That pesky nail trimming

[Judi W]

Although I have always said that the dogs object to the restraint more than the actual nail grooming, Dr. Milani has written an article that very much helps to explain the importance of "feet" to a canine. It helps in understanding just why they feel so strongly about their most precious "peds". (don't even for one minute use this as an excuse for ducking out on the nail grooming which I believe is critical for behavior, not just good health), but it is a good to know understanding........

http://www.mmilani.com/foot_sensitive_dogs.html

Enjoy the read.

[moondog]

I always knew playing "This Little Piggy" was the way to go!

Letting us do stuff to a part of them that is so important to their ability to function and therefore "survive" demonstrates yet again the trust they place in us and the nature of the relationship, huh?

[Squeaky2004]

Great article!. Squeak has never given us nor the vet a problem with cutting her nails. We have always played with her feet and massaged them and she absolutely loves that. I think it is very important to touch your dog as much as possible so when the vet does (hopefully) they will not make too much of a fuss about it. Our girl just stands or sits there without complaint. I am quite pleased with that.

[JDUCE]

That was a great article! Thank you for sharing!

[MontanaRott]

That was a great and informative read, and of course I ended up ready many articles off the site. What a ton of info! I found the foot licking article interesting in particular, we have to beat(not literally) our FB, off of my husbands feet. I always thought it was a bit of OCD.
As for the nail clipping(dremmeling), Guerin is fine sometimes and others it is a battle! But the job is always done.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Thank you so much for posting that, Judi. It was an informative, good read.


Brooke

[RottieGirl86]

Great article!

Athena has been with me since 8 weeks, so she is not touch sensitive because she's always known me to touch her paws and manipulate them.

Max (rescue) , on the other hand ( or paw...hehhee) was not properly socialized and once the honeymoon period was over, freaks out when I tried to clip his nail. Thankfully, my vet - whom I have only gone to for the past year after moving, is very knowledgable & worked with him. For the time being, until he gets de-sensitized, he will have to be sedated until his anxiety lessens. The poor dog really freaks out, he did nto settle down until they were on the third paw.

It's horrible to see a 85 lb rottie that upset about something that should be minor. Hopefully, in the next year it will be 'minor' issue for him. His next nail trim is in a few weeks. Vet is going to have me sedate him before we head over.

Also, I'm going to take him on vet visits too, so he won't always asssociate the vet with the dreaded drimmel.

This article really helped me understand why he's hesistant about giving paw. Athena immedaitely sits and immediately gives paw for her morning cruncher. Max has to think about it sometimes.

[Judi W]

I hope this helps understanding. Doing nails requires two things. Trust on the part of the dog, and leadership on the part of the owner. Few dogs are going to welcome nail grooming unless they are told they have to. That is the beginning. Once they understand that it is not optional and then recognize that they do not die or lose their precious feet, they accept better. I do believe it is a leadership responsibility to do them on a regular basis.

If we are to credit Milani's article, perhaps it is not the best thing to encourage an adult dog that you did not raise to "give paw".