Our GSD is now 16 months old. Have had her since 8 weeks. Practiced desensitizing as a puppy: holding, rubbing her paws, tapping nails with trimmer, marker training. All to no avail. 2 of us had to hold her while she screamed bloody murder. Discontinued that procedure when she was too big & strong for us to restrain.

I did marker training with a dremel. No deal! She is NOT afraid of the tools - in fact, she wants to play with them - but she hates having her paws held still.

Have had her nails trimmed by the vet until the last episode: took 3 technicians & a muzzle to get the job done. The vet thought a tranquilizer to be better than the trauma.

Today I gave her the tranquilizer. She was relaxed & sleepy. I placed her favorite treats close by for rewards. When I held her paw she jumped and struggled as usual. I was kneeling on the leash with a prong collar and that did not restrain her. I know it is counter-productive to quit, but someone was going to be injured (probably me). Even if I could hold onto her paw, it wouldn't be still enough to trim.

The last resort looks like having the vet anesthetize her before trimming her nails. I don't like the idea and it is expensive. But I dislike the tranquilizer even more - even if it had worked.

(I have also walked her more on pavement than dirt in an effort to wear down her nails - but that will not work during the winter.)

Callie is not our first shepherd. We had 2 others (now passed) who hated nail trimming - but they gave in and endured it.

Callie is a great dog in all other respects and she is obedient. I took her to 2 series of puppy classes, 2 series of obedience classes, and 2 sessions of CGC classes (she did not pass because she jumped on the evaluator - although she did allow her to "shake" her paw). We have great walks together and fun tracking and nose work, and have begun rally training.

Has anyone overcome this type of nail phobia?

 Quote: Carol Elliott

Has anyone overcome this type of nail phobia?

I have. But admittedly not with a 16-month old large dog that's too big to restrain.

My technique is to simply start trimming nails on young puppies every week, whether they need it or not. I use a dremel and can remove the tiniest amount of nail in a go--sometimes it's even just a "pretend" nail trim. But they get it, every week.

I've yet to find a puppy that enjoys or even willingly submits to it at first. But I'm bigger than they are (while they are little) and I'm not allowing them to decide whether or not this is going to happen. It just does. Wriggle, roll, or scream bloody murder, the nail trim happens. Then they get treats and a love fest of praise. After four or five of these sessions, they realize that they are not going to die and that protesting is futile.

(I offer all this to any puppy owners out there reading the thread...it's the best advice I can give: take a half an hour every week and do a complete "grooming" ritual with puppies starting on day one. Touching, probing, handling, brushing, every square inch of their bodies. It won't be fun the first few times, but you, your vet, and your groomer will thank you profusely in years to come.)

To the OP: I'd start with the goal of doing just one nail. Even if you don't get it trimmed very much, just touch the dremel to one nail, using whatever method you must--bribe, restraint or helper. Then stop and throw a party. Tomorrow, try one more nail. Repeat about a hundred times.

I didn't like the thought of Zoey getting trimmed by a stranger and putting my dog in that uncomfortable situation so I went in and asked if they would show me how they do it, they said sure but wouldn't let me be in the room I told them to pound sand and I'll figure it out myself.
I did the touch the toe nail with clippers & sander and treat and did it slow every day for a week or more, every time I touch a nail I'd give a treat touch another nail treat that's all I did on the first couple days didn't even trim them.
Then I would grind a nail for a second treat move to the next nail grind a second treat. The grinning friction get hot real quick so it burns like it would on you so grind a few seconds and move on take your time.
I wouldn't say Zoey loves it but she's awesome with it now. I trim every weekend and I can grab the treat container the dremel box and she lays down and some times rolls on her side without a command but I usually say "down" then "over" means roll on your side and she rolls over on her side and away I go.

I now clip a little of the nails first to get them shorter then I finish her pedicure with my dremel.

First off, desensitize her to holding her WITHOUT trimming anything, until she is ok with it. Strange people holding her down, not good. What did they give you for her, Acepromazine? Yes it will sedate but is unpleasant for the dog to be on it (its an anti-pyschotic seriously). They will be all dopey one second and come right out of it another second and much worse (I used to work on dogs like this, it sucked). You can try another tranq like valium and do practice with it.

I got Logan at age 13months, he was HELL to do nails on. He flailed around like a shark, screamed, absolutely nuts. He is high strung, very sensitive to his feet touched, hates to stand still etc. Now he's an angel for his nails.

Here's what you can do. I didn't have a grooming table so I used a flat buckle collar and clipped it to the chain link fence, with his head up high (like a grooming noose). I rewarded him for accepting that restraint...I also put a leash around his waist and snapped it (prevents spinning). Any time he struggled against the restraint, I held him calmly....as soon as he stopped TREATS. Session over, enough stress. I marked him for being calm taking them off.

Then after that was established....I put my hand on his wrist and marked....over and over, then raised it. *Note* hold the limbs in the position that a ferrier does a horse. Most people do not hold them right and the dog struggles as its uncomfortable, awkward to balance etc. And never fight the dog while your holding its legs. Don't let go, but let the dog move its leg so it doesn't feel trapped and panic, just keep you hand on it, when they relax, pick it up again. Do not raise the feet up high, you don't need to.

Stay calm yourself...sometimes the human needs the tranq not the dog LOL. Do not worry about her nails growing while you are in this training faze. You do not have to quick them to make the quick go back later, just get close (there's a darn center in the nail).

"Our GSD is now 16 months old. Have had her since 8 weeks. Practiced desensitizing as a puppy: holding, rubbing her paws, tapping nails with trimmer, marker training. All to no avail. 2 of us had to hold her while she screamed bloody murder. Discontinued that procedure when she was too big & strong for us to restrain."

At what point did she scream bloody murder? To me, that point is where I went WAY too fast in my desensitizing. Was it when the dog was held down? Then that's the part that needs more work ... gradual and slow work, not triggering that response.

You can do this. If it takes a long time, it takes a long time. If her claws are dangerously long right now, maybe I would consider the anesthetizing suggestion, once, to give me plenty of time to prepare calmly for the next time (which IMO will be one claw at a time, "then stop and throw a party," as Tracy said, no matter how well the desensitizing is going).

My goal is always not having to hold the dog down. You can marker train the dog to accept eye drops, ear cleaning ..... and manicures too.

As others have said, I don't start with doing a claw. Tresa's first sentence is crucial.

You start with the dog remaining still, then remaining still while you touch a paw. (I have mine lying down, so it starts with that. Mark and reward, all done. Many times. THEN touch a paw while lying down, mark and reward, all done. Many times.)

I hope these replies renew your confidence, because this CAN be done, with no stress and with wonderful rewards that the dog gets ONLY for this job (warm bacon?).

* oops that was dark center in the nail.

Bacon, bratwurst...etc LOL

If done correctly, the dog will tolerate the nail trimming or even like it. I can now just tell him stand and stay, no restraint at all, no muzzle, no BS. Sometimes he will get fussy but its an easy fix now that its established what I require.

This is a sensitivity + trust issue. No short cuts, just easy baby steps. Stay calm. If touching her paw is so bad, start by marking touching her somewhere else.

I think that some dogs who have had dew claws removed by an inexperienced operator,, perhaps at some age older than the three to five day recommended age may actually have some memory of pain when the foot is touched.

A " nubbin" of bone left at the spot where the dewclaw was originally seems to be something I have noticed in dogs with foot touch phobia.

The experts have given you some great advice. For what it's worth, this is what works for me. There is no way I could trim my GSD nails by myself. Even though he is not as reactive as your dog, he's not about to relax and enjoy a pedicure. My husband and I work as a team. We put the dog in a sit. I hold in my clinched fist a handful of chicken or steak and while the dog is struggling to nibble at the premium treat, my husband trims a nail or two. I'll relax my hand slightly so the dog can nibble on the treat, but I try to keep him pushing on my hand and engaged with the treat.

Now that I've written this, I can hear those that have dogs that would eat their hand laughing. Oh well, it works for me.

We have tried several methods including restraining the dog.

Edited by Nancy Manuel (06/14/2012 10:23 AM)
Edit reason: add other methods tried

Interesting Betty, Logan has a bony bump where it used to be and who knows his age when it was done. Is that not supposed to be there? Also there is a ugly scar.

Very interesting... I have never had problems trimming the nails. Keiko is the only dog that I have ever had that never needs them trimmed. They are so short that they almost worry me.

Maybe some dogs have it in the blood