Clipping Dog Nails: Alternative to Sedation?

Question

My dog had an incident where someone clipped hone of his nails too short and now he snarls and growls at anyone who attempts to clip his nails. We've even tried a muzzle and he just swings his head back and forth, pulls his paws back, and growls some more. Anyone ever have this problem? If so, please tell me what you have done to fix this.

BTW, this is a 1 yr old beagle.

And sorry Huntindawg, I don't abuse my pets. I'm not going to slap the crap out of him......

He's a very good dog and knows all commands: sit, lay, stay, heel, etc. He's housebroken and all. The only problem is the nail clipping. He's terrified of it.

Answer 1

Your dog is being a brat. My dogs get their nails done too short occasionally, none of them would DREAM of growling at me for doing their nails.

Take it to a groomer, and LEAVE. The dog will behave better if you are not there.

If the groomer can't do it, try another one. If no groomer can do it, then you're going to have to do the sedation thing.

Answer 2

If he is fine with having his feet handled and only reacts to the clippers, try using a battery-operated nail grinder or file. There is no cutting, it just wears down the nails.

You can try giving Rescue Remedy or another herbal mixture to calm his stress.

If that doesn't work, you will need to counter-condition him. This is a long process, but a successful one. Treats are usually used, but if he isn't crazy about any kind of food (use good stuff like chicken or cheese), use whatever he is crazy about (rawhide bone, fetch, etc.). Start by simply placing the nail clippers on the floor a few feet away from him, give him a couple treats, then put the clippers away. Do this as often as needed until he is comfortable seeing the clippers.

Next, do the same with the clippers a bit closer. Continue to gradually move the clippers closer, then keep them out a bit longer.

When he doesn't freak about the clippers being nearby, pick them up, give him a couple treats, then put them down. Wait a minute and repeat. Do this several times. Again, when he is relaxed, move to the next step - hold the clippers near his paw; treat; repeat.

I think you are getting the idea now - give treats each time and only proceed to the next step when he is comfortable with the current step. The next steps will be:

- hold the clippers closer still
- lightly touch his paw with the clippers
- touch the paw with the clippers and keep them there for a few seconds
- lightly touch a nail with the clippers
- pick up his paw and hold the clippers (away from his paw if needed)
- pick up his paw and touch his paw with the clippers
- pick up his paw and touch a nail with the clippers
- clip a nail
- clip two nails
- clip all nails on one paw

Yes, this is a lllloooooooonnnnnggg process. However, he is having an extreme fear reaction. If you push too quickly he will become afraid again. He needs to have many positive experiences around the clippers and about the whole situation to accept having his nails done again.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I had this issue with my first Rottie. I didn't start her out as young as I should have, and at the time I never really clipped nails... so of coarse, when I clipped her nails, I quicked her. Which made the situation worse. I tried EVERYTHING....! I tried clipping a nail then giving her a treat, but the problem was, she kicked like a mule, so end result I would treat her for kicking, pulling away, which caused me to clip more than I wanted. I tried standing next to her and picking up each paw, but this resulted in her pulling away and me wrestling with her and it was a terrible experience. So, finally, I rolled her over on her back, gave her a belly rub. I put her head in my lap and just calmly grabbed each paw and clipped her nails. I thought it was a miracle! She didn't move, didn't kick, didn't pull away. Just lay there calmly. After that I gave her her favorite treat.... a piece of bread and a belly rub. And now, when she sees the clippers in my hand, she just rolls over, even though she hardly ever gets bread afterwords. I use that time to give her a massage, rub her belly, touch her feet a lot. Love on her. She likes her nails trimmed now. You do what makes you comfortable, but if your not comfortable trimming the nails, just have the vet or groomer do it, you can really hurt or kill a dog by trimming the nails too short.

Answer 4

The best thing you can do is touch his feet often. Rub his paws when you pet him. I don't know about you but at night when I wind down for the day my dogs lay in my lap while I watch t.v. or read. That is a perfect time to just touch and rub his paws. He might never get over it, but this way he will know that not every time his paws are touched it's going to hurt (not that it does if it's done right). Go for as long as you can between clippings and when you do make sure everything is calm and quite. Instead of having just one or two people doing it try three of four. This way he not being pushed and pulled on top of being freaked out. Hope this helps Good luck.

Answer 5

the way that i usually helped the vet clip dogs nails was put a muzzle on him to insure that he doesn't bite, lay him on his left side with his back against your stomach, hold on to his left side legs (the front and back) this enables him to not get up, make sure that your left fore arm is on his jaw bone to insure that he doesn't move his head around and have your right arm on his back hip while holding his legs... and then have some one else clip his nails, if you do get the quick then put a dab of flour on the end of his nail, it will help stop the bleeding. This helped everytime for stubborn dogs that didn't like getting their nails clipped. Having a dog run on concrete does not help wear them down, it tears their pads up even more. But do take him on a walk before you do this, it will wear him down so that he doesn't put up so much of a fight. THANK GOD you don't have a bigger dog! Just remember if you don't feel comfortable doing it have your vet do it... very inexpensive!

Answer 6

We have the same problem with an 8-month old English Bulldog we just got. The people who had him were taking him to the vet where they would sedate him and clip his nails. We have a 10-month old Bulldog we've have since she was 6 weeks old and she's gotten to where she'll roll on her back with her legs up so we can clip hers. The vet recommended an herbal solution called Rescue Remedy. It's a liquid. You put a couple of drops in their mouth and it doesn't sedate them. It just helps them relax a little bit. We've used this with Wiley a couple of times, and it helps. We've clipped his nails 3 times with it so far. He's aware of us clipping his nails, but doesn't get so freaked out about it. We always praise him throughout the process and when we're finished he gets treats. Hopefully over time he'll just get used to it, like our female did and we won't have to use anything.

Answer 7

To be honest, cliping nails too short, while not pleasant, is not extremely painful for a dog. What is more painful is dull clippers or getting his toes twisted in a way he doesn't like. I am not sure if you are saying that you clip your own dog's nails, but if you absolutely cannot do it, then go to the vet. Vets have techs trained in proper animal restraint, and they will most likely be able to do it without sedation, using a muzzle. It does not cost too much to get this done, and your reduced stress will be worth it.

Personally, I dislike guillotine clippers for any animal bigger than a cat. I also reccommend, if you clip yourself, to have styptic powder on hand to stop any bleeding that happens. Also, use treats to slowly bribe your puppy to like nail clipping.

I've included links about proper ways to trim nails with instructive pictures. Good luck!

Answer 8

Well, our trainer suggested using a small sanding tool, instead of actually clipping. I think it's called a Dremel and you can get it at your local Home Depo type of place. It's basically a small rectangular sanding block, which is motorized and makes it pretty fast to sand. Use it weekly, bi-weekly or as needed to sand the tips of the nails down. It's great, cuz it doesn't leave sharp nails, as clippers do and you won't need to worry about catching the quick this way. I believe the battery powered one is slightly less powerful, but also less noisy.

Answer 9

My brother's pit gets very upset also when it's time to do her nails. What I have started doing (since I"m the one who clips them) is every day while petting her I play with her feet. I give her a complete rub down get her nice and relaxed then play with her feet. Her pads, in between her toes, her nails.

If she gets away I stop petting her. The only way she can get pets is if I can play with her feet.

When it's time to trim her nails she associates a full body massage and foot rub instead of nail trimmers.

It takes some time but if you do it every day.. It helps greatly

Good Luck

Answer 10

Blindfolding your dog might work, and in many cases does work. The dog cannot see, thus making it easier to clip nails????