Nail trims-- groomer advice?

[cnvh]

I adopted a corgi from my local SPCA about 7 weeks ago. She’s an adult, the sweetest thing most of the time, except when it comes to nail trims. I’ve heard this isn’t uncommon with corgis, and I’m working on getting her desensitized as much as possible-- I handle her paws and play with her toes all the time, have been desensitizing her to my cordless Dremel paw tool, etc.; she tolerates me handling her feet just fine, but we’re a loooong way off from actually trimming.

I asked my vet’s office to do her first trim when I had her in for her second round of shots a couple weeks after I got her; I didn’t watch them do it, but I hear her screaming the entire time they did their thing. Last week one of my friends who’s familiar with corgis came over to try and give me a hand, and the corgi was an absolute terrorist. We tried for close to half an hour before I finally called it off because I didn’t want either of us to get bitten, or for the puppers to hurt HERSELF from flailing so hard.

I have a muzzle on order, and I would love to try the sling idea, but my house is oddly built and I don’t really have a good place from which to “hang” her while doing the job. Eventually I want to be able to handle her nail-trims myself, but we’re not there yet. In the meantime, she is really in need of a trim. I’ve never had to use a groomer for anything before; what are groomers’ thoughts on these little monster clients?? Obviously I would disclose that she’s extremely difficult… Is this a fair request to even pose to a groomer???

[endlessclimb]

If she’s desensitized to the Dremel, why are you trying to trim? Just sand them back.

[cnvh]

We’re working on desensitizing to the Dremel; she’s nowhere near tolerant of having it anywhere near her feet. She was actually fine with it being turned off and on, having it rubbed on her coat to feel the vibrating, etc.; she didn’t mind it at all until it touched a nail. She then went through the roof.

[endlessclimb]

Ah ok, I must have read it wrong. My apologies.

For a dog that’s adopted as an adult, I don’t know how far I’d go down the “tolerate this” training path before I’d result to drugs. She might have very good reason to hate having her nails trimmed, you don’t know. I’d gently sedate and see if you can get them done stress free, then wean back on the drugs.

[Jarpur]

Our adult 44# AWS rescue was otherwise sweet and loving but an absolute terror for nail trimming. No amount of desensitization (or bribery) worked, but we were able to successfully do his nails (also with a Dremel) with him muzzled, laying on his side on the floor. The person doing the trimming had to position their legs across the dog’s rib cage to keep him down.

The entire time, he would be threatening heinous consequences verbally – it was quite scary to observe. Once allowed to his feet after trimming was done, however, and with the muzzle removed, he immediately returned to his usual affectionate, obedient self. Our pro groomer had to use the same technique, and the vet clinic didn’t want to deal with him. The opinion there was that he’d been very badly quicked prior to our ownership, and would have to be put under for trimming; we were advised against having this done.

We managed to safely trim his nails this way, without anyone (human or dog) getting hurt – I’ve never quicked a dog – for the rest of his life (from 5 to 13). Perhaps this will work for you.

Good luck.

[Marla_100]

Here’s a trick I used on many
difficult dogs while still working on getting them used to the Dremel-

Get a couple Free paint stirrer
wooden sticks from Lowes or hardware store. Buy 2 kinds of sandpaper- one very course and one medium course.
Cut strips of sandpaper same size as paint stirrers, use Elmers Glue to glue strips onto stirrers.
You now have giant sized nail files, which. most dogs are ok with. Never had one yet that put up a fuss.

[MunchingonHay]

Can you make a scratch board. Same idea as Marla, but just on a bigger scale with more substance like a piece of plywood.

Teach dog to “scratch” board and reward. They only get the fronts, and you may have to tidy the side nails a bit, but it may work if your dog is food driven. ??? Just google scratch boards for dogs.

[SlabSided]

@cnvh

I would love to try the sling idea, but my house is oddly built and I don’t really have a good place from which to “hang” her while doing the job.

My new dog is exactly like yours (only a JRT mix). A sling is a game changer and I can now clip most of her back nails and dremel all of them. Nails are still longer than I’d like but at least we are making progress.

Do you have a door frame? I bought a wooden closet hanging rod and the two end caps that you insert those into and screwed the caps about half way up a door frame (not on the side that the door closes into) and cut the rod to fit. I put the sling on the dog and stick the rod thru the hanging straps it came with then carry her, hanging from the rod, to the door frame and pop the pole in place. Mine is positioned about a foot off the floor so I can sit on the floor and do the nails but you could make it higher or whatever works for you. Just make sure your dog can’t wriggle out if you plan to hang it standing height.

[cnvh]

@SlabSided

Do you have a door frame? I bought a wooden closet hanging rod and the two end caps that you insert those into and screwed the caps about half way up a door frame (not on the side that the door closes into) and cut the rod to fit. I put the sling on the dog and stick the rod thru the hanging straps it came with then carry her, hanging from the rod, to the door frame and pop the pole in place. Mine is positioned about a foot off the floor so I can sit on the floor and do the nails but you could make it higher or whatever works for you. Just make sure your dog can’t wriggle out if you plan to hang it standing height.

Oh that’s a good idea, thank you! I’d heard the suggestion of using a pull-up bar, but those all look like they hook up over the door trim; my ceilings are so low that the door trim around EVERY door butts up against the ceiling. I didn’t want to use eye bolts screwed where someone might hit them, but I can probably discreetly put those closet rod end caps somewhere.

[dogsbody1]

I have an Aussie who hated the dremel tool. Both my dogs hated it, in fact. But one was so small (spaniel mix), I could manhandle her onto her back and just about hold her still for it. I started by just touching the dremel to each toe—not enough to actually get the trim done, but enough to get the idea across. Then I would fuss over her and shower her with treats. Rinse and repeat. The Aussie observed and became so pea green with envy that he let me wrestle him to his back and do the same. This, of course, cued the other dog’s envy. Now, I alternate between them. One foot per dog, one at a time. They get so fiercely jealous of the attention and praise being poured onto the other dog that they’ve come to “enjoy” it, in a manner of speaking, or at least tolerate it for the attention. I also think seeing one another get their nails done built up their confidence. Wonder if that would help with your corgi. I know they may be a bit sharper than aussies, but aren’t they on equal footing when it comes to being absolute attention whores?

[Bonnie2]

Ask your vet about ace or Trazadone. Use a pretty hefty dose the first time then decrease the dose for subsequent trims. I know a lot of people don’t like the idea of using drugs but it is humane and safe for both of you!

[Angela_Freda]

My dog’s not great, but not as bad as yours sounds.
I do a toe a day for a treat.
It’s part of our daily morning routine.

[17love]

I’m actually a professional dog groomer with many years of experience. My best advice is to treat them exactly the same way you would a misbehaving horse or a foal getting touched the first time. Use a slip lead or grooming loop so they cannot get away. Hook them up short enough that they can’t reach to bite, put a softee muzzle (i cannot recommend these enough!!) on. This will make you feel safer and gives the dog something to think about. Dont let someone else hold them, the need to be solid so they understand that fighting will not work. Try and get as much on the same level with them as you can so your not hovering over them. Dont talk to them, dont pet them, dont give treats. And exactly like you would pick up a horse’s hoof, start at the top of the leg, gently but firmly slide down to the foot. If they fidget stop but do not remove the hand, and start moving again when they stop. When you get the foot, hold on. Do not release it unless its absolutely necessary, like they alligator roll or something. Wait for them to calm again. Clip one nail. If they freak out, just start again. If they hold still, do not let go, praise them, gently stroke the foot, and move onto the next. If you remain calm and firm, they will realize you mean business, being an idiot won’t help, and staying calm will get it done faster. Your attitude is key. The first time might look like your fighting a grizzly bear but i swear it will get better and better if you remain consistent. Make sure you pull the foot up and forward or back, not sideways. And when in doubt, leave them longer so you dont quick them. Thats often the issue, it hurts and they will remember. The shorter leg dogs have less room to go before they can reach you to bite so you need to make sure they are secure. I hope this helps!

[endlessclimb]

While this may work for some dogs, this is a great way to introduce further trauma around the whole idea. It’s flooding at its finest.

[17love]

@endlessclimb

While this may work for some dogs, this is a great way to introduce further trauma around the whole idea. It’s flooding at its finest.

I’m sorry, perhaps i didn’t stress the slowly, gently, calmly, quietly part enough. I’ve taken all day to do a set of nails before. One at a time, give them time to relax, and think about it and realize it wasn’t actually that bad after all.

[pony_baloney]

I use a heavy duty nail file (or sanding block on a larger dog) on my tiny dog. If I file at an angle to make a point, it’s easy to make the rest short. My rescue dog’s nails were super long when I got her and she was shaking so much when I first tried to file them. I give her a treat throughout the entire thing and she’s much better (not thrilled, but tolerates it). The quicks are still long inside the nail so I just file around the entire nail at all angles; they seem to be receding a bit.

[rulex]

I was going to suggest a scratch board as well. You mention desensitization, but have you tried counter conditioning? That’s how I got my dog comfortable with having his nails done.

If you are trying to go the fear free route, taking your dog to a vet or groomer where they will get flooded will just se you back each time or make it worse.

[S1969]

@cnvh

I asked my vet’s office to do her first trim when I had her in for her second round of shots a couple weeks after I got her; I didn’t watch them do it, but I hear her screaming the entire time they did their thing.

Did you ask them for advice?

It might also be that she’s especially verbal compared to other dogs who are equally nervous about nail trimming. So, the vets might have thought “wow, she can talk” but not that she was in any more distress than the average unwilling pet. (And in the meantime, I’d probably let the vet do it again rather than have another person get involved.)

I think it sounds like you need a grooming table with noose for this dog, and that’s where I’d start. Wrestling a dog on the ground is always the hardest way to do it. My recommendation would be to get one and do daily practice of being on the table and getting a treat. Once a dog is comfortable on the table it is a lot easier to move toward doing nails (or other grooming). And dog + table/noose and two handlers is really fast - one person feeds dog while other quickly does the nails. Some people use frozen baby food in jars to really entice them without giving them too much to eat.

Obviously if she’s a biter, and needs to be muzzled, you might need to wait until after the trimming to give treats, but I would try and see.

I’ve never seen a dog use a scratch board; I think most dogs probably would need more than this unless it’s used every day.

[thatmoody]

I used to have a chihuahua like this; screamed bloody murder throughout the whole process. But he didn’t struggle, so it was mostly a matter of getting used to the noise. He never STOPPED screaming, though, even into his old age, and he was done weekly (my groomer has a “tuesday nail day” where you take them in and they just clip them quickly while you wait; it’s awesome) for his entire life. He never seemed traumatized by it, other than the screeching, and would bounce as happily into the groomers as he bounced out. But he was a very weird little dog.

I don’t cut my young poodle’s nails (I do dremel them a bit when I bathe him weekly) but he has solid black nails, so my groomer nips them when he’s in every 4 weeks for a full groom. Since he’s been done so often since he was small, he has nice short toes. Getting him used to the high-speed blowdryer, however, has been a process. I’m sorry, dude, you’re a poode.

[endlessclimb]

@S1969

I’ve never seen a dog use a scratch board; I think most dogs probably would need more than this unless it’s used every day.

Plus, it’s not an even/short trim - it will get the center two preferentially. Plus, you still have to do the hinds. I don’t know why these this idea is ever presented as a solution. It’s not.