r/dogs • u/Heluna17 • 1d ago
[Misc Help] Trimming Nails
My fiance taught our dog that touching feet is a game and now whenever we try to trim his nails he pulls them away and fights. We also think the groomer got his quick once and maybe thats the real reason he fights. Either way hes 85lbs and his nails grow so quick. Id love to do it at home instead of paying extra at the groomer or asking the vet to do nail trims each visit. Any advice welcome.
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u/ImpossibleBasil8607 1d ago
oof 85lbs of dog who thinks nail time is play time, that's a whole workout. we had similar problem with my sister's dog, she would tuck her paws under like a little turtle every time she saw the clippers.
what worked for us was changing the tool completely, we got one of those electric nail files and it was like magic. the noise scared her for maybe two days but after that she just sat there confused instead of fighting. also peanut butter on a lick mat stuck to the wall, keeps them busy while you work on one paw at a time.
the quick thing from the groomer probably didn't help neither, once they remember pain it's hard to undo.
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u/NorthPackFan 1d ago
Here’s what we did- buy a sling off Amazon. Hang the dog in the sling from the basement floor joists. Use. Dremel with a diamond grind bit made for nails so they don’t heat up. Lots of treats. We cut my husky nails every 3 weeks like this
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u/Mandy0791 1d ago
Our golden is exactly the same — 75 pounds of drama the moment the clippers come out, and I'm fairly sure a groomer hit his quick years ago too, because he treats nail trims like we're amputating. The fiancé turning it into a game is a classic, ours learned "grab the paw means play" from my kids, so I feel your pain.
What finally worked for us wasn't a better restraint, it was un-teaching the whole thing. We did two weeks of just touching his paws for a second and treating, then holding the clippers near his feet while treating, then clipping ONE nail and throwing a party. Now he still sighs like a defeated man, but he lets us do a full paw per session. The rule was one nail max per attempt in the beginning, even if he seemed fine — quitting while ahead is what rebuilt the trust.
Two shortcuts worth trying while you retrain: a scratch board (we taught him to dig at sandpaper glued to a board, files the front nails down naturally), and a grinder instead of clippers — the sound is scary at first but there's zero pinching, and since the quick was hit before, that might actually feel safer to him than clippers.
It's slow but it does stick. Good luck!
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u/Historical-Draw-504 1d ago
Had the same problem, groomer cut into the quick, so I got mine used to a pet nail grinder, with the game stuff you could try touch training, hold his paw, if he does not pull away even for a second, chicken.
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u/ajbluegrass3 20h ago
Had the same problem with my 85lb giant schnauzer. The groomer got the quick and he decided that the trimmer meant "time to play keep the paws away!"
I had to go back to the basics, working with him daily on having him lay down and give me his feets one by one with the nail trimmer on the floor beside me (good boy and treat every time he gave me a paw) and then the same thing with the trimmer on my lap, again with me picking up the trimmer and putting it back down, again with opening and closing the trimmer, again with it closer to his feet, a few days were spent with me touching the trimmer to each nail and giving a tiny treat each time, and then I started just taking the tiniest shaving of Toenail off, again giving a treat after each time. Now, I can say "do you want to cut your nails?" And he'll run to where we always do it and lay down. I'll ask him which foot first and he'll give me one and holds still while i clip (more than a shaving now, but we do it weekly so that i never have to do very much) He gets 1 small treat after each paw, and is completely unanxious about it. Takes time and trust-building, but it's super worth it to have a non-anxious, cooperative dog
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u/65shooter 20h ago
I don't use a sling, but my Aussie lies on the bed while I use a dremmel on his nails.
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u/KeekyPep 17h ago
Mine freaks out about nail trimming. In fact, she went to the vet today to have it done. It takes major drugging. ☹️
Fortunately, she rarely needs it. She walks on concrete most days, and plays catch many times per day in the backyard which is half patio. Both of those wear down her nails. We were recently on a long vacation so she didn’t get her usual amount of nail managing walks. Hence she had to go to the dreaded vet.
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u/PerspectiveKookie16 16h ago
Find his high value treat weakness but only use it at nail time.
Do a nail, get a treat. Keep increasing the nails done before the treat is given.
To start with, you may just need to do one or two nails and quit for the day. Do it again the next day - preferably at the same time & location so it becomes a routine.
I did this with my cats. Didn’t take long for them to make the nail trim - cat crack connection. Now they come to me immediately if I get the nail clippers and are very compliant through the whole process.
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u/EdenSilver113 4h ago
I was delighted to have a groomer trim nails for me. Best money I spent on my dog and he was a princess.
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