Nail clipping woes... (how much, bite, vet, barking)

[R&J1016]

My almost-4-year-old min pin/chi refuses to let us clip his nails!
I used to take him to a groomer to get them clipped, until I saw the stress it created for him. It seemed like the groomer didn't have a good handle on him, and from what I saw he was running around the room frantically, with a nail cut too short and bleeding all over the floor. Haven't brought him back since...

Then, when we would try at home, he wouldn't let us touch his paws. He would nip us when we tried to even touch a paw. So I was slowly able to desensitize him to allow us to touch, and he even gives us a paw to shake now when we ask...

But he still won't let us clip them! It's like once he knows we're going for the nails he gets upset again.
And in the mean time, he gives himself manicures, biting/chewing his nails shorter when he feels necessary.

Any advice/ideas to get him to let us clip again??? How bad is it to let him "cut" his own nails?

[snofarmer]

Be your dogs master.

the toe was bleeding at the groomers because you let it get to long.
IT's no big deal a toe nail bleeds only a little, to some it looks like a lot but it is not.

Take control, use a muzzel if you have to.
lay your dog down hold his paw and cut them.
he knows if he/she acts out you will stop.

Buck up and do the deed.
it's not a big deal.
Turn a def ear to their fussing and clip them.

So what if you quick one or all of them?
Use some quick stop to stop any bleeding so you don't get a little blood on the carpeting.


This has been a petpeve of mine.
Your the master your dog does not call the shots.
Your dog will be happier if you maintain their nails that let them go and take them to some groomer.

[Keliko]

Have you try dremeling it? I know a lot of dogs that hate getting their nails clipped but don't mind the dremel at all, they actually all lay down and let it be done with.

[DawnMTL]

Artie tries to cut his own nails, but he doesn't make a dent in how much he needs taken off. He also LOATHES getting his nails cut -- it's his least favorite thing in the world.

He would NEVER let me cut them. (And, really, I don't want him to associate me with "bad" things being done to him.)
I've tried dremeling them -- nope. Not gonna happen.

When we lived in CT, I would always take him to the vet to have it done. They were close. Now that we've moved, I take him to a groomer's to have it done.

If you can't find a better groomer to do it, take your pup to the vet to have it done. They do it all the time and know what they're doing.

Good luck!

[R&J1016]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

Be your dogs master.

the toe was bleeding at the groomers because you let it get to long.
IT's no big deal a toe nail bleeds only a little, to some it looks like a lot but it is not.

Take control, use a muzzel if you have to.
lay your dog down hold his paw and cut them.
he knows if he/she acts out you will stop.

Buck up and do the deed.
it's not a big deal.
Turn a def ear to their fussing and clip them.

So what if you quick one or all of them?
Use some quick stop to stop any bleeding so you don't get a little blood on the carpeting.


This has been a petpeve of mine.
Your the master your dog does not call the shots.
Your dog will be happier if you maintain their nails that let them go and take them to some groomer.

Quite the assumptions made here... The nail bled because that "groomer" didn't know what he was doing. I had brought my dog there plenty of times before (with other groomers), and there hadn't been such a scene before.
Are you trying to say that the quick magically grew longer when the nail grew, causing the groomer to cut it because of my neglegence? At that time, his nails were getting cut regularly, so no they were not too long. And I wouldn't return there because of how they handled my dog, not because I didn't like the job they did.

But, let me get this straight - you think that "little bit of blood" doesn't hurt them? You think they won't remember your sloppy and painful hack-job, and therefore not trust you when it matters???
Cutting the quick can be very painful, at the time it's done and while walking on it before it has healed. Let's not forget possible infections... I'm a nurse, blood doesn't bother me, but I don't go around unnecessarily causing pain to get a task done sloppily.

If you go get your nails done, and the manicurist cuts/files too short, and you bleed and it hurts, do you accept hearing "it's no big deal"? How quickly would you return to that nail salon?

Sorry but passing judgements, ignorance, and poor advice are my pet peeves...

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by snofarmer

Be your dogs master.

the toe was bleeding at the groomers because you let it get to long.
IT's no big deal a toe nail bleeds only a little, to some it looks like a lot but it is not.

Take control, use a muzzel if you have to.
lay your dog down hold his paw and cut them.
he knows if he/she acts out you will stop.

Buck up and do the deed.
it's not a big deal.
Turn a def ear to their fussing and clip them.

So what if you quick one or all of them?
Use some quick stop to stop any bleeding so you don't get a little blood on the carpeting.


This has been a petpeve of mine.
Your the master your dog does not call the shots.
Your dog will be happier if you maintain their nails that let them go and take them to some groomer.

I hadn't read your post earlier but:

- A nail can be cut too short even if the nail has not been let to grow too long.

- Cutting the quick so that it bleeds is horribly painful for the dog. It's not a minor inconvenience, like you're making it sound. It HURTS.

- As for being the master and using a muzzle, I do kind of agree with this BUT... Artie has to be muzzled when he gets his nails clipped at the groomer's or vet. He does not get muzzled in his own house.

- Also, I don't want my dog to associate me with doing things that he's absolutely TERRIFIED of, nor do I want to struggle with him or "turn a deaf ear." I want our house to be a happy home for him, not one where he's terrified of what she's going to do to me next? I'm not saying that I'm not the boss -- I tell him when to stop barking, I tell him to get off the couch that he's not allowed on, etc... but this is not one of those times; not when it's something that so terrifies him.

I think that the OP should choose another groomer for nail clipping or take the pup to the vet to have it done. Sometimes, in some cases, having a professional do it IS best.

[no kudzu]

Dawn is right. Snofarmer is SO VERY WRONG.

[foxywench]

wow sno, just wow, gues youve never pulled one of your own nails off too shot... cutting th quick is not just cutting a blood vessle its also cutting a NERVE! its VERY painfull and can have long lasting effects...lets clip your nail off down into the nail bed and see how that feels...just buck up your a grown up itll ONLY hurt for a little while...

OP...sounds like your dog took a very common issue, ended up getting hurt and making the issue worse.
the fact youve been able to work with him to desensitive him to let you actually touch his feet is huge...
have you tried the same proocess with the nail clippers...start holding his foot, show him the nail clippsers, give him a treat...then hodl his foot show in the clipper put if neer his foot remove and treat, then touch his foot with it, work up to preteniding to cut a nail, itll tke a while and plenty of patients, but i think if you worked through getting him to let you touch his feet you can work through the fear of the clippers.

i do 100% suggest a small cordless dremmel too. unless the nail clippers are RAZOR sharp when used there is pressure/pinching it feels "odd" and if hes associated that odd feeling with a result of pain its even worse...
a dremmel also feels odd but in a different way, its a more natural form of "clipping" the nails (wear rather than slice) when using a dremmel remmeber it causes friction and that causes heat, so just touch the dremel t the nail for no more than a few seconds at a time,
generally most dogs biggest issues with the dremmel are the sound...desensitive to that the same way you would anything else, patients praise and treats.

if his nails are realy long right now call the vet, explain you had a bad experiene with a groomer with him and hes very upset abuout his nails done...many vets will clip nails for a minimal fee and many will use a very mild tranquilizer for dogs that are seriously nail stressed...once there nice and short, keep ontop of it with the dremmel so they never get long enough to need to be clipped. generally it takes me about 15 seconds to do each of my dogs nails wiht the dremmel, because i do it once a week it keeps them short and tidy in a very short amount of time, literally a tap of the dremmel for no more than 2 seconds per nail and done...the dogs get a tiny treat after each foot is done so they know "i hold stil and let this happen i get plenty of treats"
i would NEVER EVER EVER suggest muzzling an obviously fearfull dog and just "making him deal" infact in my experience thats a realy good way to take a fear agression behaviour and escalate it into more than it needs to be.

you CAN do this op, just time patients and lots of treats, and in the mean time, find a new groomer or see if your vet can get them as short as possible for you so upkeep is not as much of a long winded chore..the shorter you can keep them on a regular basis the easier the whol process will be for everyone.
its also impossible to "cut" the quick with a dremmel, you can hit thenerve it youf not paying attention but the heat form the sanding drum actually cuaterizes the quick and the nerve tip so in my experience its a little less "traumatizing"

i do agree on the fact that a dog needs to know your in charge and they need to do as their told...but this is obviiously not a dog thats simply putting up a fuss, if hes trying to bite hes seriously not happy with the situation. my little male will pull his foot away i simply give him "the look" and take his paw and continue...
but if it ever got to the point where he was so unhappy that it whent from simply pulling his foot away to actual agression...id be seriously re-evaluating...

[brightdoglover]

My Artie has to go to the vet for nail clipping, and be muzzled. He goes ballistic while the clipping is being done, and as soon as the muzzle comes off, he sits nicely for a treat from the same tech who had to hold him for safety.
I have no doubt that he'd be dangerous without the muzzle, and he's very afraid of new people, growls a lot in defense, but never bites. It's just something about the nail clipping.

[no kudzu]

I've never had a dog who didn't make a fuss just to have their feet messed with. I mean trying to comb ice out between toes, or trim fur, not even nails. Cats seem to be the same way.

Come to think of it I don't like anybody messing with my feet either. Can't believe somebody would pay someone else to mess with their feet!