At the moment we can get one nail trimmed a day before she’s had enough which is at least progress on no nails a day

 

One nail a day will be massive for Till. In fact one nail in a life time will be an achievement.

She has only had them clipped once in her whole life. A woman in the pdsa mobile van did them without tilly even noticing. Just bent down whilst till stood and clipped the whole lot.

They arent really, really long as she is well exercised every day. But they do tap on the kitchen floor. Which i never even realised was such a problem til susan educated me. This is how i have left it so long. Complete ignorance! Was bliss!


I think it will be weeks before i try the dremmel near tilly's paw. There is a lot of work to be done on handling her feet yet. She is very different from murphy. He is cool as a cucumber. She is so touch sensitive. She likes a good shoulder massage and belly rub but not her feet touched.

 

It takes 2 people to just clip afew nails for Whisp, 1 to clip and 1 to shove treats in her face. She has enough very quickly and gives us a growl.

Walks are usually in sticky mud at the moment so don't wear her claws down.

We are still desensitizing her to the nail grinder but it's a very slow wal to clip long nails.

Will look in to Susan Garratt.

 

She has enough very quickly and gives us a growl.

That's what murph did. Omg i nearly had heart failure. I wear glasses for distance but can see perfectly well close up with no glasses. So i practically had my face pressed against his foot (i am very short sighted) Got the clippers in position. Back foot. He is lying down calmly.

I squeezed the clipper handles together. I think he let out a growl and bark simultaneously. And his head came flying up with teeth bared

I hadnt even drawn blood! Anyway i wont be trying that again

 

I'm still trying to get Penny to let me dremel her nails. I'm banned from using clippers in the house. I tried to un-do my ban and poor Bates bled for a good 30 minutes on a nail I quicked. Talk about horrible dog owner @Boxer123 I totally have you beat - I have never owned a dog I haven't quicked

Anyway, I am pretty handy with a dremel and I can get nails a lot shorter that way. Penny is fine having her nails clipped now, she's definitely not fine with the dremel and she really needs her nails shorter than we've been able to clip them.
So far I can touch her gently with the dremel but that's it. It's a LONG process. I'm glad she will let me clip her nails in the meantime!

It's so worth doing it right though. The danes were all fine being dremeled and it makes life SO much easier. Little dogs not that big of a deal to clip them, but clipping big dog nails sucks and you just can't get them short enough for the dog to be comfortable IME. Particularly oldies, it breaks my heart to see old dogs on too long nails

 

I have started training at last! This is part of my susan garratt course and, if i ever get near Tilly's foot, it will be progress.

So i got started last week and got a dremmel and nail clippers. Then i realised i needed a target stick to teach the game on position. Susan uses a game on position so the dog can signal when he is up for nail clipping. And when he has had enough.

Murph already has a game on position for grooming and i thought he is pretty stoic so i havent gone through susan's programme for him.

Basically, i did the exact thing susan says not to do. Got hold of his foot and took the end of his nail off with the clipper. Nearly lost an eye!

Game off all right! Murph does not like clippers. However, the dremmel is ok if someone holds a kong full of peanut butter at his nose.

First time i have dremelled his nails ever. I have been doing it all wrong always.

After stumbling upon an article headed "top 5 mistakes dog owners make with dog nails" or something like that, i realised i make every mistake going.

I absolutely detest clipping my dog's nails but all 3 need doing about every12 days. Good luck....!!

Including leaving it to the groomer twice a year:Bag

Anyway, we got round his nails over a couple of nights and now he doesnt tip tap on the kitchen floor at all.

Holding a distractor at nose level is not advised by susan either but it seemed to work ok for murph.

Tills will be a whole different ball game.

However we have started with promise today. Good thing is i have never tried to clip her nails so no negative bad experience. Bad thing i only now realise i should have started as a puppy getting her used to this. Oh well.

So she isnt scared of the sight of the dremmel switched off or on low speed. High speed she doesnt like. But she doesnt like the hoover either so no surprise there.

Game on position. Yes she can do that easily. But as soon as i hold a paw it is game off!!

Still, only day one so i will go very slowly and see if i can get her comfortable with it.

And, as with all training, it has fried both dogs' brains and they are now fast asleep.

Though next door has started drilling the wall. Maybe the dogs will dream of dremmels . . .

 

I don't know if Susan Garrett includes this in her course, but one thing I recommend is having a nail grooming "place" and make it a very comfortable and rewarding place for the dog to be.
I find it also helps to wear a headlamp for light (particularly with black nails) and I wear my reading glasses.

A good desensitization program is the way to go for sure, but honestly if your dog has really long nails, it might be worth a quick restrain (and sedation if needed) and get them knocked down. Nails that are constantly touching the ground make the feet themselves painful which in turn makes handling painful, which makes regular clipping painful, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Once the nails are a good length, a lot of dogs become less fussy about having their paws handled.

And a quick restrain and clip won't scar your dog for life either. If you can be quick and matter of fact, the dog won't even know what happened. With Penny, I picked her up, OH clipped one nail, we jollied her up, woo hoo party party, put her down, gave her treats, done.
Did that about 5 times, now she lets me hold her while he does all 4 feet. She gets squirmy towards the end, but not because she's upset, just because she doesn't like to be still for that long

With the dremel I'm being much more methodical, but she doesn't hold the restrained nail clips against me either.

 

I don't know if Susan Garrett includes this in her course, but one thing I recommend is having a nail grooming "place" and make it a very comfortable and rewarding place for the dog to be.
I find it also helps to wear a headlamp for light (particularly with black nails) and I wear my reading glasses.

A good desensitization program is the way to go for sure, but honestly if your dog has really long nails, it might be worth a quick restrain (and sedation if needed) and get them knocked down. Nails that are constantly touching the ground make the feet themselves painful which in turn makes handling painful, which makes regular clipping painful, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Once the nails are a good length, a lot of dogs become less fussy about having their paws handled.

And a quick restrain and clip won't scar your dog for life either. If you can be quick and matter of fact, the dog won't even know what happened. With Penny, I picked her up, OH clipped one nail, we jollied her up, woo hoo party party, put her down, gave her treats, done.
Did that about 5 times, now she lets me hold her while he does all 4 feet. She gets squirmy towards the end, but not because she's upset, just because she doesn't like to be still for that long

With the dremel I'm being much more methodical, but she doesn't hold the restrained nail clips against me either.

So you think cutting the quick is the way to go?, I'd think that's the way to get bitten with an already nervous dog.

Whisp winces when her foot is pulled up, any pain and she would have her teeth bared.

 

Im a whizz with guinea pig nails. Super simple. Ive drawn blood on some of my pigs past with black nails but a bit of flour is enough for a pig's nail. The pigs i have just now have clear nails so it is really easy to see the blood line.

Same as in dogs, it recedes with regular clipping. I bet murphs' bloodline was right close to the end and that is why he saw fit to rearrange my features.

 

So we had an interesting day.

Multiple earthquakes off the NZ coast and we got evacuated from the CBD while I was at work and move to higher ground. Thankfully we could get to Nova. All ended up being okay and we are at Home and Safe.

Crazy Friday!

Novas gotcha day (2 years) is next week so I just ordered her some gifts bit of retail therapy after a stressful day!

it might be worth a quick restrain (and sedation if needed) and get them knocked down.

Sorry I must have read it wrong.

 

I though quick restrain meant cutting the quick, totally not what you typed.

 

Lost in translation

 

What I understand @O2.0 is saying is what I do. Isla is always giving a paw, it's a default with her, so we hold the paw and snip her nail quickly as possible certainly not too the quick, just a small amount. A vet once said to me that regularly snipping off the tips was a useful thing to do

 

Ashamedly bowed head.

 

No, cutting the quick is not the way to go @Beth78 - i didnt mean that at all. But little and often on guinea pig nails causes the blood to recede further and further back so you can cut shorter.

So, with murph, as i hadnt ever cut his nails (and im not sure the groomer did in october tbh) his blood line will be right down close to the nail tip.

I didnt draw blood but i bet i was so close to that quick!

I think, when the nails have never been done before, you cant just hack them short. You have to take a tiny bit off over a few days and weeks til the blood line recedes.

 

Oh im lost in this thread @Beth78 - sorry, the convo has moved on and im well out of it now:Hilarious

 

I don't understand either. I've got lost.

I cut my dogs nails on her terms and haven't yet resorted to sedation.

 

I cut my dogs nails on her terms and haven't yet resorted to sedation.

Tbh that is all im aiming for. To get tilly's nails cut at all will be a flag day for me lol. Im going to give susan's way the best chance as, ideally, it will be nice if she can accept it.

But if you're getting Whisp's nails done at all, you are streets ahead of me. I cant even hold a paw yet!

 

Charlie will lie down and let me cut his nails with no dramas, not what I was expecting as if you go near him with a tooth brush he’ll freak out and growl

 

Charlie will lie down and let me cut his nails with no dramas, not what I was expecting as if you go near him with a tooth brush he'll freak out and growl

Opposite to Whisp, toothbrush, great. Nail clipper, No.

 

*sigh*

I'm just trying to give helpful tips.

Penny came to us with long nails, I get it, sometimes it's out of your control. But once a dog has long nails it becomes a vicious cycle of the nails/toes hurting, dog doesn't want to be touched on his feet, gets harder to clip and the nails stay long and the dog stays uncomfortable.

It's not "resorting" to sedation. If the dog won't let you clip one nail, there's nothing wrong with a good amnesia inducing anesthetic and knocking the nails back. Vets do this all the time.

Once the nails are more manageable, and the dog is in less pain, you can be much more successful at desensitization and getting a good nail routine going.

 

Weirdly nails have never been an issue for my lot. I'm not saying they are perfect and it's easy, but I just don't have the fuss.
Puzzle is easy and although he doesn't enjoy it, I just get him when he's chilling out at my feet or on the sofa and get them all done. They grow quickly too so we do it every couple of weeks (if I remember!) He'll fidget, but I just chat to him and he's an amiable chap so we get it done then he gets to relax.
Nooka has allergies and when they flare up her feet get sore so this means she doesn't like me touching her feet, but she is not the type to tell me off she just tries to get away. I can get both front feet done by doing nail - treat, nail - treat etc then I will go over them tidying them up. I do need someone to have her head end giving treats when I do her back feet though. I don't do them too often because of her foot issue but they aren't too bad.
Fly is different. His aren't long for a lurcher really, and so I only take a bit off at a time. He's the type where you stop when they tell you. I can usually do 2 feet then he gets nippy and silly, which tells me he has had enough which is fine. I can go back to him later. With him as he's food OBSESSED I do a foot before he gets a few treats or he gets a bit too focused on food. He's fairly good though.
As I can clip them all OK I don't see the need for a dremel, but if I had a dog with really hard nails I would definitely invest.
I have clipped a lot of nails over the years, the worst are chihuahuas... little bitey devils!

 

New Weirdly nails have never been an issue for my lot. I'm not saying they are perfect and it's easy, but I just don't have the fuss.

Did you start yours as pups @Sarah H ? I think this was where i went wrong. Murph is great on grooming generally as i started him from early days. But i never bothered with Tilly short hair. Mistake i feel.

 

OH also does my nails, I think I know how Isla feels now

 

I can't bear cutting nails even my own. For some reason it sends shivers down my back and always has.

The Schnauzer boys get their nails cut either by the groomer of the vet. They were trained as puppies to stand still so having their nails cut doesn't worry them one bit.

 

The Schnauzer boys get their nails cut either by the groomer of the vet.

I left it up to the groomer for murph - problem is he only goes to the groomer twice a year. I only ever send him to the groomer just before we go on holiday as i like to have him lovely and clean for the accomodation. I can groom him perfectly well myself as regards keeping him mat free but we dont have a bath and it takes an age to rinse him through in our shower.

I only discovered recently that the nails are supposed to be done every week. I dont know why this never occured to me before as i have always done the guinea pigs once a week so it makes total sense really.

Maybe i thought they'd wear naturally but the fact i can hear them on the hard floor shows that isnt the case.

If i thought the vet or groomer could get near tilly's feet, id send her there but i dont think they will have any more luck than me.

I wish id known this once a week thing when she was a small pup but you live and learn i suppose.

 

Yes, once a week to keep that blood line right receded and the nails good and short.

My dogs are both out running free for at least an hour each day and Tilly an hour and a half more often but its on grass, woodland mainly. They arent doing enough street walking as the nails are still audible on the hard floor.

They arent terribly long, i will try to get a pic of Tilly's up later. But they do tip tap.

 

https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/top-5-mistakes-people-make-when-cutting-their-dogs-nails/

Check out #3 @Magyarmum - you and me both are making "the biggest fatal flaw"

Hopefully the author of this article has misunderstood the meaning of 'fatal' my old dog lived perfectly well til 16yrs without a single nail trim and it wasnt his feet that finished him off lol.

It does make sense though, a lot of points made here.

 

The dremel scares me a bit, what if the dog moves and it touches them?
Do they do dog ones that are less noisy?
Can you see easily when to stop? Tilly's nails are brown and some are stripy so I can't the quick well.

I try to clip a bit off Tilly regularly, with her back problems I want to reduce any other impact as much as possible.
But my tiny bits probably aren't doing an awful lot.

 

The dremel scares me a bit, what if the dog moves and it touches them?

I do far less damage with a dremel than I can do with clippers.

I've dremeled my own knuckles multiple times, it's fine, it just roughs up the skin. You're not going to hurt the dog with an accidental touch of the dremel.
The only issue I would see with a dremel is long hair - long haired dog or long haired person. I always tie my hair back when dremeling and if you have a dog with long hair near the paws, take an old stocking, put it over the foot, push the nails through the stocking and pull it up effectively trapping the hair under the stocking and leaving the nail exposed. Or simply keep the foot hair well trimmed before dremeling.

When you quick a dog with the dremel, it's a teeny tiny pinprick of blood. I've only done it once with Bates and he didn't even notice.
I think bigger dogs find the dremel much more comfortable because the nail never gets squeezed like clippers will even if you keep them sharp.

The mechanics take some getting used to, you have to keep the toe very still, I put my index finger on the toe pad, and my thumb on the top of the nail and push it out a little (like getting a cat to push out their claws) and that helps keep the toe still. Otherwise I do think it tickles a little.

And for the dogs who don't tolerate clippers or dremel, you can always teach them to use a scratch board to help get the nails down. I'd still work on paw handling though because as the dog gets older it becomes even more important to keep those nails short and old dogs may not be able to use a scratch board.
I think about my Bates, his nails grow even faster these days (he's 12), and now more than ever he needs them kept short for his own comfort and stability. There's no way he could use a scratch board, he just doesn't have the stability anymore. But he is perfectly happy to snooze on the sofa while I dremel him.

 

Falcor has 'hare feet' it's a recognised breed trait
I could trim his nails back to his toes (I wouldn't ) and they'd still be clicking on the floor
He's an absolute nightmare to have his feet done, as soon as he sees those clippers he freaks and the crestie scream has to be heard to be believed
Grooming is fine, he falls asleep whilst at the groomers, but twice now he's emptied his an glands everywhere, when she tries to clip them, through fear
Matt and I have been trying to show him that clip =treat by using a tube of primula/ a tube of paste he was sent for Christmas on a thing you normally stick to the door, but we have no doors so one of us holds it, and whilst the other takes a teeny bit off at a time
Foglia's ok-ish, except for the outside toe, on each front foot, which is a hammer toe and we have to keep on top of it.
When she first arrived they were both curled right into the pads, and she had to go to be sedated so vet could get them out of the pads, which crumbled as they came away and clip it back, she must've been in so much pain
She just gets bored very easily as she's like a kid on blue smarties most of the time

 

Here are Tilly's nails. Her front 2 feet are on the paper. Her left back foot is on the floor. She stood really well for me to get this pic

So she hasnt had a clipper or dremmel near her for 3 yrs at least:Bag

And likely could be another 3 yrs before i do get her "dremmel ready"

It seems to be the middle nail on each foot that are really long. The others arent too bad (considering!)

 

Nova has mainly black nails - there are literally just 2-3 nails where I can see the quick. We hardly ever walk on surfaces that wear her nails down naturally and they seem to grow rather fast. I was shown how to trim her nails at puppy classes when she was about 10 weeks and have been clipping them regularly since then. She is pretty used to it and normally relaxed. Recently she has not been too happy for me to clip but I just started back from scratch conditioning her and she is now fine again. She prefers having it done outside in the garden where she’ll lie on her side on the grass and I can clip all of her nails or at least most of them in one go.

They also showed us how to brush our pups teeth at puppy school and nova again is very used to it. I’m grateful we started early and kept up with it. I clip a few of my friends dogs nails to or show them how to do it on their pups. I’m not an expert but I actually find it so satisfying

 

Some progress with Till today. It is slow but measurable lol. So i can now switch the dremmel up to top speed and there is no negative reaction at all. She flew out of the room the first time. This is nowhere near her foot. This is literally just pulling an assortment of objects out of a bag and click treat for dremmel.

She stayed close to the bag throughout and even with dremmel switched on, she stayed close and showed no fear.


Game on position is good still and i made some tiny progress in being able to touch the top of one paw whilst she stayed in position. But only for seconds, then her head came up.

It will be slow going i think. If i manage to get her to the stage of ever being able to dremmel each nail whilst she lies there calmly, it will be my greatest dog training achievement ever. Hopes are high but reality lurks round every corner. I will just need to take it very very slowly and see what we can achieve.