# Doesn't Like Having His Front Paws Touched???



## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

I just noticed this recently...

Viktor doesn't like having his front paws touched. He pulls back, tucks them, and will get up and leave. The back ones are fine. I don't see any type of injury. He doesn't seem to be in any pain... 

Any thoughts?


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Were you ever able to touch his front paws or does he all of a sudden not want them touched?


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## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

I have only had him 2.5 months... thinking back, I am going to say he has always been a bit skittished about his paws in that time.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

GSKnight said:


> I have only had him 2.5 months... thinking back, I am going to say he has always been a bit skittished about his paws in that time.


Ok, can you maybe start a "game" with him offering a paw for a treat? When you are able to hold his paw gently rub/pet it to show this is a good experience and of course alot of praise for him offering a paw.


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## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

He's never had a problem "giving paw" for a treat... more like he doesn't want them examined. (if that makes sense?) I really noticed it when I wanted to look at this nails to see if they should be trimmed.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

A lot of dogs don't like their feet handled from what I have seen. From fidgeting to annoyance to mouthing to saying all right, we're going to have a go-around about this. This was always one of the things about the CGC that I was actually concerned with. 

Do the desensitization slowly and you should note a change in a few months. He may never love it, but become more okay with the feet thing. 

I use an empty (but still enjoyable to a dog so there's some in there) peanut butter jar as a good distraction while I work on their feet, as needed.


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## Davey Benson (Nov 10, 2010)

JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> ...
> Do the desensitization slowly and you should note a change in a few months. He may never love it, but become more okay with the feet thing.
> 
> ...


Good advice, I keep my dogs used to me messing around with them by doing it regularly for no reason at all. I work it into my down time, like when I'm watching tv or something, I will just mess around with their feet, toes, pull up their lips, look at their gums, pull up ears and inspect (don't have to pull up GSD ears, LOL) play with their tails, etc. That way when I do have to do something like inspect for an injured pad, they are used to me doing that sort of thing. Nothing is worse than having to wrestle around with a 100+ lb dog.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

I like the idea of a peanut butter jar as a distraction and agree this is not a overnight fix & will take some time.

It really makes things alot easier when they tolerate us touching/inspecting feet. We have on two occasions had to treat injured foot pads. Once on a hiking trail he got a small stick wedged in his foot we were able to put him in a down lay on his side and treat his foot the other he rubbed the skin off of several foot pads...very painful for him but again we were able to treat over several days.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I agree with both of you above - that goofing around with them really helps. Making it a no big deal, enjoyable thing, watching their expressions and body language to make sure they are with you on that. 

And it's interesting to get adult dogs who are not used to people paying attention to them, never mind messing with them! They think you're nuts. 

I have a very "formal" dog who is smaller, Napolean-like and I have to do this with respect for him, except I have found if I say eeeeeeeeeeeee and make my fingers wiggle at him first like a villain, he becomes very playful and then I can check him out while we play getcha. But if I try to do it like an exam, he is deeply offended by my inappropriateness.


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## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everyone. Glad to see it is not anything unusual. 



JeanKBBMMMAAN said:


> A lot of dogs don't like their feet handled from what I have seen. From fidgeting to annoyance to mouthing to saying all right, we're going to have a go-around about this.


WOW... he hasn't shown any aggression over it but I haven't really pushed him on it either... any sign of that will be dealt with swiftly and sternly.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Yeah, I don't think it's unusal at all for him not wanting his feet handled.

I don't like manicures because I find it annoying to have my hands handled by someone else but sometimes have to deal with it I want my nails to look extra pretty


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Karlo hates, hates, hates to have his paws touched. He tucks them or barks, even in a very relaxed state I can't touch his feet. I take him to the groomer for nail trims, the one battle I chose not to have with him. 
I've tried to desensitize him early on, but he is just uber sensitive.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

GSKnight said:


> Thanks for the advice everyone. Glad to see it is not anything unusual.
> 
> WOW... he hasn't shown any aggression over it but I haven't really pushed him on it either... any sign of that will be dealt with swiftly and sternly.


I wouldn't want to push him to that point over his feet - while you are trying to teach him to trust you - that's why slow and easy and fun is the way to go with this. Do that - pushing and correcting - and you get into a cycle that makes things much more difficult when you really need for them to be cooperative. 

I got the black GSD in my avatar at the age of 8 as a foster. She had never had a lot of attention, had a lot of interesting issues. I took her to the vet for a nail trim as I was not having any luck and did not want to get into a peeing match with her about it while we were getting to know each other. 

The first vet restrained her, she bit him, it was not a good scene. Second vet spent as long as she needed, made it no big deal, we talked while he slowly trimmed a toe, then another and over time it became no big deal. Both male vets, two different methods, one clearly worked while the other worked but with stress x 3. 

When she got sick in her last year - she had severe pyodmera, an abscess, and finally GI lymphoma, she was able to be handled all over and was even left out of the kennel at Cornell, for her comfort, laying in the ER on a water mattress, and I credit that second vet and a tech who was the same way with her, for allowing her to be so well taken care of. We did this in a span of 3.5 years of TLC. We do our dogs a lot of favors when we look far down the road with them instead of being focused on the immediate reward for us (quick compliance instead of deep trust). I didn't realize that at the time, but do now and am glad I went with my instinct on it.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

I desensitized Banjo over time by messing with his paws while he had a high value treat (marrow bone, raw hide etc...). I actually stepped up the fiddling to massage, stretching the toes and rolling the tarsals against one another. Now, he will place a paw in my hand and expect a rub at bedtime. If you have ever had a proper foot or hand massage you know how good it feels. I have total access to his fronts, his rear paws have a small ticklish spot between the pads and if I hit that spot his reflexes kick in and his leg will jerk, but he sticks his paw right back in my hand.

He sliced up his front pads some years ago, pretty bad too. There was lots of blood, enough that I was worried about the trip to the e-vet and excessive loss. Being able to do as I needed with his pads was very helpful with my stress levels. Thank goodness for super-glue and self-adhesive gauze (that stuff they wrap around horses ankles). I patched him up and zipped over to the vet. Vet said to keep him off his feet for a few days. Still haven't figured out that bit of advice, I mean really...keep a GSD immobile? How?


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## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

I hate toenail clipping time as much as they do! Buddy acts like he's dying when I touch his toes and Rey chews on me.


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

Amaretto is not a fan of foot touching either. She's okay if I just touch her paws while she's laying there and playing with a toy. HOWEVER, if I grab her hind feet and want to examine them, she does want to pull them back. I just give her treats and a toy and continue on.


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## msshovel (Jul 28, 2012)

My boy had been outside and it was muddy. I told my 9 year old to wipe his feet off with a towel and he bit her hand. Didn't break the skin, but he still bit. I wasn't standing there to deal with that situation as I should have been, but it will NEVER happen again. He's so sweet and good with the kids I never thought he would be so sensitive about his feet. My kids will not be wiping his feet and I will take the advice of playing with his paws on a regular basis so I can clean his feet or clip his toenails with no problem.


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