# Nail trimming



## Lime Light (Jun 29, 2013)

Need some help with filing my 10 week old puppies nails. The day we picked her up from the breeder she bathed Sadie and filed her nails with a Dremel. Well two weeks latter her nails are getting long and sharp so we went and bought a Dremel. My wife, daughter and I tried to do her nails tonight and holy crap this pup is strong. We were not able to get her to stay still. She was kicking, biting, and throwing a god awful fit. 

How can I get her to allow me to Dremel her nails?? I am not sure how the breeder got her to stay still, maybe Sadie was in shock from the bath. 

An help would be greatly appreciated. 


Thanks. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## LJandK (Jul 14, 2013)

I am sure others with much more experience than I will be able to offer more ideas, but when I dremeled my (now 5mo) girls nails for the first time I put a frozen kong in front of her nose. She spent most of the time trying to get the "goodies" instead of focused on the dremel. Just be cautious, she did try to stick her nose on the dremel once or twice exploring!

I also spent a day or two just turning the dremel on at a distance from her to get her adjusted to the noise so it was familiar. 

Good luck!!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## kathy81 (Apr 13, 2013)

We encountered the same problem with our little guy - only it was with a nail clipper. We finally got smart and this is what we did and it worked!

We started out slow by just showing him the clippers and putting them away. I'd say 3-4 times during a 7-day week. After that we had the treat bag next to us and pretended to cut one nail - praised him - gave him a treat, doing this for all of the nails. I think we did that every other day for a week. By the time we actually cut the nail he could care less since he knew he was going to get a treat. Initially we would cut one nail - treat - one nail - treat and gradually stretched it out to cut an entire paw - treat - entire paw - treat. Now we can cut them all without a fight!!!!

I'm sure you could approach it the same way with the Dremel.

Good luck!!!!


----------



## kiki (Jun 21, 2013)

Kiki hates the dremel, 7 1/2 weeks. I tried the clippers and filer and she was ok with that. Have you tried a clipper?

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## BriGuy (Aug 31, 2010)

Lime Light said:


> How can I get her to allow me to Dremel her nails?? I am not sure how the breeder got her to stay still, maybe Sadie was in shock from the bath.



The biggest tip our trainer gave me was to straddle the dog, so that they are between your legs. To do the back nails, just face the tail and pick up a paw and cut. Reverse to do the front. Having the dog between your legs helps them feel secure and that they won't fall down. 

I stopped using a dremel and found that the Miller's Forge clippers with the orange handle to be the best tool for the job.

Remember that you have to be confident! I would start off by doing one nail and then put the clippers up and give a nice piece of dried liver. Do another nail the next day, etc...


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I use the Miller's Forge clippers and the dremel. My current pup Gabby has been the hardest of mine yet...and I bred her! I have been trimming her nails since she was one week old and this litter was the toughest I have ever had. First of all, I put her up on something..the tables at the hospital where I work, or the grooming table at home. I started with someone else trimming her nails while I continuously fed her that nasty cheese in a can. It worked. Holding her down didn't work, it made her struggle more. We did this at least once weekly. She is almost one year old and I can trim her nails by myself. I still put her up on something.


----------



## JayBen (Aug 30, 2012)

Get her used to you handling her paws. You may want to consider purchasing/making a grooming table. It is so much easier on you back and it keeps them stationary while you do any grooming. I had a really hard time doing anything with her nails/paws until I made a table. If your interested I would be happy to give you advice for making one yourself. 

After using a cordless dremel I would never use clippers again.


----------



## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

I had my daughter hold peanut butter in her semi-closed palm. While Rose was trying to lick it I was doing her nails. If I wait two weeks I have to clip and file with the dremel, otherwise I dremel once a week.


----------



## Popefamily430 (May 11, 2013)

I knew from having my previous dog that it was important to instill good bathing habits from the time I brought them home. I taught them "ears" and would use cotton balls to clean their ears out, "face" to comb the hair on their muzzles (my first dog was a yorkie), "teeth" whenever I brushed their teeth and "paws" and I would rub on and gently squeeze their paws for starters. Later introducing clippers. I can clip their paws with them standing, sitting or laying down. They'll also let me use scissors to trim the hair between their toes without complaint. I feel like if I hadn't started with them so early on they wouldn't be so easy to let me do these things but they could careless


----------

