My German shepherd loathes having his feet messed with.
So, when he needs a pedicure, I buy a pound of cheap bacon & cook it up. I crumble some of it in with his dry food, and while he’s on a snarf fest, I do as many nails as I can while he’s distracted.
It’s even more hilarious in person than described.
That’s what I’m going to do this round. My dog’s had it done there before, and I’ll have them train me to do it. It’ll cheer my dog up to go for a ride.
Some breeds need that done regularly; some never have a problem. My dog is a Walker hound/Lab mix as near as I can tell, and I’ve never had to do this nor has the veterinarian. Yet cocker spaniels I have known will go motor-scooter-butt on the carpet at the drop of a hat.
I use a guillotine clipper. Get some silver nitrate sticks, you can buy them from your vet, Amazon, a feed store. That way if you do go a little short it’s a quick and easy fix.
I do both for Simone: take her to a professional (someone other than me to take the blame) and take along peanut butter. I just recently started using the peanut butter bribe to distract her, but it’s worked really well so far.
I took him in to the pet shop/shelter, they clipped his claws, he cried, then he cheered up at all the other animals. Now he’s happy, I’m happy, and I’m only out $5. Next time, if he’s not being neurotic from his other problems, I’ll try again.
By “motor scooter butt,” I meant that scooting motion of a dog dragging its rear end on the ground. They seem to like carpet for this. It almost always indicates the anal glands need to be emptied.
A lot has to do with your attitude. Don’t make a big production out of it. Have your tools ready and then wait for the dog to approach you. Once they’re relaxed, THEN you start.
My friend has a chihuahua. One day she told me that she needed her nails clipped but that the dog tried to bite her every time she tried. I asked her to get the nail clipper for me. I picked up the dog, sat her on my lap, and clipped away while the dog just sat there. We have an understanding: I am the boss and that’s that.
Now I trim her nails every time I go over and the dog still loves me best.
Guillotine clipper with guard, two people (one to hold the dog; one to clip), and a Greenie covered with peanut butter. I also have styptic on hand to stanch a bleeder when I clip a little to close. It happens from time to time. We all get over it although I prefer to avoid it. My dog doesn’t enjoy getting his nails clipped, but he puts up…mostly for me.