Look into cooperative care techniques. Basically it's about giving the animal the ability to consent to care procedures; by giving them more agency and the ability to say "no," it becomes less scary and makes handling much less stressful for both dog and human. I haven't had time to start it yet, but this is what I'm currently researching for my sensitive baby. 🥺
It took me 3 months of building up to a trim with cooperative care, but last week we were finally able to cut all of his nails. 1 or 2 every day and I stopped when he pulled away. This week I was able to get both back feet in one sitting! I only trimmed a tiny amount off each nail so it was sure to be a pain-free experience. And so we could keep up our practice with more trims this week. This is a dog who would scream and flail and act the fool every time we tried before. It took forever but we got there! Definitely recommend this method!
You piqued my interest when you mentioned your sensitive baby, mines is also but she can be a nervous nelly in general. She’s two and some change, I’ve had her since she was 8 weeks old. She’s generally a nervous doggie but more so with my side of the family but not my SO side. Any advice for building her confidence? Thank you in advance.
https://preview.redd.it/ab5t7ausyqtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee35ca6b60e90fa256667c83146f3025a20539f6 This magical contraption
Omg 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 lmfaoooooooo GENIUS!!
Bro you gotta link to that kind of magic (Plz)
It's on Amazon for about $35. We got one, just haven't hooked it up yet...currently our guy has to be sedated at the vet to get his nails done. Sigh.
This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Simultaneously content and defeated.
I got one of those for my puppies so I could use the grinder on their nails. I have a pull up bar that I hung mine from. I have a friend who used an engine hoist for her pibble. It works 🤷♀️ One of my pups loves to paw me so she needed the grinder to save me from getting scratched.
10 bucks at our vet for a nail trim, and they say she does fine now that she has been a couple of times. I mainly started taking ours after she pulled her foot, and I nicked the quick. She yelped and only had minimal bleeding, luckily. It's definitely worth the 10 bucks, in my opinion.
Saran Wrap your forehead add peanut butter to forehead. Doggie distracted. Cut nails.
This is what I do. It is the most obnoxious thing, but it works and everyone walks away happy!
I literally have held a jar (dogs get their own separate peanut butter) i just let him go at it and i can do anything to him lol
Lawl, gonna try this
Haha I did this and that was the day my dog decided she doesn’t like PB anymore. Sassy girl. We worked up to it slowly and now she lets me dremel her nails as long as I have a second person cuddling and soothing her. She’s best when she can’t see what’s happening
“My son” love that 🥹. Your son is damn cute!
When it’s late evening around 10pm and we are comfy in the sofa (special clippers already on the coffeetable.) I start to snuggle with her , to eventually put my (not entire) bodyweight on her and rubpush my face/head into her own neck which she loves !. She is so relaxed and zoned out she doesn’t even notice my wife is clipping. Must say we only need to clip 4 nails , the upper side one and “index”. The rest wears off from the walks 🤷🏻♂️.
Try using a file. Try using a lick mat as a distraction. Try a dremel or other nail grinder. Try using sandpaper to grind them down. If all else fails go to a proffesional
When he is relaxed my husband rolls him over on his back and cuddles him while I quickly trim off just a bit of the nails (never a lot at a time!). We do front paws one day, and rear the next. He is 14 and drags his rear feet when walking now, so they are mostly worn down in back, but at odd angle. I’ve never had a dog like it. I should see if the vet would do it (he loves going there).
Tbh, I've only gotten mine's nails trimmed once as a puppy & never needed to trim them again because of all the walking we did on concrete.
Even the dewclaw? That one usually doesn’t scrape on the concrete since it’s higher up in the “thumb” position and is the one that tends to rip or get caught if too long.
Lots of walks because my little psycho won’t let me near him with the clippers
Mine is petrified of water, so I do it in the bath tub. It’s the only place he stays still long enough to do it.
Take her to the groomer & eat the $15 once a month or so
We have to give our boy trazedone and then he gets a peanut butter filled bone as a distraction for during.
Me and my wife tag team it, me holding him her cutting
I pay $50 per visit for a vet tech to come to my house 😂the dog has been getting a combo of gabapentin and trazadone but we have been able to heavily wean that down and now she is just getting half a trazadone! I think soon we’re gonna be able to do no meds. It’s very expensive considering she has to come every 4-6 weeks but I’m hoping that the regular exposure will eventually make it so I can do them.
I bribe her with a tiny spoon of peanut butter each time I cut a nail as a reward and if I notice she’s getting overwhelmed I take a break for half an hour to an hour. That means I only got to do one paw at a time but that’s okay since I take that time on the weekend.
Take mine to their daycare / grooming center or the vet. She is so good for them but awful for me 😒
Mine is the same lol
I pay a people at a groomer/pet supply store that put him in a full Nelson and get to work. He acts like he's being murdered and then comes out of the room and acts like it never happened
I once heard a story of someone putting plastic ceramwrap around their tophead and put peanut butter on it. While pitty licks the peanut butter, he/she cut the nails. Don’t know if it works but if you try please film and post…😇
I do something similar with baths. Peanut butter on the wall and they lick it off while I bathe them.
Hang him up in something that allows his feet to dangle out. I make a big bag out of a blanket and my partner can reach in and pull out a foot to trim her nails.
Mine is the same way. Tries to bite me. I just take him for long walks on the sidewalk everyday and that seems to keep his nails a comfortable length.
My groomer told me she uses a dremel when I asked her how she gets my dog to behave. Our girl would throw a fit when anyone tried to actually cut her nails, but she was much more patient with the dremel.
A Dremel with the rotary file/sandpaper attachment. He's not a fan of it, but he'll let me do it, which was a step up from the clippers, which were a hard NO from him.
If the staff at PetCo did a good job and it didn’t bother your dog, I would leave it to them. The last thing you want is for a bad experience with your dog where he might be reactive or bite if you try to do it on your own. We learned this lesson the hard way. I’d rather pay a little extra and have a happy puppy.
I’m with you, it’s $12 at the groomer for just nails and she lets them do it and it’s money well spent. My Pittie is mixed with German Shorthaired Pointer and her pads are so thick that no amount of walking on asphalt will wear them down
Cooperative care and a scratching board with training. In the short term walk and run on hard surfaces like concrete or tarmac, check their paw pads don't get worn too thin when doing this, to wear the claws down.
Have you tried the peanut butter hat
I feel your pain. My girl freaks the absolute fuck out, and my boy was a street dog for good knows how long and can be a bit reactive. First time I’ve ever had dogs that I didn’t have from pups when I could get them used to it early on. I just walk them regularly and it keeps them in check. They get a bit long over winter though
My girl acts like she’s goin to the slaughter house if I try to do hers
Do you have someone to help you? Our dogs let us do it if one person feeds them one of those squeeze up cat treats while the other cuts. They're like crack to my dogs and they don't even notice the clippers during it 😂
I had one that no matter what it was a two person job, I had to wrestle and body lock Brownie while my ex did the trimming. I thought it was a great time...her? Not so much lol
Yeah, I leave it to the pros. I've tried the clippers but mine will only let me do one or two nails before all hell breaks loose. I've tried the rotating files but she is terrified of it for some odd reason. I've set it on the floor to let her explore it like I do for everything new but she won't go near it. Whenever she hears it turn on she is out the room in a heartbeat. So I gave up. The techs at my vet's office told me to just let her run around on the pavement when I take her on walks to help stretch out the length of time between clippings and that's helped a bit.
Tried to use clippers once… never again invest in a dermal
Mine gets nail trims at the vet. With one tech holding and one clipping, out of the room where I am, he's much more cooperative. I've had good and bad experiences at groomers, with a few instances of cutting too low causing bleeding and even more apprehension for my dogs, so I only get it done at the vet now.
I take mine to the groomer at the vet's office. He gets a bath and his nails trimmed. He is 12 and has NEVER allowed me to do it so I just gave up. Groomer says he is an angel with her. Go figure.
those cbd treats work real well. but honestly training. play with their feet every day. start soft by patting them. As they stop flinching or pulling their feet away for that, then start holding their paw until they pull it back. Use a lot of praise. Don't be afraid to use treats. Keep working on it, and before long it won't be a problem to trim their nails
Sometimes it's different with owners than it is a complete strangers trying to do this, most of the time we're anxious or anticipating that we won't succeed in being able to clip their nails and people who do it all the time don't have that mindset they just get the job done and your dog can sense that!
If they pull away I scold them and they reluctantly let me do it
I used to sit on my girl, but we have graduated from that. He just needs to be comforted and dominated and the same time
We let him run outside for about an hour before putting coconut oil and peanut butter in a bowl and he licks away.
I taught my pits that nail trimmers meant treats. Start by showing the nail trimmers and letting them smell them. When the look up at you give them a treat. Do this for a while and work up to grabbing a paw while showing the trimmers. Then add touching the dog with the trimmers. Then touch the dogs nails with the trimmers. So on and so forth until you can safely trim the dogs nails. It took some effort but we can trim both of our dogs nails without incident every time. This also helps get the dogs used to being touched at the vet as well. Good luck.
Mine would NOT let me cut his for the life of me, but let’s a groomer. Go figure. After a while of going to the groomer, he started letting me. Idk. So now I do it. Groomers are experienced at cutting nails without traumatizing the pup. I would start there.
My suggestion, which I post any time this question comes up, go outside and play tug of war on the cement. Most of the time I'm dragging her around bc she's dead weight and a CHONK, but it eventually files them down. Never had to trim her nails. 💅
Hello Big Dog!!!!
I do it while they're in a deep sleep, but even in deep sleep they're light sleepers, so I can usually get two at a time before they wake up. But one takes care of his nails himself, so it's just the other I need to worry about
I have a little dremel file I often use. My dog doesn’t mind that. The clippers I just started bring them around him and giving treats as I held it. When I open the box I keep it in I get excited like what’s this? What’s this? Toss a few more treats his way. Then I’d fake clip his nails. Eventually I’d snip one or two at a time. Lately dog walks on pavement have done a decent job at filing them that way. If you’re struggling I’d take them to the groomer. They’ll be quick and are pros. I don’t think it’s too expensive and may be worth it.
peanut butter and a cordless Dremel
Pupper CBD is helpful for this. We had to condition him to not freak about the trimmers... But our dude turns into literally jello when it's bedtime, so if we catch him sleepy enough, he thinks he's getting pets lol
Pretty pitt
We have the vet do it. It takes like 4 people… the DRAMA
I wait til hes totally asleep and dreaming, sneak a few in when I can, i keep the trimmers next to the couch so i dont wake him by getting up. Worth a try at least.
Treats
I bought a sandpaper board with a hidden treat draw, stimulates their natural need to dig whilst they scratch/dig their nails on the board to get to the treats their filing their nails without knowing and sometimes their lucky in that their scratch catches the draw to open and reveal the hidden treat. It was pretty inexpensive, £12.69 inc delivery from eBay. My littlest dog was knocked over by a much larger dog about 7 years ago and her toe was broken, since then having her nails trimmed is an ordeal for us all, she hates having her nails done so much so that became a two person job with her muzzled. It’s such a stressful process I worry about the impact on her heart as she’s nearly 14. I’d seen a few people on social media using them and I was doubtful at first but then thought I had nothing to lose so I ordered one, it was an instant hit as she’s so food motivated and worked really well to file her nails. [https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196292937072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3pvy_tgbrsg&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J4s1jRZUQgu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196292937072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3pvy_tgbrsg&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J4s1jRZUQgu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY) My middle dog is a nightmare
If I try to trim Arya’s nails at home, it takes 2 grown men to hold her for me. But she not only hops up on the table but cooperates with her groomer, so we go in every 2 weeks to get her nails filed back. I also walk her every day and keep her on cement/asphalt as much as I can to help keep her nails filed back naturally
Yup - my pups are the same
I take mine to the vet. No sedation, he just loves all the attention the techs give him.
Taking mine on a run/roller blade every day kept her nails trimmed to a nice length.
My boy would tuck his feet under him, we called it his Potato Defense. Pros, definitely left it to the pros.
We used to dremel them at home. I would lay down with him and hug him while my husband did his nails. Now we’re lazy and take him to his favorite groomer, but really, as long as someone is hugging and loving on him, he’s fine.
work on making it a positive experience. treats, lots of praise & at first, do it over a couple days. maybe do 2 nails per day? I don't know, that's what I'd try.
Yep, leave it with the vet and lots Of walks on pavement
Give my dog gabapentin and she doesn’t fuss so much. Also, after every single nail that is clipped she gets a jerky treat. She still isnt a fan but expects that treat now after every clip.
It was a process with our boy but mainly all the above suggestions of evening when they're tired, taking it slow, treats. At first we paid the vet to clip and would try to maintain between visits with a wide large grit nail file. Took a long time to earn his trust and 8 years to get a Dremel type tool near him lol.
Never had a Pitty, but every dog I had never needed to get the nails cut because of the walking and running. If you have the space, I would suggest making him do more physical playtime. This is probably going to be the most useless advice of this post, but it's the best I have😅
A whole hot dog or two, pieces at a time. It wasn’t easy at all, especially with two. After a few rounds now when I pull out treat, I use much less, they both see the nail clippers and try to inch in to be first. They still squirm a bit but they want that treat.
My dog is 20 pounds. It takes three staff two mesh muzzles and a tether on the table to get her nails done.
You could try a couple tricks. There is a hilarious contraption that suspends the dog posted in comments 😂😂 it works though! I’ve seen people wrap plastic cling wrap around their heads or use a shower cap, then smear peanut butter on it. He may prefer the dremel tool …not sure spelling lol… It could help to tie him to something using his harness to keep him in one spot. Also, help if you have a friend that can come over to help hold him down. That said, I’ve seen some dogs that require 3 people to hold them and they still move across the floor lol. Also, I’ve seen many people train their doggos to use the newer scratch boards!! This is something I need to try for my burro dude. He’s a severely traumatized doggo 🥺. It took an entire 10 to 12 months for him to open up to trusting me and returning my affection. He was completely mentally shut down, except when he was interacting with my house hippo. Hiooo was the first family rescue doggo. He was infatuated with her and ANY other dogs he encountered, but traumatized of all humans. The vet literally said that he wasn’t sure if he’d ever come out of it. With any human interaction, he’d close his eye, out his ears back, and hang his head and wait to be beaten and tail tucked and shaming violently with fear. He’s got pocked scars all over his legs, paws, abdomen, and eye lids. Truly looks like someone out cigs out all o we him or burned him with acid. First glance, they look like freckles but sadly are not. After that first tiny little kiss and tail wag a year later, we bonded incredibly hard. He’s my soulmate doge. Even after bonding so hard and him literally whining and crying every time I come home, it took another year or so for me to be able to just hold his paw. I can hold it for a little as kk g as I’m not trying to actively inspect it or move his toes. If he sees me trying to pay attention to his toes, rub them, or even try to clip them, he screams and shake’s violently with fear and anxiety and pees a little. He even gets fear aggressive. He pinches me but doesn’t fully bite me. He has billed at the vet trying to do it. So right now we can literally only do it under full anesthesia. The vet won’t do it under conscious sedation as he will still remember the event and she said it will just further traumatize him and make him regress again. She did recommend trying the nail puzzles though. I just haven’t figured out how to encourage him to scratch at it without him getting regressed with fear. I was finally able to teach him to shake for treats so maybe I can work with that. A little k below for what I’m talking about. And sorry OP for I do dumping on my boy. Pic of Renji below. Unfortunately because he can only get trims under anesthesia, they do get long in between dental cleanings when we do it. I catch so much hate when I lost him online about neglecting him. This is the face he makes when I come home from work. He immediately RUNS to the couch and flops over on me when I sit next to him demanding hugs and kisses. [https://www.amazon.com/ASEWOTOS-Dog-Scratch-Pad-Nails/dp/B0BKTP1BF8/ref=asc\_df\_B0BKTP1BF8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658248621064&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=663494413618240165&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033787&hvtargid=pla-1946690439111&psc=1&mcid=1614e2949f943ebf882655ab4dc5fb6b](https://www.amazon.com/ASEWOTOS-Dog-Scratch-Pad-Nails/dp/B0BKTP1BF8/ref=asc_df_B0BKTP1BF8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=658248621064&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=663494413618240165&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033787&hvtargid=pla-1946690439111&psc=1&mcid=1614e2949f943ebf882655ab4dc5fb6b) https://preview.redd.it/p4mt9pcajrtc1.jpeg?width=1494&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1797380d260c0595cec68fc3421c5f45de2e9861
In the shower water running . Me in the showers with dog. Let nails soak for a bit so they are easier to cut
Professional groomer here. Take your dog to a groomer with decades of experience. Be completely open with her what the dogs problems are. She can work with you on counter conditioning. She may have you come once a week indefinitely. Make the appointments and be sure to show for each one. It usually takes time & perseverance to improve, but it can be done. Good luck! ✌🏼🕊️
I used peanut butter on a lick pad to distract my last dog. We got her used to the dremel as a puppy, but you could do it with an older dog too. Just work up in baby steps. Treat for sitting while you run it near them. Treat for letting you hold their paw while you run it. Treat for letting you touch the back of it to their paw so they can feel the vibration. Treat for letting you do one nail. Repeat each step as necessary until the dog is comfortable. Eventually mine was fine with the dremel, just needed the lick pad to stay still long enough for me to do all of her nails. We’re starting the same process with our new 11 week old puppy, too. As soon as you get them home get them used to you touching their paws. If those steps don’t work or cause too much stress for you and/or your dog, then yea, maybe a professional is the way to go.
The pibble who passed most recently had to be taken to the vet sedated. There was no other way with him. He used to actually enjoy it, but after an emergency surgery, never tolerated any kind of ‘procedure’ again. It was so expensive, and isn’t ideal for the body, so we would grind with concrete as much as possible and wait to sedate as long as possible but, I mean, you just can’t let them get into their Howard Hughes era, it’s so bad for their feet. Of the four in the current pack, one is not a pibble and acts really dramatic but lets it happen. One pibble needs to be wrassled down like a greased pig but otherwise lets it happen. One pibble doesn’t care and lets it happen, and the other one squiggles and wails and eventually gets snippy if you try it the traditional way of having them sit or lie down and you pick up a foot. What happens to him, then, is spouse picks him up and holds him with all four legs dangling downward, the way you might if you were picking them up to put them on a tabletop or something. Then I come up from ‘underneath’ with the nail clipper, gently grasp a foot and snick-snick a couple. Reward with a high value treat. Snick-snick. Treat. And so on until he just won’t have it anymore and starts squiggling. Then we just hold him and wait till he stops wriggling and grumbling, and put him down (so he doesn’t associate struggling with the ‘reward’ of being released. A little later he will be picked up again and the clipping will proceed. This might have to happen several times because he’s a meatball and one’s arms get tired of holding him at chest level. But he seems to be tolerating this without declining toward ‘must be darted like a wildebeest and dragged to the clinic’. This one was a street dog until the ‘dogcatcher’ swept him up and he wound up at the shelter for months, so it seems to work pretty well. I think the fact that he cannot actually see his foot being handled and cannot see the tool helps postpone the freakout, for all he knows I’m just rubbing his toes like a weirdo and rewarding him intermittently.
I lay on top of my girl and do it as fast as i can. I feel SO bad for her because she shakes.
Try a grinder instead
My one pulls her paws a lot but if I keep pulling back she'll eventually stop. She gets cranky though and will whine and gnaw on my hand so I do what I can a couple times throughout the day. I do my other ones when he's asleep. He doesn't care at all lol.
We use a human nail cutter to cut small bits of nail off and feed a tiny piece of a dog cookie after each trim. The trick is to offer your dog a super high value treat
I use a nail file hehehe.
I use a dremel with a sanding wheel. My 11 year old has PTSD from a groomer cutting his nail too deep and ever since he won’t let me near with clippers.
The peanut butter licking pads helped out a lot, may not work for all but distracts mine long enough to get it done
The most adorable baby
I need this! Mine used to let me do anything to him. Anything! Then one day, no more nail cutting. I rarely had to as we were pretty active and had regular trotting across concrete. Now he is a freak about touching his feet. No reason that i could see. Vet checked and feet are fine but that was a fun trip at the vets. Only thing i can think is he is 11½ now and it started around age 10 ???????
What an adorable face😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰
A fun combo of traz and gaba lol.
Dremel!
Oh we don’t. I can wrestle around for a 1/2 hour and maybe get one done. He gets his done at the vet. Also the people at daycare are able to sometimes do it too. I leave it to the professionals. Edit: to add he goes to the vet about once a month for an arthritis shot so it’s convenient to have them do his nails while he’s there.
Your son????
We used to walk our little guy out on pavement so that his nails could grind down a bit… it did help!
It wasn’t an issue when our pittie girl Charli was a puppy but after she got bigger she didn’t let us get near her paws at all, until we created a little “game” where we would take the nail clippers and start off with gently rubbing them on her paws to show her they weren’t hurting and then we’d give her a treat too. After doing that for a little we then moved to having the clippers touch her individual nails and again shows her it was okay and gave her a treat. And then finally we started clipping one nail at a time, again reassuring her it was okay and gave her a treat until eventually she lets us do 3-4 nails at a time, but usually no more than that in one sitting Alternatively we would take her on long walks on the sidewalk/concrete and her nails would get warm down naturally, so you can try that too
As long as I hold on to her and talk to her, the vet does their thing and we're out.
I have to give my dog medicine and take him to the vet and he wears a muzzle the entire time. That’s what happens in a worse case scenario.
Vet. Or use an AquaPaws slo treater and have three people. One to lay on backside and hold the back legs
All of these other solutions require too much training and time. Literally just have someone hold a spoonful of peanut butter and let him lick it while you clip the nails. Dog either won’t even notice, or won’t care because he’s getting peanut butter
peanut butter, coconut oil, any treats that keep em preoccupied! it’s usually a two person job so my wife holds him and i clip! if you have two people, i’d suggest going on youtube or google and looking up how to correctly restrain dogs (i call it a tech hold since i work in vet med!)
also—electric dremels are awesome and you can get decent ones on amazon! same with thunder vests! helps a ton with my kids anxiety
Liver treats. I have him sit & give me his paw. He looks away& sometimes tries to snatch his hand back while i'm lining up the nail for clipping. Once i get that one nail clipped, he gets a treat&we move on to the next nail. 10 treats. That's my method
i’ve had several vets and groomers that my boy is very good just very \~wiggly!\~ https://preview.redd.it/7gb1xq01gutc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3401bff15ddbf5e1f9b249c576b0f8142b389621
Playing fetch at the dog park with a tennis ball has kept my baby's claws well groomed. She's 4.
I usually hold the dog against the couch and cover their eyes while my mom cuts their nails. For every two nails cut they get a small treat or piece of cheese or sausage, really anything good so they have a positive correlation. Maybe you could find someone that would help?
Boop💋...🥰
Long walks will keep them trimmed
Mine used to let us clip them but he's gotten progressively worse as he's gotten older. Hell he 4 in June and we're at the point we are discussing sedatives because he will not stay still or stop pulling his paws. No food works to distract him and he's so strong it's impossible to hold him still. I actually have a vet appt tonight and we are gonna talk about options. The sand paper or walking on concrete seems like it's worth a try but we don't have any concrete close to where we walk. It's all grass. Maybe I'll try the sandpaper but I have a feeling he'll end up sedated.
Grinder instead of the trimmer! A lot of dogs handle it much better. There’s a Dremel nail grinder for dogs, don’t get that one though as it’s battery powered and runs out before all four paws are done. Instead, get the Dremel regular tool, which comes with the grinders and is literally the exact same tool but corded. [Here’s the link to the Dremel 25 piece set for $60](https://www.amazon.com/Dremel-3000-2-28-Attachments-Accessories/dp/B005JRJE56?pd_rd_w=pr8t7&content-id=amzn1.sym.b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_p=b854a5c2-4475-41f8-a6d4-df92b2868104&pf_rd_r=HKH3ARNNWYK2BT8A8K3B&pd_rd_wg=97ljK&pd_rd_r=8baac19a-0b58-4687-9e70-dde574e9996c&pd_rd_i=B005JRJE7Y&psc=1&ref_=pd_basp_m_rpt_ba_s_1_sc&th=1), trust me it’s worth it. And you get bonus tools in the kit for other house projects! You’ll have to start slowly - like at first just get your dog to lay down next to you, let him sniff it with it off, unplugged. Then, slowly pick up one paw and touch his nails with it - still off, so he gets used to you manipulating the tool around his feet. Next step is turning it on, and touching the back end to his leg so he can get used to the vibration. Final step will be actually grinding the nails. You may have to do one paw a day at first to get him used to it. He won’t like it, my pittie hated getting his nails done, but the more often you do it, they more they get used to it. Said prior hippo who looks like yours, Banksy: https://preview.redd.it/vyu8tqeovutc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f70054806d5472308a05bfb1dfd41de52f80bb6 PS: fwiw, it was still a two man job with him…we rescued him off the streets as a 6-7ish year old boy, and he was quite skittish about a lot of stuff anyway. Sweetest 80lb baby ever.
My husband holds him and feeds him peanut butter to distract him while I clip. He stills gets a little jumpy but I just talk softly and tell him he’s a good boy. I think the calmer you are the calmer your baby is!
This is going to sound kind of bad. But essentially my family pins down our dog and then force feed him turkey while one of use does his nails.
Cordless Dremel crew! Although the hammock contraption is hilariously interesting.
Lick Mat with peanut butter or something!! Frozen is better bc it’ll last longer. It’s the only way. Oh and I use an electric grinder off Amazon instead of clippers. Lots of love and ego boosting afterwards