Cutting a dog's nails

[FP]

I swear it is a battle of wills each time I try to cut our dog's nails. He is already full of energy and when I try to cut his nails he goes nuts. I have to pin him down to cut a single nail and then he immediately jumps up and runs around.

Anyone have any good ideas?

 

[imported_LoKe]

Take him to the vet, it's worth it. You could do some serious damage if he flinches and you cut too low.

 

[Turfzilla]

Originally posted by: LoKe
Take him to the vet, it's worth it. You could do some serious damage if he flinches and you cut too low.

Completely agree, if you don't know what you're doing you cold really put that dog through some pain. See the vet. It's cheap.

 

[FP]

Originally posted by: Turfzilla

Originally posted by: LoKe
Take him to the vet, it's worth it. You could do some serious damage if he flinches and you cut too low.

Completely agree, if you don't know what you're doing you cold really put that dog through some pain. See the vet. It's cheap.

I have taken him there before and he always comes back with them barely cut back. He also has a tendency to nip at your hands/feet which often scares the tech. It isn't an aggression thing it is more of a playful breed thing (he is a cattledog).

 

[WisMan]

Yup the vet is the way to go. I can never do it myself because im always to afraid of hurting him. Though if you walk the dog enough the concrete really keeps the nails short and dull.

 

[skyking]

It takes some time to get a good strategy going. I have a Jack Russell, so it is fun for us too
Get the dog settled down with his feet in your hands, and don't bring out the trimmers. Get him used to that, keeping calm while you handle his feet and toes.
Do that a few times, and don't let him squirm away on his terms. When he tries to leave, be gentle but forceful; keep him there until YOU decide. Once you let him go, do it with lots of praise.
Now for a trimmer session. Start as before, then trim one toe. DO NOT let him squirm away. Once he quits fighting you, Then and only then do you praise him.
Trim another. Keep that going until you finish at least one foot. Praise him all over effusivley and then let him up.
Work on it that way until you get a two foot session done. Sometimes that is good enough, to get half trimmed at one time

 

[thedarkwolf]

Do one or two while he is sleeping . Thats the only way I can do one of mine. Luckily the only one that I really need to clip very often doesn't care. The other two run around and dig enough to wear them down on their own most of the time.

 

[John P]

Are the nails white or black? White is easier because you can see the quick with a flashlight.

Anyway, I used to put my Samoyed up on my washing machine and dangle her paws over the edge to trim them. She was less prone to try to get away when I did that and her nails were easier to get at, her front ones at least. I'd make her stand up on the washer to do her rear nails. Your cattle dog is probably crazy enough to try and jump off the washer so it may not work.

 

[Fritzo]

If you take him to get groomed every 6-8 weeks, they'll do it during the grooming. They'll make your dog smell and look nice too. Our groomer is also a vet, so they throw in a free exam. Not bad for $35 total.

 

[moshquerade]

i would never attempt to cut my dog's nails. she broke one once on a screen door and it bled like a stuck pig. i wouldn't want to repeat that event. she goes to the groomers for that stuff.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I do it for my three dogs. I usually wait til their laying out on the bed and will throw a towel over their eyes, so they don't know what's going on. If your dog is not used to it, I'd recommend letting your dog get used to you holding their paws. Clip a little bit at a time and keep some styptic powder/pencil handy(just in case).

 

[Anubis]

ive helpe dmy sister and her husband cut their dogs nails, they always do it themselfs, never had an issue, all of us are expirenced do g owners, she has 2 pits, lovely dogs, 1 just lets you cut them and doesnt care, the other wines like a lil bitch, which is funny because hes a large intact male, he wimpers and does a lil squirming as soon as he sees the clippers, never screwed up the trimming hes just a pussy, normally someone just has to hold him steady

 

[Izzo]

Originally posted by: binister
I swear it is a battle of wills each time I try to cut our dog's nails. He is already full of energy and when I try to cut his nails he goes nuts. I have to pin him down to cut a single nail and then he immediately jumps up and runs around.

Anyone have any good ideas?

How big is the dog? Be the dominant male! Correct him (not violently) everytime the dog tries to get up. Whatever you do, don't give up until you are done because that will just reinforce that if the dog struggles and runs away, then he won't have to get his nails trimmed.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: binister
I swear it is a battle of wills each time I try to cut our dog's nails. He is already full of energy and when I try to cut his nails he goes nuts. I have to pin him down to cut a single nail and then he immediately jumps up and runs around.

Anyone have any good ideas?

This dog will need a vet now and more than likely sedation to do it safely.

You can really screw a dog (or any animal up) clipping their nails.

I recommend starting as a puppy just going through the motions even if you aren't clipping them. I do this with my cats as even though I get them declawed, I clip their rears once in a while.

I can lay them between my legs as I sit on the floor and they don't fight much at all.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: binister

Originally posted by: Turfzilla

Originally posted by: LoKe
Take him to the vet, it's worth it. You could do some serious damage if he flinches and you cut too low.

Completely agree, if you don't know what you're doing you cold really put that dog through some pain. See the vet. It's cheap.

I have taken him there before and he always comes back with them barely cut back. He also has a tendency to nip at your hands/feet which often scares the tech. It isn't an aggression thing it is more of a playful breed thing (he is a cattledog).

You can only cut so far each time. Bring him in more often and the quick will retract in a bit allowing for a shorter clip.

 

[thomsbrain]

muzzle and a big towel to wrap him up in.

just be glad he's only being playful about it.

also, some people swear by using dremel tools to do this, though i've never met a dog that didn't FREAK OUT when one got near them.

 

[bucwylde23]

I say take him to the vet also. I made a big mistake on my youngest dog to try to clip his nails. I went too far and he bled a LOT. It was really hard to tell on his black nails where to cut. I'll never attempt it again. I just take them to the vet or the pet spa and get them to cut the nails for me. It's definitely worth it.

 

[michaelsslave]

my dad cut out a small round hole (maybe 2 inches in diameter) in a cardboard box and puts my cats legs through to to cut its nails. but you'd need to find a bigger box to fit a dog in

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: michaelsslave
my dad cut out a small round hole (maybe 2 inches in diameter) in a cardboard box and puts my cats legs through to to cut its nails. but you'd need to find a bigger box to fit a dog in

i just rest my cat on his back in my lap when i clip his, he has 2 thumbs, he just lies there purring and looking around

 

[michaelsslave]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: michaelsslave
my dad cut out a small round hole (maybe 2 inches in diameter) in a cardboard box and puts my cats legs through to to cut its nails. but you'd need to find a bigger box to fit a dog in

i just rest my cat on his back in my lap when i clip his, he has 2 thumbs, he just lies there purring and looking around

lol my cat screams *VERY* loudly. you can hear it everywhere in the house, in fact sometimes if someone is on the phone while this is happening they think someone (a human) is screaming

 

[RaiderJ]

I just lay my dog on her back and trim away, no fighting needed. Sounds like I'm lucky!

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: binister
I swear it is a battle of wills each time I try to cut our dog's nails. He is already full of energy and when I try to cut his nails he goes nuts. I have to pin him down to cut a single nail and then he immediately jumps up and runs around.

Anyone have any good ideas?

we have to do the same thing he howls and howls and shakes like crazy... he goes nuts. we put a muzzle on him while we pin him down and try cutting his nails without drawing blood and he drools all over the place while he's trying to cry and run away... it's so sad.

 

[djheater]

Mine's good, I do it, If I cut him after applying the styptic he's off the hook for the rest of the toes...

He always looks so pathetic

You can try a dremel, I've heard that works, but you need to acclimate them to it.

My suggestion is lots of play beforehand, then a bath, which softens the nails and wears them out, then LOTS of little treats...

 

[Barrak]

We have a Pet smart, or some store like that, that has a grooming shop in the front. For $10 they will put your dog in a harnes, mussle it and lift most of its body weight up from the table so they can barely move. Makes it easy for them to clip the nails, and the dogs dont get to stressed out if you are there with them.

Of course this doesnt help when your mom has a 100lb beast of a dog that KNOWS it is dominate in the house (its just her and 2 dogs). I used to wrestle it for about an hour to do it's nails, but that didnt last long because she was worried I was 'hurting" it. She was not worried about me with all the scratchs and bite marks though.... now she just buys drugs from the Vet to knock it out

 

[uclaLabrat]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
muzzle and a big towel to wrap him up in.

just be glad he's only being playful about it.

also, some people swear by using dremel tools to do this, though i've never met a dog that didn't FREAK OUT when one got near them.

seriously. The dremel rules. Our puppy freakin hates it though. Our other two just sit there with a look on their face like "are you done yet?"