nail clipping

I take beau out twice a day but her nails are still big and she's a nightmare trying to clip them me and my wife try to hold her but we got no chance it's like holding a bull by its horns any one got any ideas please help

If we have to clip Suki's nails we do them one at a time while she is asleep

Thanks that's sounds a good idea I will take her a extra big walk tomorrow and have a go then cheers jstaff

Flo doesn't have this issue fortunately. Sounds like great advise to do it whilst asleep

Yeah Ian it does mate

no we dont have it with sash but taking her out for a good long walk to tire her out and doing it whilst asleep sounds like a good idea,good luck with it

Will let you know how we get on cheers people

Of course we have to do one or two nails at a time so the process takes a couple of days

I gave up and went to pets at home groomers. you would think i was trying to pull them out the way they reacted. even then in a harness marley howled the place down, i kid you not we had a crowd watching the "wild dog" while laska was a lil more ladylike, to think i actually handle their feet each week to apply paw wax no problem. thankfully they only needed the front feet clipping. def got me £8 worth lol think they may hide next time they see us comming

Do they really need clipping? If they are sharp, like her dew claws, then yes they need clipping, but length of nail shouldn't be an issue.

Horse trainer hat going on now, but this works for dogs too and I've taught 3 dogs to have their nails clipped this way. Apologies in advance if this gets loooooooooooooong.

I think one of the main things that animals struggle against in these situations is being held tightly and forced into something they fear. So often, once you find a way of taking that force hold away, they can learn incredibly quickly.

The first thing, then, is to avoid at all costs holding Beau in a way that is restraint by force. That means you have to work at what's called the edge of the comfort zone, that area where she starts to go from 'this is no problem at all' to 'I'm scared by this'. It's what I call the 'uh oh' moment. You should be able to catch that moment before she feels she needs to move her body, but while she's aware that this might become a real worry.

That's the point where an animal can learn that what they think they're worried about is ok. If you can start to build that that little bit's ok, then the next, then the next, you should have a smooth learning process that gets you to your goal positively and in a way that she can learn for the future.

You'll need to break down the process of clipping into tiny chunks, starting with something she can do easily and then adding little bits. Start perhaps with give a paw (lots of praise), then while you're holding her paw stroke it with your other hand, then start playing with her toes, etc, until you can manipulate her foot as you'd need to for clipping.

If at any point you hit 'uh oh', just hold it exactly there and ask her to relax her foot, then put it down. If you let go of her foot before she's accepted what you're doing, then she will learn that being worried, tense, maybe trying to pull her foot away, is what gets her what she wants. What she needs to learn is that simply relaxing her foot will get you to stop the thing she's worried about.

And at that point she'll start to see that in fact there was nothing to worry about, that you playing with her toes or whatever it was didn't hurt, that that forceful hold didn't follow, and that all is fine with the world.

When you add something new, say holding the clippers in your other hand for the first time, keep letting her relax her foot and put it down as a reward for doing the right thing. Take your time, give her lots of praise and treats, and make doing this pleasant and easy, good even!

Build up this way through holding the clippers in your other hand so she can see them, to bringing the clippers very slightly towards her paw (you'll probably get a reaction here so go slowly and remember not to reward her pulling her foot away by just going with the movement of her foot until she stops pulling), closer and closer until you can stroke her paw with the clippers. Don't go straight for the nails, you just want to stroke her paw.

Once you can do all that in a relaxed or even fun way, then it's time to move on to the claws. Just rub her claws with the clippers or, if that's too hard, with an finger of the hand that she knows is holding the clippers. Only when that's ok should you place the clippers round a claw. Squeeze gently, so she can feel it, but don't clip. Again, she'll probably try to pull away but hold there until she relaxes, then take the clippers away and reward her big time. When that's ok, squeeze harder - she'll feel it - and work in the same way until she can take all but the actual clip without worry. Then you can clip, and follow immediately with praise and a high value treat.

It goes without saying that you'll need to start off with only clipping the very end of the claw, making absolutely sure you don't nick a nerve. It's all about building her trust and confidence to start off with, rather than about actually clipping her claws.

If any of that doesn't make sense, yell! It does work though, honest!

Great advice Liz

Dizz is terrible for this - we have tried all sorts and I have to admit I pay for them to be done now at the same place we board him - they know he hates it and I know they muzzle him. It's a fair deal he loves me most when I collect him

We have tried gently building up to it as above and will continue to work on that but at the moment paying for it is the easy option!!

SuziPea, I personally would stop getting Dizzy's claws clipped by the kennels and even let them grow a little longer than ideal until you can do it quietly. Maybe increase road walking to wear a bit more in the interim.

The thing is that you have to make the promise to the dog that having his feet handled and his claws clipped is genuinely ok, not sometimes but always, otherwise he can't possibly learn to not fear it. Animals find sometimes hard, they can't guess when is one thing and when it's another. They wil therefore work on the basis of self protection all of the time.

Imagine what it must feel like to be forcibly restrained for something that terrifies you, where you feel in danger of your life (this is what it can feel like), and you can't do anything about it. It is truly, truly awful. This is going to sound horrid, but please don't pay someone to do that to your lovely dog.

While he experiences this intense fear even just sometimes, he will remain fearful all the time and will be unable to learn constructively. Sorry to get all nerdy, but understanding and breaking down equine fears is what I used to do for a living. The problem with repeating fearful experiences, and why animals so rarely 'get used to it', is that fear itself feels horrible. It therefore reinforces the belief that something dreadful will happen just the same as if they were physically injured by it, because the were right, something dreadful did happen. It just injured them mentally and emotionally instead of physically.

If the above 'pressure and release + treats' method isn't working, then you need to change things a bit. Slow down what you're doing, really look carefully at the body language and recognise the very first sign of worry - maybe a change in the eyes, a lowering of the body, a clamping of the tail, swallowing (if I hear Chaos swallow, I know he's worried). That's your 'uh oh'. That the point that you have to stop, wait for acceptance and an understanding that this moment now is ok, then release.

If Dizzy is finding it hard, then start with really, really easy things to build his confidence. Spend a week just doing give a paw and stroking it. Let him find some 'hey, I can do this' moments and work to knock down his anticipation of something horrid. Keep sessions really short and positive, and always begin and end with something he can do well. In between, keep the build up tiny, just bringing the clippers one inch closer might be enough for one session.

I don't know if it'll help at all, but I've got a bit (a big bit, I'm afraid) of video of me working with one of the loves of my life, Trystan an Exmoor pony. It's just over half an hour long but please don't feel you have to watch it all! Just the first bit might help see what I'm trying to explain. I'm not putting this here to blow my trumpet as a trainer - this isn't really all that hard when you know what you're doing - but more so you can see how this pressure and release stuff works. You don't hear about it so often with dogs but they are doing just the same, looking for how to cope with the situations we put them in in the easiest way possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j-4esxuL-U

Sorry, I know I can waffle sometimes but I'm passionate about trying to live and work with animals in ways that are the easiest for them, and avoiding force, excessive stress and violence whenever at all possible.

Never had this prob as I do walk Vin off his feet! I do his dew claws though and he is as good as gold, knows there is ham at the end of it.Yes try while asleep or pop to a groomer

Bane hates it being done but we also sneak up and do it while he is sleeping He will wake up but he's usually pretty out of it and not quite sure what is happening!

Ive tried pretty much everything to no avail... short of sleeping gas I have no other option but to get them done by somone who has the equipment and speed. both will allow me to touch the feet no problem, i apply paw wax each week and massage the paws so they are used to me touching them but as soon as they see the clippers....Im dog enemy number one lol

i file mias with a nail file she sees the file and runs

Rockys nails seem to grow quite quickly too, every couple of months we take him to a local dog training centre that has a groom room attached to it. He has never had a problem with letting the lady there clip his nails as he loves all the attention and fuss he gets. Rocky has two long walks of about an hour each time every day on various surfaces and his nails still grow quickly.

My method is the rugby tackle and wrap In Bath sheet method. Basically play fight pin down wrap towe round nel like I am hog tieing a baby steer then whilst holding her down like the piece down to criminals to get the cuffs on one at a time clip each step of claws on each foot. It's hard work she thinks its a game thougo

Liz handling his paws is not an issue at all it is the clippers that causes the stress for him - and whilst it may sound cruel getting it done at the kennels it doesn't stress him in the way it does when I try it.  He will let me play with his paws, remove grass seeds and rub his feet (in fact the weirdo fully enjoys a foot rub).  But clippers just stress him.  We have taken time and praised him and like I said playing with his feet is not a problem but he still needs them doing and he gets plenty of road work.  I understand the passion behind your sentiments and we will continue to work on it but I have to think of his feet as well.

I like the idea of a rugby tackle - he likes play fighting in towels if we can make it a game that would be fab!  I couldn't do it in his sleep as his basket is under the coffee table so not easy to get to..... On that note it started out next to the coffee table and every now and then we pull it back out guaranteed within ten mins he has nosed it back under so he has his den back

Glad to know I am not the only one that has issues - I just wish he had been looked after as a pup (he is a rescue) I would put good money on them not clipping his nails.

Iza has 2 black nails rest are clear lol I'm scared so taking her to groomers when needing done.