# unable to clip my dog's nails



## Ben_From_Texas

I can't seem to get my dog to let me clip her nails and its becoming extremely frustrating. I had to take a step back because I was actually getting mad at the dog for not cooperating with it. She will not allow me to touch her paws without nipping at me. She's not biting hard or anything, but it makes it impossible to trim those crazy nails.

I've done everything I can think of. I slowly introduced the dremel, tried to associate it with treats etc. She doesn't seem to mind the dremel and the noise doesn't bother her, but once I start grabbing her paw and using it then she freaks out on me by nipping at my hands or pulling her arm away. I'm really not sure what to do. The next idea is for me to buy clippers and just forceably cut the nails. I would rather cut her in the quick a few times than her continue cutting my arms up with those long nails of hers.


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## PaddyD

You have to start over by handling her feet often and giving treats. Give her a treat while holding a paw. Do this often. Then in a few days, try one nail only, with treat. Next day, next nail and so on. My dog doesn't like it so I do one nail every day, just have to keep track of what you did yesterday.... like left to right, top to bottom.
Eventually each nail will be done every 18 days.


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## Ben_From_Texas

What should I do if I handle her feet and she bites my hand playfully? That's the real issue is that my dog always thinks its time to wrestle around, play and bite things.


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## Castlemaid

Try getting her to hold her favorite ball or toy in her mouth while you are doing nails. Can't bite at you and hold the ball at the same time. Praise her calmly for holding the ball/toy while you handle her feet. Start with very short periods and work your way up.


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## msvette2u

One of my Dachshunds has to be muzzled...but he started out not only needing the muzzle but twisting and fighting so hard (including scratching and muzzle punching with the muzzle on) I was afraid he'd injure his back again - he came to us paralyzed from his waist back!

I started by showing him the clippers and giving him a treat. Always quick with GOOD treats, too, not dry biscuits or something. I got to where I could touch his toe with the clippers finally, lots of treats and most importantly, a helper to hold him still and keep him calm during the process.

He's still got to be muzzled now but he stays still, and when he's done I give him a dehydrated rabbit paw. He loves them and they are good for him but tend to give the dogs diarrhea anyway so I prefer to use it as the "ultimate reward" for staying still and not fighting the clippers. 

In his case he was terrified beyond reason by clippers. So we've made progress. I don't know when or if I'll ever be able to do it without a muzzle though.


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## kiya

I really had a hard time with Lakota, she's much better now. I would put her leash on, give her a chewy, sit there touching her nails with my fingers then the clipper. You need to have a lot of patience and you don't have to do all the nails in one sitting. I don't allow my dogs to mouth my skin so I don't know what to say about that. How old is she?


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## Cassidy's Mom

Did you follow the desensitization instructions on this link before you started? How to Dremel Dog Nails @ DoberDawn.com

It was impossible for us to clip Cassidy's nails too, my husband had to basically lay on her to hold her down, and she'd still yank her paw away the second I touched it so we ended up taking her to the vet to have it done. 

We went from that extreme to me being able to dremel her nails BY MYSELF in a week. I'd put her in a down, have her roll on her side, and I could dremel all four paws in one sitting. The first time I went to touch the dremel to a nail, thinking I'd only be able to do one or two at first, she was absolutely fine so I just kept going. Later on, she would decide she was done before I was actually through so I had my husband feed her treats while I was doing her nails, just to keep her from getting up and walking away. But I never needed any assistance restraining her. 

I started VERY slowly, just touching a paw and giving a treat, working up to being able to hold her paw in my hand while treating, wiggling the toes, pinching and pulling on a nail, etc, with the dremel laying on the ground nearby. Then I'd do all that again with the dremel turned on so she could get used to the noise. I'd talk happy to her, sing her silly songs, anything to keep her calm and relaxed. 

The biggest thing was to get her okay with having her paws handled after the trauma that nail trims were prior to that. Once I passed that hurdle it went much faster. And the funny thing is that when I bought the dremel and showed it to my husband he said "there's no way she's going to let you near her with that thing". Ha!


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## Freestep

You might want to take your dog to a professional groomer to have her nails clipped. Dogs tend to calm down when they realize that the person trimming their nails knows what they are doing; if you are at all insecure or frustrated, they can sense it, and won't let you NEAR their paws! Once she learns to accept having her nails done by a professional, it should be easier for you to do at home.


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## BlackPuppy

My Malinois had to be muzzled for months for me to clip her nails.


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## drosado

Thank you Cassidy's Mom for the link. My dogs are great about letting me dremel their nails, but the article gave some great advice on how short to go and how often to do their nails. I think they are so good because I made it a point to handle their paws often from the day they came home.


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## paulag1955

When I clip Shasta's nails, I keep a bag of treats next to me. I clip one nail...she gets one treat. I clip another nail...she gets another treat. When I first started, I only did one or two nails at a time, then she was allowed to get up.

Or this might be helpful.


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## Caledon

What I did was to get the help of another family member. 

At first(when dog was a puppy) my daughter would coat her hand in peanut butter and allow Dakota to to like it off while I dremeled her nails, then we moved to coating a rawhide bone with peanut butter, then we moved to treating. But she still would not let me touch her paws with the dremil on my own. Without the dremel I can handle her paws. 

I've just continued this way because I had the help, but I did try it on my own last week, and I had success. I used the dremel, treated, used the drimel.


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## LukasGSD

This may not be the most effective, safest or recomended method. But since I can not desensitize Lukas to the nail clippers. Even if I touch them now, he tries to hide them from me. If I'm persistant he gets growly and snippy and ends up refusing treats.


Usually it takes two people, but depending on how cooperative he is that day I might be able to just myself. So....

I put a muzzle on him.
I make him lay down. (He knows "Bang" so it's easy.)
I get down facing his back, straddle my leg/thigh over his neck this way he can not turn to bite. 
The other one over his waist.
Hold his paws so he can't move them.
Let the other person clip them.

I know my dog well enough to do this though....he trusts me enough to practically sit on him...


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## onyx'girl

Freestep said:


> You might want to take your dog to a professional groomer to have her nails clipped. Dogs tend to calm down when they realize that the person trimming their nails knows what they are doing; if you are at all insecure or frustrated, they can sense it, and won't let you NEAR their paws! Once she learns to accept having her nails done by a professional, it should be easier for you to do at home.


I have two dogs that I can trim with no issues.
My other dog just hates to have his feet touched, even when calmly relaxing he absolutely hates it, always has as a baby pup, too. 
So I take him to the groomer for a quick dremeling once a month. It isn't worth me battling him because I know it is something that he'll never get over. He submits(muzzled) to them at the groomer, they do it quick and it is over. She takes the muzzle off when done and he is basically giving her kisses on the way out to the front of the shop...he just hates his feet touched and fights it bigtime, but recovers immediately.


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## doggiedad

we had a Grey Hound that wouldn't let
us near her feet. we took her to the groomer.
the groomer could do whatever she wanted
with the dogs feet. the groomer didn't use a mozzle
or leash. the dog would sit or lay down
for the groomer with no problems.


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## Tammy GSD

I have played with Sheva's paws since we got her, thinking it would get her used to it. Never bothered her as a young puppy but the older she gets, the more she HATES to have her paws touched at all. IMHO, she is extremely ticklish? Anyway, I do the one-per-day thing and do it while she is asleep.


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## Freestep

doggiedad said:


> we had a Grey Hound that wouldn't let
> us near her feet. we took her to the groomer.
> the groomer could do whatever she wanted
> with the dogs feet. the groomer didn't use a mozzle
> or leash. the dog would sit or lay down
> for the groomer with no problems.


Yep--I see it time and time again. The owner absolutely cannot trim the dog's nails at home, yet I get the dog on my table and have no problem. Sometimes there is an initial struggle, sometimes not--but in the end the nails get done.

The other day I saw a 9 month old Aussie pup whose owners could not even touch his feet--they had his nails done at the vet and it took three people to do it. 

I put this pup, all friendly and wiggles, on my table, petted and fussed over him, and then picked up a back foot. He whined a bit and tried to pull his foot back, but I didn't let go. He struggled briefly, then settled as he realized there was nowhere to go (which is why a table helps). Then I did all four feet with nary a whimper. I had the owner wait where the pup couldn't see her.

The owners still can't touch his feet, but the dog doesn't even blink when I do it. Jumps up on the table, gives me kisses, we do all four feet in seconds flat. 

The worst breeds for toenail trims are short-legged breeds (doxies, corgis, Basset Hounds, etc) and anything from China or Japan... Pug, Shiba Inu, Shar Pei. I rarely have a problem with GSDs.


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## Liesje

I don't dremel, just clip, but I find my dogs don't mind at all if I just walk up and do it quick while they are standing or sitting. If I make a big production out of it, try to lay them down and hold them down, they get antsy or struggle. Since they live mostly on soft surfaces (grass, carpet, rugs) I have to trim nails regularly or they get too long. The dogs I've had since puppies always hated it and screamed when they were babies but I just went ahead and did it. I'll be honest I didn't give treats or do any desensitization, I just went ahead and did it so they learned early on that it's not going to kill them and just has to be done. Now I just walked up to a dog, grab a paw, and do that foot, and rotate around the yard until I've got everyone and all their toes. I did the same with my friend's adult GSD that had never had a nail trim in his life. She was worried about how he would react but as we were talking I just reached down and trimmed all his front nails and he didn't even seem to notice.

If your dog ever has an issue with a foot you will be so glad that you can handle their feet! Nikon had a very bad infection in the bed of a nail so I had to constantly wash, medicate, and wrap his foot as well as clean the nail area and continuously trim the nail and dead tissue back. It was a two month ordeal. Can't imagine what we would have done if he had problems with me working on his feet....


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## e.rigby

I use a wooden spoon covered in peanut butter; it helps if you have someone to hold this for you. As you present the spoon and the dog starts licking, pick up a foot and (in my case) I start grinding the nail (but instead of grinding, you would clip). When the peanut butter is all gone I turn the dremmel off and reload on the treat! The more your dog wants whatever you have, the easier it will be to counter condition them to the whole process! I could also just get someone to hold Virgil still while I grind his nails, but doing it this way helps him realize what I'm doing to him isn't really all that bad!


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## Germanshepherdlova

I gave up trimming my dogs nails a while ago. He hates it and it is much easier for me to just let them do it when I take him to the self-serve dog wash. They have me put a muzzle on him (he goes crazy with each and every clip of his nails) and I help hold him and let the experts clip, clip, clip-they do it so quickly. My stress has been greatly reduced since I decided to let them do it. They charge $10 to clean his ears and clip his nails, not a bad exchange for not going through the hassle.


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## dogless

I buy the huge raw knucklebones, and keep one in the freezer just for nail clipping. I give her the bone while I dremmel her nails, then when I am done I let her chew it for a few more minutes as a reward, and then I trade the bone for a piece of chicken jerky (made in America only) and put the bone back in the freezer. 

She knows when I pull the bag with the bone out of the freezer that it is time to trim nails but she is ok with it, and it keeps her mouth busy so she can't nip.


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## gsdsar

One trick I have found works is smearing cheeseWhiz or peanut butter nose level on the Fridge- the dog is soooo wrapped up in licking it off they forget you are touching the feet.

I am not sure how bitey your dog is actually getting, but it does not sound like it is aggressive yet, just playful. If that the case then DONT let go and let her win. You may not have to cut the nail, but hold that dang foot until she stops. If you let her win now it will cause horrible issues down the line.

My Lena will do the "pull away" and shift weight and hide paws game, and occasional "mouth the hand" when I first start. I just grab a foot and sit their holding it, I ignore her, watch TV or something and wait for her to chill the heck out, then sometimes I will clip her nails and sometimes I wont. She has never gotten agressive about it, she is just a very pushy girl and want to get away with anything I let her. So I dont let her.

However, if your dog is actually being aggressive, let a professional do it. the last thing your dog should learn is that putting their teeth on someone gets her out of things. Bad lesson, very bad lesson.


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## Good_Karma

Nail trimming is a two person job, IMHO... One to hold the dog, another to trim. If you have the patience and time, the links provided above will definitely help. For my dogs, I am the one doing the holding down while my husband dremels. Neither dog likes it, but they tolerate it and don't struggle. They get a high value treat once they are done. Today they each got a raw chicken liver after the nail trimming was done. It has taken months, but now I don't even really have to hold them down anymore, just one hand on the collar and one hand on the hip.


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## Waffle Iron

Giving her treats, like some kibble, is gradually working for me too. My girl is not a happy camper getting her nails done, but she is improving.


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## Falkosmom

Tybor will let me do anything to him I want except clip those claws. I can handle his feet, manipulate them as if I were cutting his claws, he does not care. Once he sees the clippers, it is all over. Now I just take him to the vets, less than five minutes, and six bucks later, it is done.

I used to have to do Falko professionally as well, then I found the trick with him was just to get him when he came back from a really good time at the dog park. He was too tired to fight it. Now he does not care.


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## Candace hall

My dog had his nails trimmed with no problem for 5 years...now even with a muzzle he will try to bite me. The Vet wants to sedate him every month but I think that is very harmful to the dog. Suggestions please. I realize somewhere along the line someone has quicked him and he is not happy but this is the first time he has even tried to bite me muzzle and all..


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## Kyleigh

WOW, it's crazy how many people's dogs don't like their nails done!!!

I have ZERO problems with Kyleigh ... I use clippers, and just call her to me, put her in a sit, we do each front paw, then she lays down and I do the back paws. No treats, nothing! Just a pat on the head, and off we go to do whatever. 

I'm amazed at the creativity that people have tapped into to get the job done!!


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## Galathiel

I can do my dog's nails by myself (and I do sometimes if it's just a quick shaping of the tip), but if it's been at least a couple of weeks I have my husband dremel while I man the front end. I don't have the right touch to do them quickly and he can do all four paws in under 5 minutes while I'm pecking away at the first few. I just call him over, have him lie down and then feed him bits of treats while his paws are done. When it's over, I hand my husband a treat to give him and we're finished.


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## Zeeva

I haven't read the responses...

But

I taught Zeeva to be tolerant of the clippers by putting a prong on her and correcting her for pulling her paw back. I couldn't have anyone help me. Completely unorthodox and most likely frowned upon. But I don't have to put a prong on her any more. She gets the command 'clip clip', and although she still sometimes hesitates, she lies down on her side, I clip and then she gets 'party time' with several treats...


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## WNGD

10 year old thread but still relevant


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## James Uba Sa

Hope this info will be helpful, especially on Covid-19 times and all groomers being closed.


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## Sabis mom

And I still say most dogs that are properly exercised don't need nails trimmed.


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## Cassidy's Mom

Sabis mom said:


> And I still say most dogs that are properly exercised don't need nails trimmed.


That has never been true for any of my dogs, and I don't know of anyone else who never needs to trim or dremel nails either. Some dogs may have just the right foot conformation to wear down their nails with exercise alone I suppose, but I don't think it's a common thing.

One of my flyball teammates has recently taken up bikejouring, she runs her dogs as much as 6 miles at a time, several times a week. But with distances like that, she's running them on trails, not concrete, which doesn't do anything to wear down the nails.


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## Sabis mom

Cassidy's Mom said:


> That has never been true for any of my dogs, and I don't know of anyone else who never needs to trim or dremel nails either. Some dogs may have just the right foot conformation to wear down their nails with exercise alone I suppose, but I don't think it's a common thing.
> 
> One of my flyball teammates has recently taken up bikejouring, she runs her dogs as much as 6 miles at a time, several times a week. But with distances like that, she's running them on trails, not concrete, which doesn't do anything to wear down the nails.


Shadow just had her first nail trim ever at 11 years old, none of the patrol dogs ever needed nail trims and of all my fosters and various dogs I have never had to do more then the initial trim when they moved in. I don't even own nail clippers anymore.
That said, I also don't keep nails as short as most people seem to. Dogs need their nails.


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## WNGD

I have had dogs that didn't get their nails trimmed for years at a time, none more than once a year with their Spring shots at the vets. The current dogs seem to get something done in that department weekly or so since my daughter somehow loves doing it. And my dogs can easily go months without seeing concrete or asphalt. They just see forest and dirt trails, jumping up on boulders is part of our morning OCD rituals but that wouldn't do much 

What's the absolute most they would need it, twice a year? monthly?


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## seankeg

Ben_From_Texas said:


> I can't seem to get my dog to let me clip her nails and its becoming extremely frustrating. I had to take a step back because I was actually getting mad at the dog for not cooperating with it. She will not allow me to touch her paws without nipping at me. She's not biting hard or anything, but it makes it impossible to trim those crazy nails.
> 
> I've done everything I can think of. I slowly introduced the dremel, tried to associate it with treats etc. She doesn't seem to mind the dremel and the noise doesn't bother her, but once I start grabbing her paw and using it then she freaks out on me by nipping at my hands or pulling her arm away. I'm really not sure what to do. The next idea is for me to buy clippers and just forceably cut the nails. I would rather cut her in the quick a few times than her continue cutting my arms up with those long nails of hers.


I was in a very similar situation with my little boy "thoven", he'd get impatience at first, then uncooperative and the last phase was to get a little bit aggressive... he wouldn't bite me but yes, he would nip at me. In my case it was that he apparently had some PTSD situation coming from his first owner (rescued dog) so I needed to address that first.

I went all over the internet and tried many things and the one that really helped me was this Dog Nail Trimming Tutorial for "aggresive" dogs, and I say "aggresive" because I don't see them as aggresive I see them as beings that were hurt in the past somehow and need attention. And yes, the important thing above all is to keep your calm while doing this, something very valuable I learned from this is that your dog feeds off your vibe/energy... if you are getting impatience/frustrated your dog will perceive it and reacts to it. Just breath and keep in constantly why you love so much your little one and everything will be easier.

Hope it helps

-Sean


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## drparker151

I also keep my dogs nails a bit longer than most, as long as I don't hear nails clicking on the tile floor we are good. She does go a groomer twice a year after her heats and gets a dremel then but that is it.


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