The beast we adopted has kind of an issue with us clipping his nails. It is NOT ALLOWED! He freaked last night when Mr2U tried - he barked for 45 minutes straight - and jumped around like he was going to attack (the dog did - not Mr2U). He’s either nuts or - well - I don’t know what. Mr2U was able to clip his nails once many months ago when we first got him but we think he was just playing possum until he got more comfortable with us and now, there’s no way. We can’t bring him to a groomer - it’s not an option for several reasons and a vet is out - there’s no way we can afford either anyway. We’re thinking of muzzling him and holding him down and just doing it while trying to soothe him - is this a viable option? I’m about at my wits end - and covered in bruises from his nails!
I have the same issue with one of my dogs. He is insanely sensitive when it comes to his nails.
I have had way more success with him lately using a dremel mini-mite with a sanding drum to file his nails down. It allows me to get all the way to the quick, NOT quick him either, and he’s more willing to put up with that than guillotine clippers (which, I suppose, squeeze down on the nail and he HATES it.)
You could give that a shot.
Otherwise, you can do what I’m doing right now - the “one nail a day” thing - arm yourself with lots of yummy treats, manage to get one nail clipped, and call it a day. Repeat EVERY DAY. Eventually, it should go a little easier…
What Elenfair said. My dogs tolerate the dremel much better than a regular clipper. You do have to get them used to it, be patient, and go slow, though. Eventually he should learn to tolerate it well enough. Sitting on him and trying to force him is just going to make things worse and all of you will be miserable, so that’s not a good idea at all. And, if you need to take him to the vet for other reasons, you can always have him clipped then. Our vet will clip nails everytime they are asleep for dental cleanings, etc. as well.
Um…take him for walks so his claws get worn on their own?
The slow method, as absolutely failed on my dog, mainly due to lack of patience: Day1: give dog lots of attention and treats. Bring out nail clipper, let dog se it, but it away, and reward dog if he does not freak out. Repear a couple times a day for about a week. Next week, same procedure, but touch the dog lightly with the nail clipper. Continue in this pattern until dog is comfortable with nail clipper. All this assumes that nail-clipping does not actually hurt the dog.
Thanks, guys. We’ll try the one nail a day thing for awhile - Mr2U was able to do one nail (toe?) about a month ago by getting him on his back and being all goofy with him while rubbing his tummy and making his legs kick so hopefully…
Sigh. We’re currently letting him see the clippers and he just goes bonkers. He wags his tail like crazy though - it’s like in his pea brain it’s some kind of game! I wish I knew how that thing thinks…
I have two black labs. We run them twice a day. One dog has never needed to have her nails clipped, because the walks apparently wear them down enough. The other dog has eagle-like talons that fully reappear two days after being clipped. There’s a lot to be said for genetics.
My dog spends about 4 hours a day running around like a thing possessed on our 5 acres, but we still have to cut his nails. There isn’t much pavement out here to wear anything down.
My dog hates getting his nails clipped, too. I just hold him against me as tight as I can and feed him dog biscuits constantly while clipping. He’s getting better.
One of our dogs hates it too. Even the at the vet with 3 of us trying to hold her would not work (she only weighs about 65 lbs)
We take her to PetSmart to get groomed. The groomer is so experianced the nails are all clipped before our dog realizes whats up. Works great.
Unfortunately, we can’t take him to a groomer - he’s - er - not “good” around other dogs. We’re going to have to fix this ourselves.
Septima, we’ve tried that - he’s got talons, man. I doubt a bench grinder would help on these nails (although - if we could get him to stand on his hind legs in the garage with the grinder running…hmmmm - will talk to Mr2U about this! 
)
Thanks for all the suggestions. We’ll try again tonight - I’m NOT looking forward to this. 
I googled ‘dog nails desensitizing’ (without quotes.)
http://www.kerryblues.info/index.html?http%3A//www.kerryblues.info/KB/NAILS.HTML
http://www.bigdogboutique.com/ProductCart/pc/dremel_nails.html
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/nailtrimming.htm
http://www.webtrail.com/petbehavior/nov98.html
http://www.takingthelead.co.uk/2/Health/nailcutting.htm
There’s plenty more.
Thank you, thank you Contrapuntal - I’m going to print these out and read them at home tonight! I appreciate it!!
You’re welcome. I am currently going through a desensitizing process with a dog who has thunderstorm anxiety. It can take a while, especially with an adult or older dog, but ultimately worth it (I hope.)