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Okay our Sasha used to be very tolerant of these kinds of things. And for the most part she is tolerant of everything. But suddenly she has decided she doesn't like getting her nails trimmed. We trim our poodles ourself and we have been trimming hers.
Well now its taking the 2 of us to hold her still and another person to attempt to cut them. Yesterday she got so upset she was ready to bite. this dog doesn't have an agressive bone in her body. And she has never tried to bite before in her life. Needless to say she didn't get her nails trimmed.
I'm thinking we are going to have to throw in the towel and have the vets office start trimming them. This little girl has strength on her side when she doesn't want something done.
Now we stopped because we didn't want her to be afraid to have her nails trimmed and we didn't want to push her because she was getting really upset.
Do you think taking her to the vets office to get them trimmed would be best?
And also any tips for showing her that its okay and to be calm.
She never had this issue until we tried to trim them the other day and she wasn't having any of it. We've been trying for 2 weeks.
I don't know why she is so scared of it now. She has never been hurt getting her nails trimmed. She used to just sit there like a bump on a log when they were trimmed.
We thought about getting one of those trimmers on tv..I can't remember what they are called but they gently file the nails but now it would probably be a waste of money because now she doesn't want us anywhere near her paws
Lately the only way we can manage to trim our min pin's nails is to have him lay down, have one person stradle him and lean over so he can't get up while trimming his nails, and the other person feeding him treats the entire time. I know... it's pathetic that it takes two people to trim a min pin's nails!!
Lately the only way we can manage to trim our min pin's nails is to have him lay down, have one person stradle him and lean over so he can't get up while trimming his nails, and the other person feeding him treats the entire time. I know... it's pathetic that it takes two people to trim a min pin's nails!!
We can't even hold her down. She figits and pulls her paws away. She was ready to bite and she has never bitten anyone. We don't want to try if she keeps jerking away because we don't want to hurt her but we also don't want to have to take her to the vet to get them done all the time
Back in training we were taught to touch her paws and her face her ears tail whatever and we have been doing that and from the time she was a little pup she never minded us clipping her nails but now she won't have it. I don't understand why the sudden change
The problem is you started to trim her nails and when she became difficult you quit without doing one nail. So now she knows how to stop you. You might try doing just one or two at a time and then give her a reward, you must a least get one done. Wait a few days and do one or two more.
Possibly someone unknowlingly got to close to the quick and cut it, this would freak her out because of the pain. Since it is now taking 3 of you to do the job I would go to the vets and let them do the trimming, at least for the next couple of trims. Be sure to have them muzzle her just in case she decides to bite.
The problem is you started to trim her nails and when she became difficult you quit without doing one nail. So now she knows how to stop you. You might try doing just one or two at a time and then give her a reward, you must a least get one done. Wait a few days and do one or two more.
Possibly someone unknowlingly got to close to the quick and cut it, this would freak her out because of the pain. Since it is now taking 3 of you to do the job I would go to the vets and let them do the trimming, at least for the next couple of trims. Be sure to have them muzzle her just in case she decides to bite.
Isn't muzzling cruel. And no we are the only ones who have ever trimmed her nails and she has never had a reaction like this before. I will take her to the vet to do it but I don't see why she decided to act up now. We probably won't do it again ourselves because I don't want to hurt her and if she keeps jerking her paws away I know that I will slip and cut the nail wrong. I don't trust myself doing it anymore
and the point is we weren't able to hold her down
I don't want my dog muzzled though. Muzzling causes agression. And if she is already afraid for some reason I don't want to worsen it by using a muzzle. There has to be other ways
I don't want my dog muzzled though. Muzzling causes agression. And if she is already afraid for some reason I don't want to worsen it by using a muzzle. There has to be other ways
Why not? Having your dog muzzled is not cruel, but your dog is being aggressive with trimming nails. If she isn't muzzled, someone is going to get hurt. She is learning that growling and snapping at you and other people will get her what she wants. Later on, she might use that to get what she wants with other things than nails.
Why not? Having your dog muzzled is not cruel, but your dog is being aggressive with trimming nails. If she isn't muzzled, someone is going to get hurt. She is learning that growling and snapping at you and other people will get her what she wants. Later on, she might use that to get what she wants with other things than nails.
She isn't snapping she is just showing her teeth and honestly this is the only thing. Those nail clippers come out and she freaks out. For some reason she is afraid of them. She has never growled or bite or anything like that. That is why we went to class to prevent such things.
I feel muzzling just makes the situation worse. I don't have an agressive dog
If they have to muzzle her whatever but I don't approve of muzzling. Heck I'd rather do it myself and get bit which I don't think she will do
Forget I ever asked
I don't like people assuming my dog is agressive or will be agressive
Last edited by Abbymarie; 09-15-2008 at 03:12 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
IMO muzzling for nail trims is not cruel. It is for the safety of the person doing the trimming. I don't know if you have even been bitten by a dog, but if you're bitten it can become infected and quite painful. The muzzle I use is soft and all it does it keep the dog from opening it's mouth to bite. I have never heard of it causing aggression in a dog and it has not done that to my dog. I use a muzzle on one of my Doxies when her nails are trimmed. She is not a biter, but if she doesn't like something being done I can't trust her not to bite. Again it is just for safety reasons.
Instead of using a muzzle you could give a light tranquilizer, just to relax her a bit. For that you would have to ask your vet.
If you want, I would go with my other suggestion of trimming one nail a week or every few days just to get her back on track again. Evidently something has really scared her and you are going to have to work hard to get her to trust you again.
IMO muzzling for nail trims is not cruel. It is for the safety of the person doing the trimming. I don't know if you have even been bitten by a dog, but if you're bitten it can become infected and quite painful. The muzzle I use is soft and all it does it keep the dog from opening it's mouth to bite. I have never heard of it causing aggression in a dog and it has not done that to my dog. I use a muzzle on one of my Doxies when her nails are trimmed. She is not a biter, but if she doesn't like something being done I can't trust her not to bite. Again it is just for safety reasons.
Instead of using a muzzle you could give a light tranquilizer, just to relax her a bit. For that you would have to ask your vet.
If you want, I would go with my other suggestion of trimming one nail a week or every few days just to get her back on track again. Evidently something has really scared her and you are going to have to work hard to get her to trust you again.
Yes I have been bitten by a dog, but like I said I don't think she would bite. She just likes to break away because she is so strong we worked on this for over and hour and then she got agitated so we gave up
I did not say your dog is aggressive or a biter. Dogs can lash out by biting or nipping when they feel they are going to be hurt, it's just kind of a natural reaction, even from very loving dogs. All I am saying is you can use a muzzle so nothing will happen to hurt the person doing the trimming.
I did not say your dog is aggressive or a biter. Dogs can lash out by biting or nipping when they feel they are going to be hurt, it's just kind of a natural reaction, even from very loving dogs. All I am saying is you can use a muzzle so nothing will happen to hurt the person doing the trimming.
We worked on her for over and hour and then she looked like she might bite....my gosh but you are assuming that she will. My gosh if someone was trying to hold you down for over and hour you might look like your going to lash out too
I'd be curious to know how old your dog is. Some dogs go from being fine having their feet handled as puppies to absolutely adamant about not having their feet or legs touched as they approach a year or so old. I've had plenty of puppies in my salon make the change from calm to crazy over a period of months to a year, having no previous "bad experience" with nail trimmings.
That said, persistence and positive reinforcement training is really key. Conditioning the dog to associate a positive experience with nail trims will help. It's not going to happen overnight, but with consistent reinforcement it'll happen. Some dogs just downright will not tolerate having their feet touched. Depending on their personalities, they'll pull, whine, cry, show teeth, and maybe even bite. As a groomer, it's my job to groom the dog safely and effectively, and muzzles and e-collars are a life saver, both for my extremities and the dog's nerves.
It would be inaccurate to group muzzles as aggression triggers. In fact, I have seen several dogs who become much calmer once a muzzle is put on. And when I say muzzle, I typically mean a soft, mesh nylon fixture that goes over the snout. The dog can breathe normally. And I don't leave the muzzle on for any longer than 20 minutes.
Bottom line, I'm just saying that you may have to re-train you dog to associate a different emotion with the nail clippers.
muzzling is not cruel, and it does not cause aggression. I have to muzzle my min pin when he gets taken to the back at the vet for procedures because he's a fear biter. I even used to walk him with a muzzle when he was a pup because he would try and attack other dogs that approached him. Muzzling him simply takes away his "weapon" and makes it safer for everyone to work with the dog.
If you're not able to do it then yes, take him to the vet to get it done. It could have been something as simple as you hit a nerve ending without quicking him one time or he simply doesn't like how his nails feel after being clipped. my min pin used to be so good at doing his nails that I simply had to hold them with one hand while he sat in front of me to do them, then he started getting worse too for no reason. the funny thing is, he was only quicked once, by my SO by accident, yet he's better for him than he is for me for nail clipping. but the vets are pretty adept at doing the nails properly and quickly so as much as you think it's traumatizing for him they get it done quick and painlessly.
if you do take him to the vet for nail clipping, make sure you take him twice as often to just sit in the waiting room and be fed treats so he doesn't think it's all bad.
I'd be curious to know how old your dog is. Some dogs go from being fine having their feet handled as puppies to absolutely adamant about not having their feet or legs touched as they approach a year or so old. I've had plenty of puppies in my salon make the change from calm to crazy over a period of months to a year, having no previous "bad experience" with nail trimmings.
That said, persistence and positive reinforcement training is really key. Conditioning the dog to associate a positive experience with nail trims will help. It's not going to happen overnight, but with consistent reinforcement it'll happen. Some dogs just downright will not tolerate having their feet touched. Depending on their personalities, they'll pull, whine, cry, show teeth, and maybe even bite. As a groomer, it's my job to groom the dog safely and effectively, and muzzles and e-collars are a life saver, both for my extremities and the dog's nerves.
It would be inaccurate to group muzzles as aggression triggers. In fact, I have seen several dogs who become much calmer once a muzzle is put on. And when I say muzzle, I typically mean a soft, mesh nylon fixture that goes over the snout. The dog can breathe normally. And I don't leave the muzzle on for any longer than 20 minutes.
Bottom line, I'm just saying that you may have to re-train you dog to associate a different emotion with the nail clippers.
She is 8 months old and we are doing everything the trainer told us to do. and the trainer was big on positive reinforcement. Though I can't get away from saying No. That is my favorite word
I know the OP has asked everyone to forget she ever asked, but I do think this thread is helpful for other people, as MANY people go thru the same things. So I am going to add my 2 cents. I completely agree with Patt...the problem got 100xs worse as soon as you tried to trim the nails, she didn't like it, and you stopped. She has continued over the last 2 weeks (I think you said you have been trying for 2 weeks,) and she is just learning to fight more, and now is to the point of showing her teeth...but not biting...Well, that is the next step. I'm sorry, you may not think your dog will bite, but I groom dogs every day, and the owners say, "oh, Fluffy would never bite...." Well, that is NOT always the case..Dogs get scared, dogs learn behavior, and, cornered (as she is when you are holding her down for a nail trim) even a sweet dog can be pushed to fight. What do you think they are going to do at the vets? Do you think that she is going to be perfect for them? If not, they are going to do the same thing you did...they are going to hold her down..and they will add as many people to the mix (and they WILL muzzle her) until they CAN hold her down, and she is going to be even more traumatized, and even worse next time for her nails. You need to retrain her as stated above. If you can't do it yourself, then you need to have someone train her for you, or she will never get better for this and it will be a stressful even for her every time for the rest of her life. The person doing the trimming needs to be CONFIDANT in what they are doing. Dogs can sense very well if someone is not sure/nervous, etc. and that makes them scared. Nail trimming is not a big deal, does not have to hurt, or be stressful for anyone involved. Sometimes dogs go backwards in "training". Since the OP doesn't want any more advice, hopefully this thread will help someone else who may be having the same issues.
I know the OP has asked everyone to forget she ever asked, but I do think this thread is helpful for other people, as MANY people go thru the same things. So I am going to add my 2 cents. I completely agree with Patt...the problem got 100xs worse as soon as you tried to trim the nails, she didn't like it, and you stopped. She has continued over the last 2 weeks (I think you said you have been trying for 2 weeks,) and she is just learning to fight more, and now is to the point of showing her teeth...but not biting...Well, that is the next step. I'm sorry, you may not think your dog will bite, but I groom dogs every day, and the owners say, "oh, Fluffy would never bite...." Well, that is NOT always the case..Dogs get scared, dogs learn behavior, and, cornered (as she is when you are holding her down for a nail trim) even a sweet dog can be pushed to fight. What do you think they are going to do at the vets? Do you think that she is going to be perfect for them? If not, they are going to do the same thing you did...they are going to hold her down..and they will add as many people to the mix (and they WILL muzzle her) until they CAN hold her down, and she is going to be even more traumatized, and even worse next time for her nails. You need to retrain her as stated above. If you can't do it yourself, then you need to have someone train her for you, or she will never get better for this and it will be a stressful even for her every time for the rest of her life. The person doing the trimming needs to be CONFIDANT in what they are doing. Dogs can sense very well if someone is not sure/nervous, etc. and that makes them scared. Nail trimming is not a big deal, does not have to hurt, or be stressful for anyone involved. Sometimes dogs go backwards in "training". Since the OP doesn't want any more advice, hopefully this thread will help someone else who may be having the same issues.
I figure they will just sedate her or something. I'm sorry but training is an everyday thing for their whole lives. I'm sorry you think my dog is a monster and agressive. I'm sorry I ever asked and came here.
It not like you have the whole story...you have what I told you. so there for you do not know that my girl is lazy, sweet, and has never even hurt a fly. She hasn't she catches them in her mouth and then lets them go. You don't have the whole story and you don't know my dog. Please don't make horrible assumptions
I have never trimmed dog nails before since all my dogs were dogs that went to the groomers, she is the first that isn't a dog that goes to the groomers. These are our first dogs on our own and we are doing a d*** fine job with them. Don't insinuate that she is agressive because she isn't
Sorry if you feel attacked (i don't know why honestly) but everyone gave good advice.
Critter WILL bite you if you grab her and try to clip her nails. She flails like you would not believe. Its impossible to hold her down because she is so small and there is no where to grab.
What is working for me.... I quit restraining her, and when she laying down I aproach and treat. Clip a nail and treat. Clip a nail and Treat. I don't do it all on one session if she starts to wise up.
I have never trimmed dog nails before since all my dogs were dogs that went to the groomers, she is the first that isn't a dog that goes to the groomers. These are our first dogs on our own and we are doing a d*** fine job with them. Don't insinuate that she is agressive because she isn't
I am not insinuating that she is aggressive. You said she was "ready to bite" then changed it to "showing her teeth. " I'm sorry that you aren't hearing what you wanted to hear? I don't know what you wanted to hear though? There is no magic wand that can be waved to change a dog's behavior in that instant. I do not think your dog is a "monster" as you stated, or anything of the sort. I just stated my opinion on how to get her back to her quiet, calm, self when it comes to nail trims. I just don't think taking her to the vets is going to help AT ALL. I have retrained I don't even know how many dogs that had been getting nails done at the vets..They WILL lay on them with however many people it takes, and forcibly trim the nails. Chances are they will bleed some, and the dog will be more traumatized. If you think sedating her is going to make it better, then yes, if they use general anesthesia..Do you want her to be put under every month for a nail trim? Ace or some other "take the edge off" tranq is not going to make a bit of difference. These drugs have no effect when adrenaline gets pumping.
If all of your other dogs went to the groomer, I would suggest you take her to a groomer for nail trims and then you won't have to deal with it. Best of luck.
I am not insinuating that she is aggressive. You said she was "ready to bite" then changed it to "showing her teeth. " I'm sorry that you aren't hearing what you wanted to hear? I don't know what you wanted to hear though? There is no magic wand that can be waved to change a dog's behavior in that instant. I do not think your dog is a "monster" as you stated, or anything of the sort. I just stated my opinion on how to get her back to her quiet, calm, self when it comes to nail trims. I just don't think taking her to the vets is going to help AT ALL. I have retrained I don't even know how many dogs that had been getting nails done at the vets..They WILL lay on them with however many people it takes, and forcibly trim the nails. Chances are they will bleed some, and the dog will be more traumatized. If you think sedating her is going to make it better, then yes, if they use general anesthesia..Do you want her to be put under every month for a nail trim? Ace or some other "take the edge off" tranq is not going to make a bit of difference. These drugs have no effect when adrenaline gets pumping.
If all of your other dogs went to the groomer, I would suggest you take her to a groomer for nail trims and then you won't have to deal with it. Best of luck.
Well if someone held you down for an hour how would you react Yes I said ready to bite as in she showed her teeth. After we had been doing this for an hour. Now we've tried this two other times in the last 2 weeks.
No I don't want her sedated and no I don't want her in a muzzle either.
She is scheduled to have it done now while she is being boarded
I'm sorry but i don't like your assumptions and they are down right rude
Nail Clipping Issues....I need advice 
