Reg: 12-06-2010
Posts: 721
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
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Okay, I won't have him licking the clippers. I was trying to think of something that would at least allow me to get them within a 5 ft radius without him shying away. I think I will have to get the heavy hitting treats ready and just click and treat, see if I can get him to ease up a bit. He's 80+ lb. so I kind of need his agreement, at least partially.
Im convinced its the grooming table that makes the difference.
The one time Tasha acted out about a nail trim at the groomer was when she hooked her to a leash hitch instead of putting her up on the table.
Melissa, do you agree with that? I find that I end up doing most of the big dogs on the floor. I can see how the table could make the difference though.
One thing that helped when I was trying to teach my fearful rescue dog to have her nails trimmed was peanut butter on a spoon. It takes two people. I would operate the nail clippers (in my case a Dremel tool), and my husband would hold a spoonful of peanut butter in front of her nose. Licking peanut butter off a spoon takes a lot more concentration than just taking a treat from a hand. After a few sessions like that, we were able to eliminate the peanut butter and just use treats.
To this day (three years later), she occasionally decides for no reason that I can discern that she is once again scared to have her nails trimmed. (I'm sure I haven't quicked her. In fact, I leave her nails longer than I normally would just to be sure I don't.) So I just go back to square one and put the Dremel on the lowest speed possible and touch it for a few seconds, treat, repeat, etc.
Reg: 12-06-2010
Posts: 721
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
Offline
I did an exercise with both dogs of simply touching the clipper to their foot and clicking and giving a treat. Jethro flinched a couple of times, but then settled down to get a treat for letting me touch his foot with this "thing". As usual, Skipper leads the way, and once Jethro sees Skipper accepting the touch and getting treats for it, he wants to play too.
I like the peanut butter on the spoon. I think I will use that for our first attempt.
They do Loki on the floor too. I end up sitting in a chair and he will lean into me to get away from the groomer so I can help hold him still.
He still tries to yank his feet away from her but it is with less power behind it, and he doesn't scream and try to run off like he does with me.
I touched and rubbed his feet for months and got him totally used to it. Then I touched his toenails with the clippers for another month or so and got him used to that.
But the combination of holding his foot and coming at him with the clippers still causes him to freak out. He has never been quicked or had a bad nail experience, he just really really doesn't like it.
Here is a canine sports medicine specialist's opinion on the dewclaw issue. I attended Dr. Zink's seminar last month and have changed my mind about dewclaws. Previously, I thought they basically had no function and were just evolutionary "leftovers." After listening to her and seeing her slides of dogs in action, using the dewclaws, my opinion has changed.
Very interesting. Brodie, when he is laying down at the end of a wooden dock or on top of a picnic table will sometimes flex all his claws including the dewclaw around the end/side of a plank (if that makes sense). The dewclaw definately moves and grips.
They do Loki on the floor too. I end up sitting in a chair and he will lean into me to get away from the groomer so I can help hold him still.
He still tries to yank his feet away from her but it is with less power behind it, and he doesn't scream and try to run off like he does with me.
I touched and rubbed his feet for months and got him totally used to it. Then I touched his toenails with the clippers for another month or so and got him used to that.
But the combination of holding his foot and coming at him with the clippers still causes him to freak out. He has never been quicked or had a bad nail experience, he just really really doesn't like it.
I'm lazy. I toss a muzzle on Koenig, and do him while he's standing in the kitchen, or I'll roll him on his back, laying between my legs on the living room floor. The muzzle isn't so he won't bite.... he wouldn't dream of that... it just distracts him enough so he does not twitch/yank away from me. I should really stop being lazy and just marker train it. Sigh.
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Re: Managing dew claws
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