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Nail trimming game on position

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23K views 409 replies 23 participants last post by  O2.0  
#1 ·
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.

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 . . .
 
#195 ·
OK so I caved and ordered this grinder a couple of days ago, it arrived last night while I was at work so I forgot about it! (sorry @StormyThai it was super quick being delivered :p) Anyway today I got to grinding! I forgot how easy it was - I had an old Dremel years ago but Nooka hated it so I stopped using it. This is so much quieter and easier to use.
I trimmed the nails with clippers first, then went to grinding! Nooka still isn't keen on the actual sensation, but is much better with the noise than she was with the Dremel, so we will need to work on that. Fly was fine once he realised it was just nail time. I only did the front feet as he can't cope with the whole lot, and that's fine. The other 2 woofs I need to clip first to get the length off, but I'm sure Puzzle won't mind any more than he does with the clippers. Just Nooka as usual being her stressy self :rolleyes:
 
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#196 ·
:Woot :Woot :Woot

First session tonight went much better than I anticipated! I concentrated on Milly. Started with treating for letting me grab/manipulate her foot with the grinder between us, then with it turned on, and by the end of the session, I managed to touch the grinder to a couple of her nails -, literally just a touch and then back off, but I never expected to get that far tonight! :D :Woot

With Honey, I simply treated for being the presence of the grinder with it turned on.

Milly's now lying on my bed and Honey's on my lap.
 
#200 ·
Oh it turned up...2 minutes later my phone crashes and dies spectacularly so I spent the next few hours looking for a new phone because I need one for work.
So I'll be doing Thai's nails later this morning but no videos until my new phone turns up...


Welcome to my life :Banghead
 
#208 ·
Right!
This is where we are at the moment:
Image


I am so cross with myself for letting them get bad...Hopefully with a few short sessions every 4 days or so and they will be back to what they should be.
Many vets and groomers would be happy enough with this nail length (in fact the last time I asked the vet to knock them back after a split I was told that they were fine), but I know that his foot sits differently when the toes are able to sit properly so off with his nails it is!
It's no wonder that many, many, many dogs go for most of their lives with nails that are too long if vets and groomers think that this is right :eek:
 
#210 ·
StormyThai said:
Many vets and groomers would be happy enough with this nail length (in fact the last time I asked the vet to knock them back after a split I was told that they were fine), but I know that his foot sits differently when the toes are able to sit properly so off with his nails it is!
Click to expand...
Yep, a lot of people would be happy with that, but I agree with you, I'd take a good bit off still. Especially the older guys.

I did the same and let Bates' nails get way too long and I always feel so bad when I see what a difference it makes when I knock them back again :(

I know some people go way too far to little nubs of nails, I don't advocate that either (though a nail nub is far less damaging than too long nails) but comfortably short for sure.
 
#215 ·
Welcome @edinoodle :) Yes, I 100% agree with Stormy and then you will never get yourself into the position I now find myself in. I started at day one with my long haired dog (even though he was then a short haired pup!) on grooming his coat and I can honestly say he loves being groomed. But I never started on his nails.

And my other dog, short haired, I have been very neglectful:(

Here is an example of how walking and running does not keep nails short.

This is the paw of my Tilly who is out every day, come rain or shine, hail or snow and runs an average 5 miles per day (mainly soft ground)

Image


Quite shocking isnt it? And i cant dive in because I never started as a pup so i need to go very patiently.

Anyway, will be fabulous to have you here in Nail Club! Exciting times: new pup, neat nails:)
 
#216 ·
tabelmabel said:
Welcome @edinoodle :) Yes, I 100% agree with Stormy and then you will never get yourself into the position I now find myself in. I started at day one with my long haired dog (even though he was then a short haired pup!) on grooming his coat and I can honestly say he loves being groomed. But I never started on his nails.

And my other dog, short haired, I have been very neglectful:(

Here is an example of how walking and running does not keep nails short.

This is the paw of my Tilly who is out every day, come rain or shine, hail or snow and runs an average 5 miles per day (mainly soft ground)

View attachment 464818

Quite shocking isnt it? And i cant dive in because I never started as a pup so i need to go very patiently.

Anyway, will be fabulous to have you here in Nail Club! Exciting times: new pup, neat nails:)
Click to expand...
Thank you! I'm a combination of excited and overwhelmed! My puppy is a standard poodle so I'll be working with her to get her used to being groomed so hopefully it will be easy enough to get her used to her paws being handled too. That's the plan anyway, I'm hoping I can stick with all my good intentions when she actually arrives!

I had no idea that long nails could be detrimental, all the dogs I see have longer nails than your Tilly, I'm not sure I'll be able to look at them the same! Tilly is lovely - what breed is she?
 
#226 ·
Today was Bates' nail day, Penny is getting a day off.

Front:
This is a good length for him, the side nail on his right foot needs to come off a little more, but otherwise this is good. Plenty of ground clearance, he can get all parts of his paw pads on the ground no matter which way he leans, and his toes can fully function.
Image
Image


And rear:
His rear paws are more cat shaped than his front paws, which make the nails retract a little when he stands. They look shorter than they actually are, particularly in the last photo. Same thing, the side nails could stand to come off a little more.
Image

Image
 
#227 ·
Oh dear: dremmel disaster!!!!


So it was all going great guns with Tilly in her game on position; no probs there.

Then murphs wants a shot. He is far further on in his training with this and is able to lie perfectly still whilst the dremel moves around him switched on. He can even have it touching his nails switched off (not on yet, or he moves)


However, i was using the high value cocktail sausage treats.

Was moving the switched-on dremel about him, with its guard on. When his head comes up to get a sausage.

Instantly, the dremel wound into his moustache!!! I have had a real job getting it out as i couldnt get the guard off at first.

Fortunately, murph is nice and steady. Had he had Tilly's personality, he'd have been flying about the house like one possesed!

After it was detatched, he was ready to continue. And he is still relaxing in the same spot now.

What a brave boy!
 
#228 ·
tabelmabel said:
Oh dear: dremmel disaster!!!!

So it was all going great guns with Tilly in her game on position; no probs there.

Then murphs wants a shot. He is far further on in his training with this and is able to lie perfectly still whilst the dremel moves around him switched on. He can even have it touching his nails switched off (not on yet, or he moves)

However, i was using the high value cocktail sausage treats.

Was moving the switched-on dremel about him, with its guard on. When his head comes up to get a sausage.

Instantly, the dremel wound into his moustache!!! I have had a real job getting it out as i couldnt get the guard off at first.

Fortunately, murph is nice and steady. Had he had Tilly's personality, he'd have been flying about the house like one possesed!

After it was detatched, he was ready to continue. And he is still relaxing in the same spot now.

What a brave boy!
Click to expand...
Oh Murph!
Tell him I know exactly how he feels, I once used the hand I was holding the dremel in to put a lock of hair behind my ear. OH was no use attempting to rescue me because he was laughing so hard. :penguin
 
#229 ·
Oh no:Hilarious

They are quite lively, these dremels, aren't they:D


I have finally looked up the correct spelling. I have been alternating between double and single 'm' right through this thread as i have been too lazy to check out which is correct.

I've got a new respect for the spirited nail grinder - the way mine has been drawing blood and grappling with murphs' moustache is positively leech like.
 
#233 ·
Lily's nails are too long - they touch the floor, well the two outer nails do but I'm working on it. She doesn't tap though oddly enough.

Zazu is rather good - he is a very chill pup, probably still settling in. He is happy to enjoy a chew while I play with his feet/nails and give them a trim.

Glad to have dogs with mostly white nails :Hilarious Although Lily has 4 brown nails, one on each paw and Zazu has 3 or 4 black nails - kinda just go for it with them, I can judge quick length by their white nails normally.

I'm a millers forge clippers person - I love them! :D
 
#237 ·
Are you joining nail club @ShibaPup? Would be great to have you on board:)

Murph wasnt up for nails or grooming last night. He'd had a rough day, body slamming Tills in the morning and getting his ears boxed by Beryl in the evening. He just wanted to sign off, bless him.

I had prepared some little cocktail sausages in a plastic bowl but set them aside when i saw he wasnt up for it. Just on the settee.

This morning, i remembered id left them on the settee all night. And murph has free range of the room at night. I just knew they would still be there, untouched.

And they were:)

He is sooooo good at not taking food. He never does. Tilly cant be trusted and will thieve in plain sight, but murph never.
 
#238 ·
In the interests of empathetic research, i dremelled my own fingernail last night. As murph, he seems to be ok with it and then suddenly there's a little yelp and he pulls away.

So, i think i might have felt what he is complaining about. As it wasnt painful, until i just got a small shooting pain senstation in one part. On a pain scale it was definitely no more than a one. But enough to make a tense dog pull away.

Didnt try murphs' nails last night. Had to give him 2 rimadyl as he is very sore at the moment. I am panicking a bit as he is booked in at the groomer in April and he has a bit of matting on one of his hips and a little at the back of his neck.

He is very adept at presenting the same areas for grooming and avoiding others. So one side combs through perfectly, and the other does not!

I definitely dont want his body clipped short. But i think i will get his feet clipped short so i can see how he is standing.

Post rimadyl, i got most of his matty hip sorted. Tills really doesnt help - she hangs of his hair, slavering all over him and matting him up as fast as i am de matting. Between her, the wet weather, and murphs' fondness for a good roll in the undergrowth, it's a full time job keeping up with his coat just now!

Have you tried with jack yet, @Lurcherlad ?
 
#241 ·
StormyThai said:
but you can already see the difference in the toes between the first picture and these
Click to expand...
Yes you can! It literally changes the shape of your dog's foot.
A lot of dogs with splayed feet don't really have splayed feet, they just have too long toe nails.

The change in Thai is very subtle but I've seen some dogs change dramatically.
Do you notice any change in his movement?
 
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