. I found with Logan that his fear made him more anxious in a down, being in a more submissive position. So with him I had him sit, and then sat down next to him and picked up one paw and set it on my knee (with my foot flat on the floor and knee up) so I could see the quick as I cut. The key is to always stop BEFORE you push the dog too far. If all you can do is lift the paw and give a treat and stop, thats fine. Talk to the dog soothingly the entire time, and stroke them in long slow motions. Work up to stroking the dog with the nail clippers if they won't even let you near their feet. Sit down next to the dog and stroke them soothingly with your clippers in hand, give a treat and leave. Work your way stroking down the leg to handling the paw but not clipping, treat and leave if necessary. Find whatever starting point you need to do for your dog. If the dog freaks out just seeing the clippers, maybe the starting point is to walk around the house carrying them and ignoring the dog. In the beginning I could only clip 1-2 nails of Logan's before he became too stressed. Now as soon as I sit down next to him with the clippers he usually just lays down for me. Or once I pick up his paw to set on my knee, he just flops lol. Tessa lays down and rolls onto her side as soon as I say her name and she sees me holding the clippers. When I'm fostering small dogs, I do it a little differently. I usually sit cross legged or with my legs out to the side with the dog in front of me. I have my right arm over the dog while I hold up the given paw with my left hand. I pretty much clip my cats the same way. Again, always stop BEFORE you stress the dog and reward for whatever you got, even if it was just holding the dog while holding the clippers. A key part of the way I do it with little dogs and cats, is you must have the animals trust FIRST (which is important with them being fosters). Otherwise being "over" them in the manner I described would be quite intimidating. But I've found that it helps the animal feel secure, to sort of "hug" in a way. But I am NEVER restraining them. When you restrain the dog you just increase the stress and each time the dog becomes worse. When your vet clips your dogs nails, do you watch or do they take the dog in the back? I would NEVER let them take my dog in the back... I usually see groomers and vet techs physically restrain the dog to clip its nails. If necessary more and more people to restrain the dog and get it done quickly. Not all do this of course. But restraining the dog can result in your dog eventually needing to be sedated for a nail trim!!! I think its MUCH better to work with your dog yourself. But its not for everyone, I do know of people that their dogs can be easily clipped without restraint by groomers, but freak out in front of their owners only because of reacting to the owners anxiety!
I must be lucky as I have not experienced this. My dogs actually sit better for the vet techs than they do for me (kinda like kids haha). They don't have to pin them down (like I do) and there is no stuggle. It's just clip clip clip.Originally Posted By: debbiebpatti,
i agree that in the vets office they don't have time to approach a dog in a long drawn out positive manner. they get the strongest amazon looking techs they have pronto and get the job done however they may so that they can get on with the waiting room full of people. certainly not a positive experience. i would be livid having my dog treated like this, since it is so unnessessary!!!!!!!
debbie![]()
