Nail clipping terror
Sasha just hates having her nails trimmed. She freaks out completely, yelping and thrashing and screaming. Like nothing I've ever seen from her before. I have to pin her down under me to be able to cut her nails, otherwise she bolts and tries to wrench her paw from my grip. Her nails are very thick, jet black and long. I can't see the blood vessel in them at all, and clipping them is a challenge.
Today was especially bad. The paper towel under her paws looked like a war zone, there was so much blood. Sometimes she struggles so bad after I clip, I can't stop the bleeding trying to hold her down. She is afraid, and will even yelp and struggle if I miss the nail completely. Sometimes she will nip me. Today, I cut off too much from one of her back nails, and, with a yelp and a scream, Sasha pulled back, past my blocking arm, and bit me right in the nose. Her lower canine went into the nostril, and the upper one went on top of the nose. Surprisingly I wasn't angry at all, I carried on with the clipping. I knew that she would throw tantrums, that I had to stay there and keep going despite this. After her explosion, however, Sasha was, surprisingly, relatively calm throughout the rest of the procedure, like she had burned all her energy and ran out of it.
Thankfully there was only a little bit of blood in the nose.
Today was especially bad. The paper towel under her paws looked like a war zone, there was so much blood. Sometimes she struggles so bad after I clip, I can't stop the bleeding trying to hold her down. She is afraid, and will even yelp and struggle if I miss the nail completely. Sometimes she will nip me. Today, I cut off too much from one of her back nails, and, with a yelp and a scream, Sasha pulled back, past my blocking arm, and bit me right in the nose. Her lower canine went into the nostril, and the upper one went on top of the nose. Surprisingly I wasn't angry at all, I carried on with the clipping. I knew that she would throw tantrums, that I had to stay there and keep going despite this. After her explosion, however, Sasha was, surprisingly, relatively calm throughout the rest of the procedure, like she had burned all her energy and ran out of it.
Thankfully there was only a little bit of blood in the nose.
Comments
Joey is a complete terror with the nail clipping too. Lucy doesn't like it, but she will allow *me* to do it (not a groomer). Have you tried a dremel? I have heard that many dogs that don't do well with clippers tend to do better with the dremel provided it is introduced slowly and with positive association. Even if you don't cut the quick, using a clipper can put pressure on it which is what freaks out a lot of dogs (as I understand it). Romi once posted a link to the peticure which seems like a cheaper option than buying a whole dremel if you don't already have access to one.
they haven't bit me yet - thank God!! How awful!
Many people use a dremel but Harlow does not like weird noises so we're sticking with the emory board.
Good luck!
surprisingly, Cobalt is the exact opposite, just a dream when it comes to nail clipping.
We walked in and the groomer was standing behind the little swinging door and he immediately started growling. I brought some cooked chicken for treats for them to give to him for when he would act up. I told her he was fearful of strangers, but she still approached him kind of fast. I told her to try giving him a piece of chicken. He took it from her and ate it and was growling while he took it and ate it - kind of funny. Anywho - she kept approaching him and trying to pet him. Surprisingly, he didn't snap at her or show his teeth, just lots of growling - she got to pet him a couple of times, but you could tell he was totally uncomfortable. So I decided that I would carry him and she would clip his nails while he was in my arms. He was fine then, didn't growl or anything while she was clipping and after she was done, she got to pet him more and he was fine.
Portia on the other hand is a squirmer and absolutely hates it, regardless of any yummy treat we are trying to distract her with.
I keep the clippers in the same drawer as all his toys and chewys so he doesn't run right away but soon as i grab him....
He bites the clippers, never me but he will bite the nail clippers and howl and growl. My wife won't even get involved it is such an ordeal. I usually grab him and sit cross leg with a leg lock on him. Like have him pinned under one leg. He has all black nails except one. I just cut them to the guard. One clip each nail is plenty. LOL
I have seen an ad for the PETacure or whatever has anyone used it? Does it work well?