Help - dogs claws need cutting

Helen2k8

I'd second the "faff with dog's feet" without clippers on a regular basis. I gently harrass my pooch, mainly tickling her belly with one hand and holding a paw in the other BUT I only let the paw go when she holds the foot still. If you let go while she's waving the paw around, you're teaching her to wriggle to make you stop

Meadows

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

We are new dog owners and have got a rescue dog, have had him for 6 months and his claws are getting really long. We thought we might be able to do it ourselves so bought some proper cutters. Hubby started off showing him the cutters and then snipping a bit off the fur on his paw (as pet shop suggested) to show him we werent going to hurt him. Then he moved on to actually cutting a claw and gave him a treat. First one was fine, now he wont let hubby near him!
The trouble is he is absolutely terrified of the vets, anyone got any advice? Would a groomer be cheaper? Would someone come and do it at home as this would be far less stressful for him. I can see this being a nightmare and possibly quite expensive too. Any advice would be welcome.

Get your dog out for more walks (at least 2 walks a day), this will soon wear down the claws.

krlyr

Meadows wrote: »

Get your dog out for more walks (at least 2 walks a day), this will soon wear down the claws.

Not necessarily. There's lots of reasons why walks may not be sufficient for wearing nails down. For example, if the nails were already slightly too long (from a previous owner's habits, from being in kennels, etc.) then the nails may not touch the ground at the correct angle to wear down.

Also, the surfaces that the dog is walked on may not be that abrasive - for example, in my previous house, we could literally go from my garden directly into a field (not even across a road or anything - one step we were in the garden, next step in the field) and then would spend the majority of the walk on grassy surfaces. There was a short area of it on pavement or road but mostly grass (or mud, dependant on weather!).
At my new house we do a mix of field, park and road walks but I still generally prefer not to walk on the road/pavements too much, as it is harder on their joints and they're breeds prone to joint issues.

And some dogs just have a different anatomy, dogs' body shapes have changed with all the different breeds we have, and sometimes nature doesn't quite work the way it's intended - for example, the dew claws on some breeds can be problematic (and are often removed for this reason)

Meadows

krlyr wrote: »

Not necessarily. There's lots of reasons why walks may not be sufficient for wearing nails down. For example, if the nails were already slightly too long (from a previous owner's habits, from being in kennels, etc.) then the nails may not touch the ground at the correct angle to wear down.
And some dogs just have a different anatomy, dogs' body shapes have changed with all the different breeds we have, and sometimes nature doesn't quite work the way it's intended - for example, the dew claws on some breeds can be problematic (and are often removed for this reason)

Well yes all that goes without saying but as OP says dog wont let hubby near him, is absolutely terrified of the vets, a nightmare and possibly quite expensive too. Any advice would be welcome.

krlyr

It's an idea worth trying, but OP might follow that to the letter and still have problems with overgrown nails and wonder why. I didn't rule it out, just pointed out that it may not do the trick for various reasons - your post to me reads as if it will definately work.

Person_one

krlyr wrote: »

Not necessarily. There's lots of reasons why walks may not be sufficient for wearing nails down. For example, if the nails were already slightly too long (from a previous owner's habits, from being in kennels, etc.) then the nails may not touch the ground at the correct angle to wear down.

Also, the surfaces that the dog is walked on may not be that abrasive - for example, in my previous house, we could literally go from my garden directly into a field (not even across a road or anything - one step we were in the garden, next step in the field) and then would spend the majority of the walk on grassy surfaces. There was a short area of it on pavement or road but mostly grass (or mud, dependant on weather!).
At my new house we do a mix of field, park and road walks but I still generally prefer not to walk on the road/pavements too much, as it is harder on their joints and they're breeds prone to joint issues.

And some dogs just have a different anatomy, dogs' body shapes have changed with all the different breeds we have, and sometimes nature doesn't quite work the way it's intended - for example, the dew claws on some breeds can be problematic (and are often removed for this reason)

Yep, I have two dogs who go on the exact same walks, one has never needed his nails cut at all and one is the one I talked about above who needs fortnightly attention on them!