PortersMama

<rant>

Dear Grizzly,

Mama loves you. Seriously, I do. But you pulling away from me every time I try to clip your nails just makes it worse for you. You let me do one paw - one paw! - today and it was awful. You acted like I was killing you, despite all of the treats and loving we gave you. You yelped before the dang clippers even touched your foot! You tagged Daddy's face repeatedly with your nose to show your displeasure.

Tomorrow Daddy's going to buy a Dremel. That means that every time you pull away, at least it won't hurt you. And I'm going to sand those babies down to nubs, so there.

</rant>

Guys, PLEASE tell me that Dremels make it better! And tell me that time heals all things, namely Grizzly's aversion to having his nails done.

Adara

My dogs seem to "like" the dremel better. I go slow and desensitize and use the same process for every dog. That being said, some are easier and some are harder than others

with two of you FEED FEED FEED the entire time. For smaller puppies I let them eat out of a jar of safe chicken baby food.

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Colleen
Flirt, ADAMAS All the Girls Do It, OA, NAJ, CL2-F, CL2-H
Gabby, Ch Gold Run's Token of Rumor, JH, NA, OAJ, NF, NJP, CL2,CL3-H, CL3-F Vizsla
Havoc, GCh HRQ Guess Who's In Trouble, JH, OA, OAJ, CL2-H, CL2-S, CL2-F Vizsla
Envy, Kizmar's Bailey HotShot of Adara, Vizsla

Hank

Bronson HATED the dremel at first. He would scream like he was dying. Sounded like a piggy squealing. But I did his nails every single week and now he just sits there with a "If I have to" look on his face.

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VZ-Doberman

Be very careful when you dremel. I use it and I watch to make sure no part of the dremel touches the paw/nail except the sandpaper ring. If your little one is squirming around it might be better to have someone help hold and the other one dremel.

Thor_Red

I dremeled Khaos today and I still prefer if my husband holds him since he does like to squirm quite a bit. I can do him by myself but not easily. Luckily my breeder already started him on the dremel training. For the big guys I actually started using an emery board first to get them used to the sensation. Not that it took off a lot but just got them started and then slowly introduced them to the dremel. I found that they prefer a slower speed and smoother sandpaper. They don't get that anymore since that would take for forever but it might not be a bad idea at first with Grizzly. I also use a cordless version. I have a lot more freedom with squirmy puppies than being tied to a cord.

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PortersMama

Adara, love the idea of the constant feeding! That would be helpful. Hank, your comment made me laugh...glad your pup tolerates it now! VZ, thanks for your input, and I absolutely agree. My husband will be the one doing the holding, I'll be the one doing the nails. Thor_Red, thanks for the suggestions, I love those ideas. I wouldn't have thought to use the smoother sandpaper!

Thank you all for your comments!

Shell81

I personally prefer my nail clippers over the dremel, but that's just me. The clinic I was a tech at for years and years was old school that way and I am pretty quick and good with the clippers lol. I do like the dremel, but for some reason I'm just so comfy with clippers. I have done Bruce's weekly since he came home, and he is really good about it now. The first time he acted like he was being murdered, so the next time I waited until he was really sleepy to do it. Now he could care less, and I don't need anyone to hold him. I actually just gave him his "monday pedicure" as I call them, and the most moving he did was to give me kisses lol. He is a pretty laid back pup when it comes to having stuff like that done to him though. He has my vet convinced he is an angel puppy (we know the truth though).

Good luck

Patches Mom

If the site is still up there is a good video on Pedicure.com there dremel s are not sturdy enough for Doberman's but work fine with my Dachshund. You have to go slow so you will not freak out the dog shows on the video. Good Luck

chasroth

Luca is pretty good with nail trims. I would clip just the tip every few day from the time he came home. I never tried a dremel.

Amelia_

I've never tried to dremel (though would like to) but ive found mine is much better now I've been doing them every other day, just tiny pieces at a time. All my other dogs past and preser have been great with nail clippers, Tobey will come and roll on his belly when you get then out, but rupert has always hated them. I find the attitude you approach it with, ie 'This is happening' and not letting him get away with not doing it makes a big difference. Rupert will try and throw his weight around if he can, so every time I do them I make sure I finish. I get him up against the cabinets in the corner so he can't back up

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Anton-Caesar

i just wait until Caes is sleeping or knackered from a walk then he just lets me do whatever i want, i do his ears and nails 2 times a week. If he is a bit lively i dont bother he struggles too much

Kansadobe

OK, where are you trimming his nails? Are you doing it on the floor? If so, take him off the floor and elevate him to a table such as a grooming table. For some reason a dog is much less likely to want to pull away and run off if they are elevated above the floor. When they are on the floor, they think they can simply run off and do not have to submit to such treatment.

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StarlightDobe

Nexus absolutely HATES nails trimmed in any fashion. However, she behaves for a groomer or vet much better than she does for me. It usually takes two techs sometimes three to get her done but they do a good job and with as little trauma as possible.

Bella will allow me to dremmel her, but she is a pistol while I do it, sometimes pulling her paw back and sometimes giving me "the look" She knows Im gonna finish though and she gets a small treat after each nail.

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There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. - Bernard Williams

R.I.P. Mysti 1/25/02-10/21/10

PortersMama

Thanks everyone for more input. Amelia, I laughed at your comment about backing your pup into a corner! I can see doing that. I definitely have to wait for Grizzly to get tired, because he has WAY too much energy to even consider sitting still otherwise. I was clipping his nails on the floor, so I do like the idea of putting him up on something higher. It certainly wouldn't be as tempting for him to run away.

This morning I got Grizzly familiarized with the look of the Dremel. I brought it out and let him sniff it, and I treated him during the process. Then I sat him on my lap and touched every single toe on every single paw with just my hands, despite how much he hated it. I treated him every time he let me touch his paw without giving me grief. By the third go-around, he was letting me touch all of his toes without complaining.

Gotta start somewhere, I suppose. Thanks so much for all of the help!

Beaumont67

I used the RESCO on my first dobe, a Dremel on my second dobe (she hated the motor noise) and back to using the RESCO clippers on our new puppy.
- my brother has been using the Resco on his sheltie's for the last 25 years, and the original blade is still sharp
- also use the white powder, men put on shaving cuts


RESCO 747 nail clippers, patent in the late 1930's...Price:$8.55 Resco Nail Trimmer #747 for Large Dogs
The USA made Resco Original 747 jumbo nail trimmers are the ones for us GSD - not the 727's - they are for all those smaller mutts! Resco 747's have a picture of our breed on the box so you can't mistake them. There are several copies of the Resco Nail Clipper, but personally for me its the best or nothing. The Resco is a guillotine type action, which avoids crushing or cracking delicate nails.
Anybody can use them - they're dead easy. Cut the nail evenly in line with the bottom of your mutts pad. If the nails are very long (bone diggers) take only a little off at a time. Don't take a great chunk off else the chances are you make the nail bled and your mutt is going to be miles away the next time you even think about nail trimming!
Don't put the job off, do it on a weekly basis and then both you and your mutt get the hang of the job.
If you do have an accident use "Trimmex" wound powder.

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------------Kelly & (Amy - RIP @ 11.7 y/o)

vivienne00

I wrap reluctant dogs in a huge towel and extract one foot at a time. I hold them on their backs between my legs on the floor. Lana is very good about it now and no towel is needed. Jill (kelpie) is still worried so I still use the towel. I start with the front feet and then do the back ones. Yoda lays on his side for me and the ones underneath are easiest to do so I get him to turn over halfway thru. Enid is done like you would shoe a horse - standing, and I lift each foot up and backward to trim. That method of standing and tied to a railing has always worked with my fearful or very reluctant (read: I want to bite whoever touches my nails) rescues and re-homes.

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Cato and Emerald's Black Onyx (r.i.p.)
Owned by Enid, Yoda, Jill (kelpie) and Lana.

Hank

.I just found this video. Might be helpful.

Dog Nail Trim | Videos | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS

I always lay my dogs (and cats) in my lap, on their back, with their butt facing me, this is easiest for me to access all the nails. Or lay on his side next to to me.

I am a groomer, and I hated the dremel when I first started using it, but once you get the hang of the it, you will love it and never go back to clipping.


I hate the guillotine clippers, these are what I prefer
Amazon.com: Millers Forge Dog Nail Clip, Large: Pet Supplies

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PortersMama

Thank you so much for your comments. We did about half of Grizzly's nails earlier but we used the clippers. We think he's just not quite ready for the Dremel yet, unfortunately. We tried the towel but Grizzly was having none of it, and I really didn't want to make it a horribly traumatic experience for him. It will be a work in progress...we'll try a little more every day and hopefully get to a place where he's comfortable with at least the clippers! Then we can move on to the Dremel, which I'd prefer.

Hank, that video was fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing it. That was like Adara's suggestion for treating...looks like we just weren't doing it right. That's extremely helpful! Thank you.

Thor_Red

That video is great. It took me a little longer than the 3 mins length to get though it since Khaos managed to unplug my Ethernet cable 3 times while I tried to watch it. You think he was trying to tell me something?

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PortersMama

He must have been! I'll tell you what, it's a good thing Grizzly is my fifth Doberman, because I knew what I was in for when it came to how obstinate they are as puppies! We just had an ear-taping epic freakin' saga here...three times before I realized he's already outgrown regular tampons and is now in super. We were using Zephyr's awesome tutorial for the backer rod posting last week, but his ears are a bit grody and we like the absorbency of the tampons...but ANYWAY. Yes, stubborn.

Thor_Red

Khaos is my third pure breed Doberman (My Apollo was a Dobe, Shepard, maybe Kangaroo mix) but my first puppy, so a lot of this is new for me. As for the absorbency of the posts I really like the method my breeder taught me for that. I use tongue suppressors cut to size and then very tightly wrapped with a paper towel leaving about a half inch overhang as cushion and then back wrap it with Zonas tape like you would the backer rod. I also use Lotrimin powder to keep the ears dry and prevent yeast infections.

Oh and I had to look up grody. Never heard that word before

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PortersMama

Now I also had to look up grody, because I thought maybe I was making up a word...LOL

So are the tongue depressors flat like a popsicle stick? I've heard of that method before but just keep picturing trying to shape the ear around a flat post. Also, do you go all the way down into the bases for that?

Thor_Red

Yes its mostly flat the paper towels gives it a little roundness but not much. The half inch overhang is important as cushion on the bottom but other than that I use it exactly as the backerrod method. I actually tried the backerrod a couple of times but it seemed to irritate his ears more than than using the papertowel so I switched back.

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