Doing nails often........

[Judy Chrusch]

is by far the way to go:D! Judi W. has mentioned many times especially for those of us who have trouble doing nails to do them often. Well we are now doing them every 2 weeks and let me tell you, we've gone from 4 people holding him down physically to now just my husband and I:D and we DON'T have to hold him down anymore. I usually put him in a down first then roll him over and the last 2 times as soon as he saw the muzzle, yes we still use that, he goes in a down on his own and rolls over on his side, what a good boy he is:D :D. Oh and I use to have to straddle him, now I sit quietly next to him as I talk softly and tell him the entire time what a good boy he is and he gets his tummy rubbed as well and of course a treat before and after. So we went from wrestling him with 4 people and breaking our hold several times, to now just the 2 of us calmly and happily! We are thrilled but we contibute it to doing them more often and by doing that it takes less then half the time bc you don't have that much to grind down so our next step is to do it w/o the muzzle bc he has made NO attemps to grumble or snap the last couple of times so I think we're gonna take the plunge. Just thought I'd share this with you bc it does work and Judi W. tells us things to help us so please take her advice and see for yourself the turn around you can have with a tough dog and Czar is just that ;). Actually tough sometimes is an understatement, LOL!!! THANKYOU JUDI W. for making me realize often is better for more reasons then one. Hope this helps others who struggle with this dilemma.

Judy

[Miabella]

Hi Judy,

Glad to hear you really stuck with and are now having more success doing his nails. Too many people just give up and expect the vet to take care of it for them.

My adopted my Mia when she was not quite 2 years old, and she was horrible about her nails. She never growled or tried to bite, but she would whine and cry and struggle desperately to get away. It was a very stressful experience for us and her. But we persisted, and we've found a regimen that works for us. All four feet get done weekly, but over two nights. Monday (tonight! ) we do the front feet and Wednesday we do the back feet. We have her lay down, and my husband sits on the floor and holds her by putting an arm around her chest. I then put a bowl of treats about 6 inches out of her reach. Using the dremel, I do two nails and then give her a treat. She is distracted enough by the treats that she never has time to get herself worked up. It's all over in a couple minutes, and nobody gets upset.

[Ilovemypuppy]

I have taken to Dremeling Bailey and Maggie's nails every 3 to 4 days...just a very little bit taken off each time and a foot and leg massage after. It seems to be making a big difference because it's done more often. They both lay down now to have their pedicures :D

[LORHEL]

That's Great Judy! and Jory's girls are spoiled :p :D

I do Makita's once a week and I swear sometimes, it could go twice for some of the nails... One day my dream is to work a dremel... ;)

[whitney greenway]

Lori.

I am going to get a dremmel, have no idea how to work the thing, but HEY........ I can learn.

I cut Dru's this morning, just a tiny bit off.

You would have thought she was going to her death. I have never heard so much screeching and screaming.

[LORHEL]

Whitney, yeah the noise is the part I'm worried about... but you're off to a major head start, with puppyhood, by the time she's one, she will look at it and laugh, ;) :p and not be scared a bit...:)

[Ilovemypuppy]

I have a Dremel Mini Mite, rechargeable..it's little and fits in your hand, it's very quiet and I use the 60 grit sanding drum to do the girls' nails. Nail clipping used to be a nightmare...but now, it's a pleasure for all of us. Use a light touch, you'll get used to it in no time and the dogs will thank you for it. No more pain or that awful sudden snap sound. If you get too close to the quick, the heat from the sanding drum will cauterize it...but as I said, I just take a little at a time, but often. :)
Not only can you shorter the nails nicely, but you can also round the edges off and get quite artistic about the whole thing...especially once the dogs get used to it and relax...and they will once they find out it doesn't hurt.:):)

[TrishB]

I'm doing Parkers once a week - the same schedule the breeder had with him. He doesn't fuss at all and it's no big deal. It's SO much easier to teach him good habits now at 3 months than it is to wrestle with him later in life.

Great work Judy! :D

[Judy Chrusch]

Boy do I wish I had done this from day one!! For those who still have a chance, do those darn nails every week and you won't have to wrestle your dog later, honest!!! I mean to tell you, doing Czar's is a pleasure now and before we would dread just the thought. You get all wrapped up in your every day lives and get a bit lazy and say, Oh I'll do them tomorrow, well the tomorrow ends up being next week or the next 2 weeks. If you have a set day and it becomes a routine then that's half the battle but when Czar willingly laid down a couple weeks ago I looked at my husband and he looked at me in disbelief. Treats and doing them often is the key:D.

Lori, I give you credit for using the clippers, Czar freaks BIG time with them that's when we switched to the dremmel. We're even doing my parents boxer now with the dremmel.

Judy

[AngelBunny]

We do nails weekly in our house; it's part of the Saturday go-over. One reason I do nails so frequently has to do with the fact we always have at least one foster in our house. I want fosters to get used to having their nails done and the only way to achieve this is to do them.

Everytime a potential adopter meets my foster, I make a point of taking out the clippers and doing al the dog's nails. I do this to demonstrate to the family the dog will tolerate having its nails done.

I tell you, tho, it's more than a bit frustrating to hear, when I follow-up with the family to see how things are going, that they've slacked off with doing nails because "Fido doesn't like it."

Well, if the dog didn't "like it" at my house, the dog at least tolerated having them done.

It can be a problem when a stubborn determined dog moves into a house where the people aren't more stubborn and determined than their dog.

And since Sat is nail day in my house and it's my way or no way, the unlucky foster who moves into my house on Sat gets his or her nails done, too. Too too bad the dog doesn't like it--my way or no way.

[moondog]

Originally posted by Miabella
I then put a bowl of treats about 6 inches out of her reach.

That's my trick, too! :D Chicken tenders 6 inches from her nose in a clear glass bowl, all the better to see them with :) ! When the Dremel Toolbox comes out, Luna sticks right beside it. If I'm using it for something else, I feel kind of guilty because Luna's got her eye on the Dremel, dreaming of chicken tenders and waiting to have her nails done!

Doing nails more often definitely makes a difference in the tolerance. :)