Trimming nails the natural way

[Dot Dog]

Dottie is kinda hysterical when I try to clip her nails (key word here is "try"), soo...

I'm wondering if it's possible to keep them trimmed just by walking her on the pavement without ever having to clip them. How much walking on the pavement (per day or per week) would it take?

[FourOrchards]

Dottie is kinda hysterical when I try to clip her nails (key word here is "try"), soo...

I'm wondering if it's possible to keep them trimmed just by walking her on the pavement without ever having to clip them. How much walking on the pavement (per day or per week) would it take?

I'd just say it would take A LOT! :sofunny: Good try though. Just keep trying, don't give up. She'll eventually get used to it....hopefully! Or you'll be looking for a good groomer/vet that can do it.

I finally realized that the reason dachsie's nails grow so fast is because they actually need them for digging...what the breed was actually bred to do! :thinker:

[nmgirl98]

Belle hates to have her nails trimmed. I tried once and that was it. Check with your vet. Mine does free nail trimming a couple of days a week. You can also take her to Petsmart.

[kpm_tex]

Dot is a puppy? Correct? Just hold her like a baby in your lap.. take paw in hand... rub toes, in between toes.. give treats. Put her down. Do this a couple days in a row to get her used to having paws handled. After a week of this... take clippers, clip one nail.. OH WHAT A GOOD PUPPY!!! Woo Hoo.. Treat. Next nail. and so on . It takes patience. The longer you wait the harder it is. It's just like training any other behavior... start early, reward often.

[Irminsul]

Two hours will do it. :D But you still have to do the dew claw.

[pairodachs]

Dot is a puppy? Correct? Just hold her like a baby in your lap.. take paw in hand... rub toes, in between toes.. give treats. Put her down. Do this a couple days in a row to get her used to having paws handled. After a week of this... take clippers, clip one nail.. OH WHAT A GOOD PUPPY!!! Woo Hoo.. Treat. Next nail. and so on . It takes patience. The longer you wait the harder it is. It's just like training any other behavior... start early, reward often.

I totally agree. We did this with Taurie and trimming nails is so easy... Now at 5 months old, she just lies on her back and watches the world cuz she's so used to us messing with her feet!! Patience is the key!! Make it a positive experience. We used to laugh because she'd get the whole pedicure in a few days as we only did a couple nails at a time.

[MorenaChula]

Mocha hated getting her nails trimmed as a puppy. And me being a first time pet owner took her to petsmart grooming to have them done and the girl nipped Mocha's quick. But my vet showed me how to do it and ever since then I do it at home. If you get her used to having her paws touched at an early age it will make it easier for both of you in the long run.

[catstamm]

Welll....Camelot has had her paws touched and rubbed etc etc etc.... since she was 5 weeks old... yes the breeder dumped her at 5 weeks (her other option was euthanasia :faint:)
I heard that was the way to get them use to having their nails done ... by everyone from Monks/behaviorist/groomers/ and dog owners...
WELL..... someone tore the page out of the manual for that when Cami read it!!!!!
Trimming her nails is hell...and I've tryed everything and everyone....short of putting her under anesthesia...she asks like her legs are being amputated.... ask anyone within a mile radius :0210:

[Melisande]

Welll....Camelot has had her paws touched and rubbed etc etc etc.... since she was 5 weeks old... yes the breeder dumped her at 5 weeks (her other option was euthanasia :faint:)
I heard that was the way to get them use to having their nails done ... by everyone from Monks/behaviorist/groomers/ and dog owners...
WELL..... someone tore the page out of the manual for that when Cami read it!!!!!
Trimming her nails is hell...and I've tryed everything and everyone....short of putting her under anesthesia...she asks like her legs are being amputated.... ask anyone within a mile radius :0210:

Same with Dragon. He lets me do any other type of grooming just fine, he even loves his paw pads to be massaged and touched. But he sees you getting near him with clippers, and all of a sudden he is a DEVIL DOG.

[Krista410]

I don't know. Maddie's seem pretty short. And she fights like HELL when I try and trim hers as well. I do a couple here and there but she doesn't get much better. We do the sidewalks and streets a lot. AND when she sees another dog/person outside she goes NUTSO trying to get to them buuuut I think the only positive side effect is she is practically filing her nailing away as she scrambling on the pavement getting nowhere. :lol:

[Melisande]

she goes NUTSO trying to get to them buuuut I think the only positive side effect is she is practically filing her nailing away as she scrambling on the pavement getting nowhere. :lol:


Boy do I know this song and dance.... I have such a clear visual of this :rofl: I guess its a dachsie thing though!

[Buddys'momma]

to clip buddy's nails is hell also he hates it and will bite u if u try to so we muzzle him and then I'm still afraid of him biting me but he get's so mean when them clippers come out even with the whole treat and cuddling and praising him I don't know yet how I am going to do the vets trip with him this yr he don't like ppl.

[Tex]

I use a dremel on mine. Usually after a big (and tiring) day. I've also been known to give them baths first, then do their nails while they are wrapped up in a towel. Mine love the "swaddled" feeling of being wrapped in a towel after their bath, and it's easier to hang onto them. They don't give me much fuss with the dremel, and I get nice nails with rounded edges instead of sharp ones! I got the $20 dremel from Walmart, and I just replace the sand paper things every few months. Using the dremel also keeps me from going too short and hitting the quick.

[gooeydog]

It takes more than you would think to wear down nails on a regular walk! I used to regularly walk our guys for at least a mile every night, and their nails didn't really wear at all. One thing that will do it is sprinting on cement/concrete, as they dig in and push off with their nails, but then you have to keep in mind that running on concrete isn't really the greatest thing for them either, if they're doing it often and/or for a long time, and it can also tear up their pads if they're not used to such wear and tear (plus if you overdo it, they'll quick themselves).

Once in a while I take Annie up to the basketball court up the street and play ball with her in there (she lets me trim/dremel her nails, but if we're out walking and I notice they're long, it's a quick, immediate fix ;) ), usually just throwing the ball 4 or 5 times down the length of the court is enough to wear her nails close to the quick, but they're pretty short to begin with most of the time. It also wears her nails unevenly, the back ones will be shorter than the front since she pushes off with her hind legs, so that's another slight con.

In the long run, you're better off to just work with her on tolerating nail trims, as that's something you can always do to make sure all the nails stay short.

[Dot Dog]

Aw shucks, no easy way out, huh? I wanted to hear that walking a mile or two on pavement every day would wear them down. :dogwalk2:

Seriously, though...thanks to everyone for your advice. :) It's working (little by little) just playing with her toes. I turn her over and do the cradle hold, and she's fine...play with her feet, and she's fine. But if I pick up the clippers while she's on her back, she freaks. She is much calmer if I just do the clipping while she's sitting upright. She's also calmer if I use the kitty clippers (scissor style) for some reason. They don't cut as evenly, but at least I can cut them!

I may try the dremmel one of these days and see how it works. Are there different ones for different size dogs, or can the same dremmel do big and small toenails?

[loveisxblind]

i am a groomer and let me tell you, there is no set way to get a dog to let you do it. some ways work for some but not for others. many dogs don't even need a bad experience to not like it. majority of the dogs that come into the grooming salon that i work at tolerate me but occasionally, when we get a dog that should be sedated to do his nails, we just team up, keep feeding him treats so he is preoccupied. and believe it or not, letting them run around on pavement/concrete DOES help. You will still need to trim them but walking/running will help. Dachshunds nails are not different than any other dogs nails. the speed of growth depends on what exactly you feed the dog, not what they were bred to do.

[Doxie Duo Mom]

I have a dremel that I want to use but for now it's off to the groomers (and it's every 2 weeks for Rocky & his nails are still L-o-n-g). I recently saw this on TV basically a dremel with a safety cover http://www.peticure.com/

[Brandees_Mommee]

When we first got Brandy at 8 weeks old, she didn't mind having her nails trimmed. But as she got older, it got harder and harder for her to cooperate each time. My mom's a retired cosmetologist, and she suggested using her old nail drill, which is nothing more than a small hand-held drill with a sandpaper bit on the end. Ladies, if you've ever had artificial nails, you prolly know what I'm talking about. NOT A BRIGHT IDEA!!! :duh: Well, I think THAT little escapade killed it for us getting any more cooperation from Brandy!! :banghead:

So now it takes two of us to do it: my husband holds her down, and I clip them. She struggles more with her front paws than her back, and her dew claws are nearly impossible to get done without her acting like I'm cutting off her toes! She's mad at me for about an hour afterwards it seems, but eventually she gets over it! :0210:

Thinking about it like Cesar Millan, I think that I stress about doing it, and this energy probably translates over to Brandy, and she senses that I'm apprehensive about doing it, which more than likely makes her apprehensive as well. So next time I trim her nails, I'm going to try to be the Dog Whisperer: calm and assertive, and remember to not be apprehensive about it. :pray: :please: :goodluck: :thankyou: Cesar!!

[Meekie]

Another trick is to have someone else there feeding small pieces of kibble or treats while you are trimming. They ususally don't even notice you are cutting the nails. After a few times you can trim a foot then give a treat and eventually treat at the end only. This method worked for my Dalmatian. The Doxies I use the holding in my lap method as stated above. :goodluck:

[doxunzX3]

:goodluck: with the nail trimming. But even if you don't trim the nails & have a groomer or vet do it. The best thing is to do it very often and don't give in. I have to admit that I am bad about doing nails too. But when push comes to shove I am just as German as my doxies. At my house that means I am more stuborn. My niece doesn't have to trim her labs nails but she will walk him a couple hours a day. Plus then toss the ball for him to get more exersize. His nails are always nice and short and smooth.

Has anyone used the new grinder that has a protection gard on it???

[jaded2nite]

I just got the peticure trimmer yesterday. It works great. I am very fortunate Mya has always been great about getting her nails clipped. I ordered the peticure because I like the way it seemed to work by rounding the nails. Mya is fine with the peticure too.

It is very quiet check it out at peticure.com

Dottie

[Dot Dog]

I wish I had someone here to help, but I don't. Both dogs fight it bigtime, and I've tried playing with the toes when not clipping, giving lots of treats, and it's still a nightmare. So I bought a dremmel today to give that a try.

[robert]

I just got the peticure trimmer yesterday. It works great. I am very fortunate Mya has always been great about getting her nails clipped. I ordered the peticure because I like the way it seemed to work by rounding the nails. Mya is fine with the peticure too.

It is very quiet check it out at peticure.com

Dottie

I saw the peticure infomerical on TV over the weekend. Debating whether or not to get it. I'm trying to decide on getting the petite or just the guard and a regular dremel.