# Aggression at the vet



## tmala46 (Apr 1, 2018)

My 4 month old does shows her teeth and tries to bite the vet tech 's when they go to clip her nails. It has gotten worse over the last few visits. Bad enough they were only able to do two paws yesterday. So on the way home we stopped and picked up some clippers of our own, to practice at the house. We sat down and I let her stiff and lick then until she looked comfortable with them. When I went to start trimming the nails the vet couldn't she showed me her teeth and snapped at my hand. So I had my wife sit next to us and distract her with treat, and give them when I would get a nail without any agression. After 2 to 3 nails she seemed not to care that I was clipping her nails. I guess I'm on the right track. Any other suggestions out there? The vet it the only place she has shown any type of aggresion. She does well with other people, and with other dogs in the waiting room at the vet. Will really start to socialize her with other dogs now that she has had all of her shots.

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## dogbyte (Apr 5, 2002)

my Gunny was the same way.. The devil dog from **** when he got his first nail trimming, at the vets. I dremel and when I tried to just handle his toes, no dremel, no clippers, he was a **** cat again. I worked this on my own as I am retired and my husband worked a physically hard job. You are on the right path. Shape the behavior with food. And when not trimming her nails, just sitting around doing nothing, try messing with them. I like the dremel because of my hand strength and not getting them to short, especially when the pup yanks back. Bless Gunny actually came up the the grinding thing. I teach putting a paw on my knee when sitting in a chair. Left foot, right foot, fun stuff. So he came up and put his paw on me, and looked where his favorite snacks were. Turned the grinder on sitting on the desk, got his treats, gave him one and touched his foot with the bottom end of the dremel. Then slowly up the anti. He still gets a treat with every toe, and he will be 9 months the 4th. The rear he lays down and gets snacks. But by playing and marking and treating when you mess with her toe/toenails with out trimming it helps them not to associate it with just trimming them. Keep the clipper sharp, or they will pinch rather than cut. And little nips frequently keeps the quick back and gets more reps with the toe handling


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## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

Handle her pads gently as much as possible. A 4 month doesn't bite as hard as a 2 year old


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

Probably the first time the vet techs did it they quicked her. I trained Inga by linking it to a fun command. Foot! Foot! She gives the foot, the one I'm pointing at. Happy party then clip a nail. Repeat, repeat. She lies down for the hind feet. I don't use treats.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Dremeling is more gentle. Clipping does squeeze the quick, even if you don't hit it.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

clip...treat...clip....treat...

That's the way to do it  I took my boy to a groomer specifically to have them trimmed while I was treating him. 

Save your money, do it yourself where you know she's being rewarded for good behavior.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

They don’t like having their feet squeezed. It’s likely that rather than hurting. If you can do it yourself, you should. We pay $20 to have someone else do it. Mine almost never need clippers, though, they wear their nails out running. I don’t want them too short either. Last time my dog had to go to the vet, they clipped her without asking for free. I was not happy about it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

If you have 10 puppies to clip toenails on, that is 180 toenails. You don't have time to clip and treat and clip and treat. Anyhow that draws out a process that should be over with in moments. If a four month old puppy was showing her teeth when I was clipping their nails, there wouldn't be any treat involved. I would tell that pup to knock that crap off, and would clip the **** nails. I would do it quickly and THEN I would say, "See, all done" and that would be the end to it. 

I did four puppies for the first time today. They were six weeks old. A couple struggled for a couple of moments, but I just held them and continued. I am not going to let a baby win on this. It has to be done, and if I don't hurt them, it will be even easier next time, first because it didn't hurt them, and second because I still continued until the job was done. If I do nick a quick, I just move on, pack it with flour if necessary, and keep going. No use making a big deal about it. The next time is STILL easier if I don't make a big deal about it. 

Tips for clipping nails: Make YOURSELF comfortable. If doing the nails up on a grooming table is easiest, do them there. If you can see and are not in an uncomfortable position it is a LOT easier. 
Do it quickly and confidently with little fuss, no apologies, and I ONLY reward at the very end of the job, just with praise.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Griff is one determined pup. I tried for several weeks to ease him into the Dremel, which he enjoyed of course because of the treats and the feel good session. He drew the line at me touching the paws and completely became a canine bronco. So I decided to do just do it and to hold him firmly and even told him NO! He happily ate the treats ( I used these to test his stress levels) so I knew he wasn't scared. It started to get better after the third session. Too bad he had a problem but my patience had run out. He is his happy self afterwards so I will stay the course at weekly dremeling.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I’ve been doing Scarlet’s nails since she was tiny, and she’s always been a beast about it. Finally, at 19 months, I can dremel her nails without a battle. She still hates the nail clippers though. I’ve trained all my dogs to lie on their sides on the couch to have their nails done, it’s easier for me that way. I always hand out treats, to everyone, when I’m through with one dog. Everyone hangs around since they know there’s a party after each dog, lol.


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