# Nail Trimming Problem



## knelly (Jul 23, 2018)

Our 10 month old V, Cappy, absolutely hates to have his nails trimmed. We gave up and took him to the vet to have it done. Three vet techs could not manage to restrain him to do his nails. The vet suggested that we give him 100 mg of Trazadone an hour before the next attempt to trim.

Note: We started handling his feet early on and trimmed nails when he was really small. We never cut his quick. This behavior started as he got older and stronger.

Anyone else having this issue? Recommendations?

Thanks, 
Mike


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

lol, a 100 of Trazedone will certainly get the job done, but before I tranked a puppy, I'd take this a step at a time, you're probably combining too many scary parts of this at once. So, first work on touching and holding paws, then taking the clippers and just touching his nails, then holding him, etc., progressing slowly thru each stage after he's totally OK. Give lots of praise, offer distractions and rewards, and take it slow.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

I agree with everything that gingerling said and would add a few: we found that a Dremel style trimmer is easier (even if you don't hit the quick, a clipper puts a lot of pressure on the nail and that can be alarming, even if it's not painful). I'm careful to hold each toe, not just the paw - there's more control. 

"Cappy, no" is better than "Cappy, it's OK" when he won't cooperate. Reassuring him with "it's OK" is positive reinforcement for his unwanted behavior. Don't let it get to the level of a struggle - just stop.

I used to sit on the floor with the dog on its back between my legs. That was convenient for me, but the dog didn't like it - probably felt vulnerable. Now I trim nails when they're on their chair (bed). It's a safe, comfortable place for them

When we adopted Daisy, she was 5 years old and had a powerfully entrenched aversion to nail trimming. Now, she is totally OK with it. It took awhile, but long nails are not life threatening and patience was the key.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I've been taking Shine 2x a month to Petco to have them grind her nails. She was a wiggly mess for the first few times. Now she happily gets on the table, for them to do her nails. Is relatively still, unless another dog is coming or going. She loves other dogs, and wants to visit with them. 
I've found groomers have less of problem doing dogs nails, than vets. 
I only did this because I wanted her stay accustomed to other people handling her. I've kepted it up because she enjoys going. She always gets to go through the store, and pick out a treat afterwards.


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## tegee26 (Apr 25, 2018)

knelly said:


> Our 10 month old V, Cappy, absolutely hates to have his nails trimmed. We gave up and took him to the vet to have it done. Three vet techs could not manage to restrain him to do his nails. The vet suggested that we give him 100 mg of Trazadone an hour before the next attempt to trim.
> 
> Note: We started handling his feet early on and trimmed nails when he was really small. We never cut his quick. This behavior started as he got older and stronger.
> 
> ...



Mike.....you're describing the same EXACT problem we've run into. Milo absolutely WILL NOT allow anybody to do his nails. We've tried the vet (three tried to hold him down and they gave up), we've tried a professional groomer (to no avail) and even tried ourselves being very patient. We simply gave up.

And we did the (The Art of Raising a Puppy) approach and softly played with his feet, paws and individual nails from the very first week we got him a 9-weeks. He never once gave us a problem when we used to gingerly stroke his paws, etc. And we even used to cut his nails one at a time and took it slowly over a weeks time to do all 16. Never gave us a problem as a young pup. But then things change and he got extremely defensive for no particular reason. Just as he got older he grew increasingly more defensive when touching his paws and feet for that matter.

We have simply given up and don't want to traumatize him. Only time will tell what direction we go next. But for now we're taking a break.

I know this didn't help you, but you're not alone......fwiw


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Miksa also goes to a groomer for nail. Not because i could not do them, but more to get used to other people touching and messing different body parts of him. especially after our last dog show experience in Orlando. 
We have gone weekly over the last 1 month on Saturdays and he now jumps up to the groomer table without even being asked. he kisses the groomer while she does the nails and gets treats. Yes, it has been a process and the groomer has been absolutely cooperative to let it do at his time but at the end all nails got trimmed.

Interestingly Bende prefers the clipper to the grinder, the only explanation i could come up with is the noise. His are done every Sunday, takes about 3 minutes, including treats. It used to be much longer. When he was a young pup in the middle of fear period, he would get a treat per nail! whatever works.

Like anything else, it is a process with dogs until they learn the rhythm. once they catch on, they are ok with it.


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## knelly (Jul 23, 2018)

Thanks to all for the suggestions and support!


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## MikoMN (Nov 29, 2016)

We have run into the same problem. And have received the same recommendation from the Vet. 
We tied to slowly increase him step by step over many months. Touch feet, clip one nail, reward with high value treats. He is two now, and had his nails clipped every 1-2 weeks for his entire life. As he got older, he has become more and more against it. We never clipped too far, causing him to bleed. We tried the dremel, we tried clippers, we tried just sanding them down. 
Eventually we took him to a groomer. He did alright the first few times, but again became worse and worse. The last time at the groomer, he was muzzled, foaming at the mouth, and I was basically on top of him to hold him down. 
We then decided the next time to take him to the Vet. They managed, but strongly suggested giving him a med before clipping.

It has been two months since we last clipped his nails. They are getting very long. I don't know what the right answer is. I don't like giving drugs without need, but at this point we have tried the soft, slow methods, and it only became worse.

We are at the point where we fear getting bitten if we attempt it on our own.

If you find a solution, or if you try the meds let us all know. It could be some help for those of us that are going through the same thing.


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## Keyli2 (May 7, 2018)

We have also had difficulty trimming Cooper's nails. Recently, we started with one of us feeding him a constant stream of very small high-reward treats while the other one trims. It has kept him distracted enough to get the job done. Hopefully, the rewards will start to change his attitude from anxiety to looking forward to nail trims eventually!


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## moonlightviz (Aug 17, 2012)

Time to find a new vet! Start by improving his social handling. You will have to work hard to undo the damage of forceful handling done by the vet techs, etc. Kikopup on YouTube has an excellent video: 




Another good resource is the Facebook Group Nail Maintenance for Dogs, lots of tutorials and photos. Make the experience a positive one and use desensitization techniques. Ideally you can do the nail trims at home in a stress free environment. 

I start my litters and puppies on the Dremel around 5 weeks old and their nails are done weekly thereafter. I NEVER USE CLIPPERS - they pinch. I take off a little each week and go right up to the quick with zero bleeding. My dogs line up for nail trims, they get reward and praise afterwards. 

You can see images of their nails on Instagram #dremeldognails

Good luck!


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