8 Week Puppy Nail Trimming

[pjackson]

Hello All,

I have an 8 week old female rottie puppy, and I have had her for a week this past Friday. She's very calm, and affectionate. She lets me touch her feet, spread her toes apart, look in her mouth, ears, and rub her all over. Well last night I wanted to trim her nail, and although I was careful she let out a loud yelp, so I stopped with the nail not being cut. So I rubbed her foot, and attempted the same things with another, and she sntched her foot away before I could cut. I am trying to be careful, and I am a little scared because I don't want to hurt her. Is there an easy way to trim her nails? I bought her qa set, which also included a metal nail file. Can you just file the nail down instead of clipping them. I know this would take longer, but I don't know what to do.

[Judi W]

What a clever little girl. She yelps (before you've even made the cut) and you stop.

Turn her on her back so you can see what you need to remove and just do it. You can rub her tummy inbetween if you wish, but stopping simply teaches her to complain. I hate to suggest such a thing, but even if you should somehow clip a bit short, she will not die of it. However, if you have her on her back so you are looking at the bottom of the nail, you should have no problems. Use a people toenail clipper at this age.

[pjackson]

Hi Judy,

I will do as you suggested. But you also said to use people clippers, is that better than doggie trimmers, and if so why?

[poohbearsmom]

What a clever little girl. She yelps (before you've even made the cut) and you stop.

Clever is a wonderful word....lol

Right now, her nails are still smallish, and not that hard, it'll be easier to go in and clip them with the human toenail clippers for the next week or two, then you can progress to the doggie kind.

Nail trimming is a wonderful thing... it not only keeps the dogs well manicured, it teaches them that you have the right to do what you want to them, as they survive the ordeal each and everytime. Treats are handy to have on hand when teaching a pup to behave during these sessions. Attila had a hard time screaming with his mouth full of chicken.


Regards,

Elisabeth

[Judi W]

Adult trimmers are much to big for a little pup's nails and make it hard to see what you are doing as well as too easy to miss and go too deep