I can’t clip my dog’s claws. I can handle any cat’s claws with absolutely no problem. But when I try to do the dog’s claws I get squeamish and can’t do it, probably because I can’t see where to cut safely, and it’s really hard to squeeze the clippers shut over the thicker dog claws. I’ve looked into the appliance that grind the claws down, but that’s even more squeamish-inducing than clipping. Are there any tricks to this? I’m tired of having to pay to have it done when I can do the cats just fine.
Just take off a little at a time. Use a nail file (some clippers come with them) to take off the sharp edges. They shouldn’t be all that short. If your dog is getting enough exercise, they shouldn’t get all that long.
If you accidentally go to short, a bit of flour or corn starch held to the oozing nail for a count of 10 should get the bleeding to stop. But, your dog may hate you forever.
Look on the underside of the nails, you’ll see the pink of the living tissue and don’t cut past that, leave a little leeway. Also, make sure you have really good clippers, they should shear off squarely, not mash the end which can cause the dog pain. And brisk is best, don’t waste any time when committing to the snip.
Ours tolerates the Dremel grinder better than clippers. It still takes two of us, but we do it a little bit at a time.
Oh, dear - I just trimmed one claw, and my dog started shivering in fear. I gave him a big meaty bone to chew on for awhile, and I’ll try again later. He’s been traumatized by being shaved for a skin infection a few days ago, hates his medicine, and hides whenever he sees me or hears a pill bottle being rattled. Maybe I’d better wimp out and wait until he’s more emotionally stable.
Good idea. When Tia, a shepherd collie mix, came to live with us years ago she already had a bunch of anxieties built in, she had obviously been treated harshly before she came to live at our house. Getting her nails clipped was a big problem. Most of her other phobias diminished over time, but I think the nail problem got worse as I continued to clip them, even minimal clipping which left them too long. After her doctor clipped them a few times himself and saw the reaction, he said “Forget it, let them grow.” So we did. We could hear her click-clacking on the hardwood floors, but she was happy. They would break off when they got long enough. There are more important things to worry about than how long a dog’s nails are.
Second the dremel. My dog would freak out if she even saw the clippers, but with a little time and training she’s now fine with the dremel.
Turn it on near her and give her a treat so she can get used to the sound. Then move on to holding the wrong end against her and give treats so she can get used to the vibration. After a while you’ll be able to do one nail with treats etc. It took about three weeks but now she just sits in my lap while I give her the full mani pedi.
Good luck!
My big dogs are total sissies about having their nails done. Some of the dogs I’ve had have tolerated a Dremel grinder much better than clippers. Try it, you may be surprised. It’s not quick and you can’t keep it on the nail for long or it heats up, but you can zip from nail to nail and get a little bit done each time.
Another thing that may help is clipping from underneath. Instead of pulling the leg out in front of the dog, I stand beside my dog and bend his leg towards his belly (hope that makes sense) He has black nails so I can’t see the quick, but I can see better how much nail is too long when I look at the underside of it.
I can’t use the dremel-type here. My sheepdog’s fur is far too long and apt to get wound around the spinning tool.
I have found that using a guillotine-type trimmer works best when used properly.
Make sure the blade is sharp, too.
Look at the way a dog’s nails curve downward. When using the guillotine clipper, do it so that the blade cuts from the underside of the nail. The underside is wider and softer than the top. If you make the cut from the topside of the nail, it puts too much pressure on the tough top part making it more likely to crack and break the nail rather than cut it. Cutting from the topside also applies too much pressure on a small surface area of the nail making it uncomfortable for the pooch.
Make the cut from the underside cleanly and quickly, being careful not to cut too much off lest he bleed.
I use that pedi-paw on my girl - she hates grooming, brushing and all of it - but tolerates this pretty well.
We got our dog as a rescue when she was about 5 or 6. She was very intolerant of attempted nail maintenance. It took some time, and the bribery of many soft squishy treats, but we can do it now. I break up a soft and smelly treat like a Beggin Strip into small bits and she gets a tiny piece after each clip. (She doesn’t get those sorts of treats for anything else. They are strictly “toe rewards.”)
It’s good for discipline, too, because it reinforces the ‘sit’ command. I tell myself that anyway. 
Edit to add - I use a guillotine type trimmer as described by GrizzRich and I just try to get them down some… I don’t try to cut as close as possible to the quick. Since she walks on concrete a lot, she doesn’t get werewolf toes much.
There is nail trimmer that has a guard on it to prevent over trimming. We love it! Both our dogs detest having their nails done and are quite prissy about their feet. We usually accomplish nail trimming by rolling them over in our laps for “baby time” and belly rubs while the other accomplice snips the nails. This usually works fairly well. For dark nails look at the inside of the curve and you will see where the sharp claw meets the larger, quick-filled nail. Cut in front of that point.
I had no trouble cutting my dogs paws, until one day I cut one to short and hurt him. After that he refused to let me do it anymore. There was no way I was ever gonna get him to let me do this again. So I just gave up.
I have four dogs: a Rottweiler, a Lab, a pit bull x Lab and a little JRT mix.
I can do all the big dog nails - I don’t cave in to drama, they lie on their sides, I use a sharp guillotine clipper and shush them if they fuss, all nails done in about two minutes per dog. I’m sort of a “take no crap” dog owner. They get a fair bit of excercise so nail trimming is really a formality because they stay fairly worn down most of the year.
The little JRT (Jack Russell terrier) mix at about a year old decided to become utterly undone with the process. Tail tucked, ears back, trembling, the whole deal. I’ve never snipped too close, and she is a highly-trained agility/therapy dog. I eventually gave up on trying to force the issue or coerce her…I take her to a salon and let Cheryl the Evil Salon Owner be the bad guy for $6.00, about once a month.
I feel your pain.
There is one way to get around the clipping. Take your dog on a lot of long walks on concrete sidewalks. The nails will wear down.
Of course, that doesn’t do anything for the upper side nail, whatever it’s called.
Dewclaw. Or, dew claw.
It works to a point. If your dog’s nails are already quite long, they change the geometry of the way the toe hits the ground. This generally prevents the nail from getting ground down to the desired length like you want.
Think of the way chicks with really long acrylic nails have to pick things up and push buttons. They don’t do it with the tip of their nail.
For a dog that is terrified, doing one nail at a time and making nail time a special time is fine. You want to associate “people doing stuff with my feet” with “ooh, very yummy treat” (as lisacurl described) - this changes the emotion from anxiety “oh crap my feet don’t touch my feet” to a positive, happy emotion “oh boy, nail trim means it’s very yummy treat time, yay”. If the nails aren’t desperately long and starting to hurt her, you can start by handling her feet a bit every day and giving her treats, and when she doesn’t care about that, pretend that you are going to clip her nails but don’t actually clip them. When the sight of the trimmer and the pretend trims become boring for her, then you can go back to trimming, one toe a day at first. Literally a minute or two a day is better than trying to get it all done in one big session once a week. This keeps her from getting too wound up - by the time she’s stressed, it’s over - and it really does work if you give it time.
With my cat, I was mean and didn’t even use very many treats because she’s fat, but just by messing with her feet all the time in a casual, relaxed manner and stopping right before she got agitated and praising/petting, she came to realize it was no big deal. She’s still not thrilled because I haven’t bothered to counter-condition her all the way, but nail trims do not involve drama, cursing (both of us), and blood (mine) like they did when I first got her. Of course, I had to start over again after clipping her too short one time. You should have heard the names she called me.
I see your problem. You should trim the claws, not the paws.
Hope this helps.