Ask Me Help Desk - Cutting dogs nails ?

I have a 4 year old 1/2 Chihuahua & 1/2 Dachshund he tries to bite me or anyone else who tries to trim his toe nails or give medicine of any kind. He use to not do this till I took him to this VET who had me put on a muzzle that was way to small for him. It made his eyes squeeze up, I knew it was to small I told the VET that but she said it has to snug. To me it was way beyond snug, well ever since he will try to bite me if I try to trim his nails or give him medicine. Before I could trim his nails and give medicine or anything but now I can't. And if I just put on the muzzle anyway I'm afraid he might start biting again. I would rather make him groggy so he won't know nothing then he won't start biting again. Any suggestions I would be thankful. God Bless:)

He's had a bad experience, and I'm betting that you nurtured it by feeling sorry for him and overcompensating. Now it's a learned behaviour and he has to unlearn it.

Start slow, a good brisk walk, until he's tired, then, when you get home, touch his paw, only as much as he'll allow. Do this everyday until you can actually hold his paw. The next step is to introduce the clippers. Don't use them right away, just hold his paw and show him the clippers. A few days of this and then try and clip a nail. One nail a day unless he allows more.

It's time consuming, and may be frustrating, but you have to re-train him to allow you to do this. He had a bad experience, now he has to associate the clippers with a good experience.

Lots of praise when he allows contact, and even treats. Overdo the praise, he has to know that he's doing what you wish.

Don't force him.

I hope it works.

Alty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

He's had a bad experience, and I'm betting that you nurtured it by feeling sorry for him and overcompensating. Now it's a learned behaviour and he has to unlearn it.

Start slow, a good brisk walk, until he's tired, then, when you get home, touch his paw, only as much as he'll allow. Do this everyday until you can actually hold his paw. The next step is to introduce the clippers. Don't use them right away, just hold his paw and show him the clippers. A few days of this and then try and clip a nail. One nail a day unless he allows more.

It's time consuming, and may be frustrating, but you have to re-train him to allow you to do this. He had a bad experience, now he has to associate the clippers with a good experience.

Lots of praise when he allows contact, and even treats. Overdo the praise, he has to know that he's doing what you wish.

Don't force him.

I hope it works.

Alty.

I already tried to reintroduce the clipping nails and touching his paws and everything. I even got him to let me put a muzzle on for a minute. I put treats in the muzzle and let him put his nose in it to get the treats it worked several times but when I tried to fasten the muzzle he ran but came back wanting more treats. So then I would do it all over again so he would try for the treats but soon as I tried to fasten it he would run again.

I tried doing it without the muzzle also first but he won't let you touch his paws but a very little and he snarls and shows teeth at me. So I am trying the muzzle thing now but it's not working.

I'm running out of ideas I wished I could just make him groggy enough to clip his nails and give medicine or what ever I need to do. But I don't know how to do that. Thanks for your help.

Try a good walk, or run first. Tire him out, he may not have the energy to fight you.

I'm sorry, but my previous suggestion is the only thing I can think of.

I hope it works out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

Try a good walk, or run first. Tire him out, he may not have the energy to fight you.

I'm sorry, but my previous suggestion is the only thing I can think of.

I hope it works out.

Thanks I can't take him on walks I have back problems. But Thanks for your help :)

Have you considered hiring someone to walk him? There are tons of teens and other people that would be willing to walk your dog daily. A lot of people have to hire someone to walk their dog because they aren't physically capable.

Tiring him out before trying to cut his nails is a big thing. Maybe training him to walk on a treadmill is something you could consider. It's easy and very helpful for those dogs that can't get outside for a walk daily.

If you're interested in that then let me know, I can post some info on how to train your dog to walk on a treadmill. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altenweg

Have you considered hiring someone to walk him? There are tons of teens and other people that would be willing to walk your dog daily. Alot of people have to hire someone to walk their dog because they aren't physically capable.

Tiring him out before trying to cut his nails is a big thing. Maybe training him to walk on a treadmill is something you could consider. It's easy and very helpful for those dogs that can't get outside for a walk daily.

If you're interested in that then let me know, I can post some info on how to train your dog to walk on a treadmill. :)

Thanks if I decide to I'll let you know :)

Okay, since you have back problems and you have a small breed here's a tip for you. To tire him out before the big nail clipping incident ;), fill your bathtub with warm water. Put him in and hold him with your hand on one side. He will be forced to paddle. Let him to that until he looks like he's completely tired out. You can even let go and let him swim on his own if you need to stretch out.

When he has exhausted himself, take him out and wrap a warm towel from the dryer around him, and take him to his favourite place. Wait until he is really relaxed and set the clippers in front of him. Let him relate exercise, and relaxation/affection to the clippers. You can also try putting a tiny bit of his favourite treat right next to the clippers, and just leave them there, and walk away. You might have to do that several times at first.

The same with his paws. When you wrap him in a warm towel after his swim, and touch his paws from the outside of the towel to begin with. The key thing is making him relax, while having the clipping tool moved closer and closer to him, but on the floor or wherever you are. Not in your hand for the first while, until he associates the tool with a good feeling.

You may also want to try a trimming tool like pedipaws. They seem to work quite well, and it won't let you cut the kwik, and there is no "snap" to startle the dog. You can get them at Walmart and many other places now. Here's the link to the website if you want to read how they work.

www.pedipaws.com

I hope this helps you out! :)