nails

[tishtash]

i have a 8 month old chocolate lab , some peeps may remember me,

well all buttons nails are fine on his paws except the thumb one, the vet has shown me how to do it and i am happy doing it my self

the only thing is i have a roll about fight to get buttons still when doing his claws i do get it done in the end just to snip the sharp tip..... but i would prefer not the roll abouts...... any tips as i touch his paws hes grabbing at my hands to get his paws free, hes not in any pain other wise i wouldnt keep trying,

everything else i can get him to do just the 2 nails....... argh

help thanks

[atghylin]

Okay... I had to wait for my mom to call me back before I could answer this. She's got a 5 year old black lab (Abby) with the same problem. Mom tried desensitizing Abby's paws by constantly touching them. Several times a day Mom would call Abby over and play with her paws. However, it didn't work, Abby stopped coming when called. Buttons, on the other hand, is still a puppy and might enjoy the new "game" more then Abby did, who is far more older. You might want to add a treat or favorite toy to the game as well.

Hope this helped some,

Amanda

[imported_Kat]

Buttons is still young so make a game of it and teach him to give his paw. Thats the basis then work your way up to touching more of the paw when he presents it, and make a point of discretely fiddling with the nails and paw pads all the time talking to him and telling him what lovely paws he has. Start off with basics and always reward with a tidbit, and continue to reward him . You should get some results fairly fast. Also let him sniff and see the nail clippers, so that they aren't foreign to him.

Good luck and happy nail clipping! 8)

[imported_Cassie]

Most dogs are very sensitive when it comes to their legs and paws....this has alot to do with instinct...without full use of their paws and legs they would not be able to hunt therefore they would not survive. I have also seen many dogs when they fight they will go for the other dogs legs first.
Any way, I do many dogs nails during the day as I work with dogs daily...I usually hold the dogs head in a bear hug and bring the leg up under the belly to do the nails...but, that is only because I don't have time to desensitize each dog which comes in....in some cases with smaller dogs one of us holds the dog in a bear hug on our lap and the other person will clip the nails all the while praising the dog...some times if the dog is really difficult we distract the dog by blowing in its nose each time one of the nails is cut.
Where your dog lives with you you will have the time to desensitize the dog to nail trimming. First gain the dogs trust, when I first adopted my fully grown Rottweiler she was horrible for doing nails. I started by massaging her head working down her back then down each leg and taking each paw and rubbing and massaging each individual toe...she really enjoys the massage and relaxes completely...I then started to clip each nail very quickly while massaging the toe, stop massaging clip, give a treat, then massage some more then move on to the next...for the dew claws I massaged the entire leg then clipped the nail. Your dog needs to fully trust you around its paws and legs. As every one said once your dog is desensitized it will not be a problem...have treats and lots of praise during the nail cutting process to let your dog know that for each nail that is cut will be rewarded.