[newlablover]

I have a 4 week old lab, how old does he have to be to get his nails clipped? They are so long and curled that he uses them like a cat would to climb on the couch! :) hurry and answer before I find him climbing my curtains hahahaha:D :D also when do I start really house breaking him? I can usually catch him during the day before hs messes in the house but it's a total different thing at night. Im tired of cleaning poop up off my carpet.

[NowWhat]

You can clip them now. Just watch out for the cuticle. If you cut him and he bleeds - he may never let you again.
Sometimes, it is easier when they are sleeping.

[labman]

I am used to slightly older puppies that mostly wear theirs down enough not to need trimmed much. I know people use regular fingernail clippers on young puppies. If the nail is light colored, you can see the pink quick and keep back form it. If it is black, you must resort to nibbling a little off every few days once grown out that much, hoping the quick retreats. A little alum will stop the blood, but not restore trust in you.

Now the eating crisis is over, we can think more about behavior. Here are some things to do with it to gain its trust and establish your position.

[RubyPitbull]

Labman, your link isn't showing up to give newlablover the info you intended.

Newlablover, regarding clipping his nails, unless you are familiar with how to do this, I think it would be wise to let the vet do it, and have him/her show you how. The last thing you want to do is make a mistake, cut past the quick, and have the pup grow into a dog that will fight and/or bite you every time you want to trim his nails.

[newlablover]

I figured that I shouldn't do it myself. I read somewhere about the quick and his nails are black, so I knew I shouldn't do it myself. Now what about house breaking him? When do I start?

[RubyPitbull]

I don't know when labman will be back so here is a link to his sticky. You should read all the info he has supplied this web site with. Good stuff. Housebreaking is only a portion of it, so I am giving you the link to everything. :)

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...man-53153.html

[MrPippin]

It is quite common for vets and groomers to hit the quick in black nails. A dog is not going to lose his/her trust in you because you made him/her bleed once or twice. If people find that the dog gets nervous the next time they are clipping its nails I would suggest they take their own pulse. If you are calm, your dog will be calm. Whenever you are working with a dog project confidence and the dog will be confident. Having trimmed hundreds of nails I can promise you I have hit the quick my share of the time. The same dog will come back 6 weeks later and get them trimmed again. No more, or less nervous than the previous time. All to often humans try to give dogs human traits. They are dogs, they don't hold a grudge. I can tell you that both your vet and local groomer will do it for you, the groomer is usually a little cheaper than the vet, but only by a few dollars.

[RubyPitbull]

Mr. Pippin, I believe in this case, because newlablover has never attempted to cut a dog's nails before, it would be a good idea for someone else to do it and show him how. You are right that vets and groomers do, quite often, hit the quick when clipping. But, there is a better chance they will do the right job than someone new to dog "ownership". I am glad that you have had positive experiences with dogs who you have trimmed incorrectly. I don't find that always holds true. I have seen too many dogs that have been incorrectly clipped and have developed an immediate aversion to it. But, my experience is with rescues and fosters, not grooming pets of responsible owners. Not sure where you are coming from with dogs holding a grudge, or ascribing human traits to a dog. No one mentioned or inferred those things here.

[MrPippin]

I agree that if he is nervous about doing it, he should take it to a vet or groomer. Not sure what the cost is in his area. Here in SW FL we charge $7 to trim nails the local vets are not much higher at $10. It really comes down to convenience. I have owned dogs all of my life and the one thing I can say about my dogs is that no matter how badly I screwed up at times in my life (with my dogs and in other areas) my dogs never lost faith in me. This is the love of a dog, unconditional. Working with owners who's dogs show aggression 98% of the time it is the owners fear of aggression which is creating the problem. I can take the dog and walk them into a pack of dogs and have no problem what-so-ever. I hand the dog back the owner and bring another dog into the room and I can watch the owner start to grab their dog and you can just see them go into fear of "Oh God, whats going to happen?" And to no surprise their dog acts defensive and goes into fight mode. Once I have trained the owner how to be a good pack leader and how to be confident the problem goes away. I fear I am going to far off the topic here. But that is what I was referring to with human traits. Dogs will trust you, if you trust you.

[RubyPitbull]

Mr P, you have brought up some good points and even though you are going off topic a bit, I think it is a benefit to newlablover. It is important to maintain the alpha position. To do that, you need to exude confidence in all areas of training your dog. newlablover, you will find that as you go forward with you pup, EVERYTHING is a learning experience for you and your dog. Take advantage of it to show him who is the leader (you) and what you expect from him in his behavior.

[labman]

This is the material on bonding and leadership I intended to include in my first post:

''Elevation for small puppies: Sit on the floor and gently put your hands around your pup's middle, below his front legs, and lift him up. He is facing you. Hold him for 15 seconds. Repeat until he no longer struggles. If he is past 10-12 weeks, lift his front feet off the ground, but don't pick him up.

Cradling for small puppies: Hold your puppy gently on his back, as you would cradle a small baby. If he struggles, hold him firmly until he quiets for 10-15 seconds. With larger pups, you can do this as your sit on the floor, with your pup between your legs.

Quiet lying down: Place your pup on the floor on his side, with all 4 legs pointing away from you. Use your hands on his neck/shoulder area and middle, to hold him in this position. When he is quiet, praise him. Lengthen the time that you keep him quietly in this position. When he accepts this position well, handle his paws and muzzle, while keeping him quiet.''

The quotes mean this isn't my original work. It is copied from my Puppy Raising Manual. I have long used these or minor variations of them, and they are very effective. You may want to give him a belly rub while he is on his back too. Helps bonding. There is a big difference between him rolling over and demanding a belly rub, and you choosing a time to roll him over and rub his belly. The latter cements your place as pack leader.

When to start housebreaking? If they have room, the mothers start the day the puppies are born. New born puppies can't relieve themselves. When they need to go, they whine. The mother picks them up, carries them away from the nest, sets them down, and licks their back to stimulate elimination. She then carries it back and does another. I can't say how old they are when they can leave the nest and eliminate on their own. I know before 4 weeks.

You should be able to start learning to read the puppy and take it out when it needs to go. What is in the sticky, is meant for 7 week old puppies. Times will be even shorter for you. I have seen my friends in action with puppies about yours age. You can at least rescue your carpet by being alert and quick. Be gentle about picking it up and carrying it out. May as well start obedience too. I see housebreaking as its foundation with the command, behavior, praise sequence. No more than 2-3 repetitions of each command.

I would avoid taking the puppy to a groomer or other places where there are other unknown dogs for another couple of months. I would think a groomer's be one of the safer places for a little puppy. I would trust most of the people paying to have their dog groomed, to keep it up to date on shots. Still, I wouldn't take the chance on one fool showing up with a sick dog. I doubt such would be welcome there.

[NowWhat]

If dogs don't hold a grudge, can someone PLEASE explain to me why my dog will never let me cut his nails? I messed up once and ever since - just the sound of the clippers coming out of the drawer will wake him from a dead sleep and he will leave the room.

The last dog I had - he had black nails - so I had the vet cut them - I think they cut to close at some point and then he wouldn't allow his nails to be cut. IF you held his paw he would freak out and yelp like you were killing him. We took him to a groomer and they called me to say they couldn't cut his nails because they thought he was about to have a heart attack.

So, I think they do remember if we screw up.
Just my 2 cents.

[MrPippin]

If dogs don't hold a grudge, can someone PLEASE explain to me why my dog will never let me cut his nails? I messed up once and ever since - just the sound of the clippers coming out of the drawer will wake him from a dead sleep and he will leave the room.

The last dog I had - he had black nails - so I had the vet cut them - I think they cut to close at some point and then he wouldn't allow his nails to be cut. IF you held his paw he would freak out and yelp like you were killing him. We took him to a groomer and they called me to say they couldn't cut his nails because they thought he was about to have a heart attack.

So, I think they do remember if we screw up.
Just my 2 cents.

What are you feeling at the time the dog is freaking out? I have dogs that don't like getting their nails cut. I have yet to find the dog that I couldn't do the nails on. I may have to use a muzzle and have someone help me, but again I am not freaking out so the dog eventually calms down. If every time you get the clippers out you start freaking out inside your dog is going to pick up on it and freak out as well. If you have trained your dog that if it freaks out and pitches a hissy fit it will win, then it will freak out and pitch a hissy fit. That tactic doesn't work on me and the dog learns this and is thus retrained. Has nothing to do with trust, has everything to do with the way the dog was trained. That's why so many people come to me to do their dogs nails, because they can't do it when their dog resist and I can. It sounds like you need to find a calmer groomer who understands dog leadership.

[newlablover]

I have started with the potty training, the problem time I have is at night. Right now he sleeps with us, because if you even leave the room and he is nt following yo he will cry like you are beating him. The first night home we put him in a storage bin, uncovered of course, with a blanket and he escaped not 5 minutes after puttinh him in and was at our bedside crying, the second night I put him in an old box that's a bit taller than the storage bin and he cried so loud that it was hurting my ears. About 10 minutes later the crying stopped and then I heard him under my bed, he had gotten out of this too!! So now he sleeps in our bed. So anyway back to the potty training. Im a pretty sound sleeper and most the time I can feel him moving around and get him out on time but I woke up this morning to 2 piles on the floor. My main problem is at night I guess because so far today he hasn't messed in the house because I can tell when he needs to go out.

[MrPippin]

Read Labmans Sticky on Crate training. Not crate training is going to make things a lot harder in the long run. https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...man-53153.html He will get over the crying if you leave him alone, take him out when he cries and you are training him that if he cries you will take him out.

[newlablover]

I don't have a crate and that's why I tried the box and the bin. What are the cost of the crates?

[labman]

We are still using the 36'' one we bought for $50 in 1992. I think they may run $70-$80 now. I like the rigid plastic ones. I wouldn't risk a soft sided one with a Lab. I am sure they are fine with many dogs, but most Labs are great chewers. Unless you plan to frequently have puppies, I would buy a 36'' crate and block off part of it. Pay extra for the ones that are easier to assemble and disassemble it and have wheels if you plan to take the dog with you much when you travel. Nylabone makes a plastic crate that is super easy to fold. We usually dissemble our Pet Porter, and put all our stuff in it. I made a wheeled platform for it. We now start puppies in a 24'' Vari-Kennel.



Rubypitbull PMed me that my last post was confusing. On young puppies and groomers. It risks parvo and other nasty things to expose a young puppy to strange dogs. I think people that take their dog to a groomer, are more likely to take it to a vet than many others. The groomers will be much less risk than the public park. Failing to expose puppies to other dogs risks a dog that doesn't relate well to other dogs.

Mr Pipin is absolutely right about your emotions affecting the dog. If you are tense or afraid, your dog will be too. This is a point I have made time after time. Of course, it is tough to hide your emotions from a dog.

[NowWhat]

For me, my dog knows who is boss. We do not freak out. Or any of those things. And this has happened to two of my dogs. One of which we never cut his nails - we paid someone to do it. It got to a point that they said they would have to give him a tranquilizer to do it. He literally would almost have a heart attack. And his nails had always been cut by either a licensed vet or a very well trained groomer.

The new dog isn't to that stage yet. I can get most of his nails cut when he is sleeping. If I am quiet. I got new clippers that don't make as much noise. But, those other ones- he heard coming out of the drawer.

So - we may have the exception to the rule.

[labman]

When I have more time today Iwill post a link to the uses of th eDremel.

[labman]

It may be skirting the rules to copy a question and answer from elsewhere, but I can't see rewriting it. I really enjoy sharing the site it is from, but don't think it is right to refer people to it from AMHD

Quote:
Originally Posted by Labman
Santa Claus was good, not only a Dremel, but a cordless one too. Now maybe I can get Aster's toe nails under control. I think she will tolerate me grinding on them. What speed and type of tool should I use?

When she came back to live with us over 3 years ago, her toenails were too long. I can't cut them like they need because the quick on the top grows almost out to the end. I asked the vet to whack them back when she went under to have a tumor removed. He said, ''They'll bleed.''. The next summer I had a chance to talk to a vet tech at the dog guide school. In her later working years, Aster returned from a couple of extended visits to their clinic with nice, short nails as have other dogs. Her answer was that they seldom cut nails. They just let the dogs run in a concrete exercise yard. Well I have tried playing tug of war with her out in the garage, but it just hasn't been enough. So how do I make the Dremel work?


The sanding drum for the dremel tool. I generally use about a medium speed.

Probably the most important tips when using a dremel on dog nails is to wrap long hair (both human and dog) out of the way while working and to always keep the dremel moving. Long hair can get caught around the rotating drum pulling the moving drum into the skin and causing burns/cuts. You need to keep the dremel moving because if you leave it in one spot it will get hot and hurt the dog and they will pull their foot away.

Generally when doing nails I trim the tips off with a regular pair of nail clippers and then use the dremel to finish the job, taking off the rough edges.

Here's a link for a site describing the process
How to Dremel Dog Nails @ DoberDawn.com end quote

The sidewalk is a great tool for toenails except for all the time it takes. I am sure the 3 hour walk every day some see as the solution to many other problems would take care of the nails too. It sounds like it would work, but I haven't had time to try it. Shorter walks mostly have kept 9 month old Holly's nails in good shape. Digging holes in the yard helps too. I did have to try the Dremel on her recently. Next time I will try the clippers.

Frequent handling the feet without working on the nails helps too. It is also one more way of demonstrating you are top dog. Patricia McConnell discusses that in The Other End of the Leash.