I've had enough

glacierglacier
edited July 2008 in Behavior & Training
I've had enough of Sasha's crazy behavior when I am managing her nails. At first I thought that the dremel was working, but she keeps on getting worse after each time. She started out quite calm with it, but has progressed to the point where I have to pin her against the wall, she's screaming and trying to nip the dremel or me, as well as trying to wrench her paw from my grip. so far she's only put my hand in her mouth with minimal pressure, but it won't take long before she's full-out biting me like she did with the clippers. she even won't let me file them with a nail file anymore. I'm just going to take her to the groomer and let them deal with it. The whole point was to minimize her stress and avoid the groomer since she gets even more stressed out there. but since I can't cut down on her stress I'll cut down on mine and let the groomers feel her teeth instead (though they'll probably have her muzzled after the first bite or if I warn them).

Comments

  • StaticNfuzzStaticNfuzz
    edited November -1
    It sounds like you may be rushing it. To get the dremmel method to work the dog has to feel it isn't forced or hog tied.

    So basically that means one toe nail at a time with a treats and clicker. Sometimes you have to pretend to trim first by touching the nails when the dremmel is off. This can take quite a few days. Yes it is time consuming but after few weeks it should go better one little toe at a time. In the mean time if the nails are too long take the dog to the groomer. You can still practice in between as you touch the toes with the tool off.


    Snf
  • kojichankojichan
    edited July 2008
    Except for a quick little snip here and there, I have yet to really clip Koji's nails. Frequent walks on pavement do help to keep them in check, but they will need a good trim soon. I've been slowly trying to introduce him to the dremel with mixed results so far. I give it no more than a 50/50 chance I'll get him used to it. So far he can tolerate it next to him, and actually lying next to his paw and touching it. And even the sound doesn't bother him. But he is still very squirmish about the whole thing. For one brief second I was able to have it touch one nail while it was on, but he wasn't ready for a "replay". He just got caught by surprise. I've been trying this guy's approach, and taking it very slow. Pretty much echoes what staticNfuzz says.

    http://dogliness.blogspot.com/2006/06/importance-of-trimming-dogs-nails.html

    Also agree that you might also want to try doing no more than 1 or 2 a day -- at least in the beginning. That way it's over before the whole thing escalates to the boiling point and at least you manage to stay on top of it. Obviously choosing a time to do that when Sasha is tired / relaxed helps.
  • KaddyKaddy
    edited November -1
    So far I'm lucky - Keiko has no issues with me playing with her feet or nails... but I have yet to try to actually clip them.

    The breeder I bought from actually clipped them right before we left as I was holding Keiko in my arms... she didn't even flinch. Hopefully this is good news for me since I'll be clipping her nails in a few more days!

    I'll let you know how it goes.
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