We have a 14 pound Jack Russel that has extremely strong flanges with sharp little talons. Any attempt to trim meets with extreme resistance. He goes from sweet lovable little Nicko to Wally the greased sea otter! I've tried it twice and managed to get one talon clipped each time. I'm afraid I will hurt him or he will hurt himself the way he squirms and fights. Any help would be appreciated. If
I took him to a groomer, I'm afraid he would fight just the same but I would not witness it and it definitely turn his temperament towards others.
Thanks!

(1) Muzzle if he bites (mine didn't).
(2) Elevate the dog strongly onto a table. He gives you shit because he hasn't been subdued.
(3) Clip Nails, I use one of those clippers with the nail guard so you can't cut too deeply.
(4) Reward when done.

The first time you may not get everything done, but reward nonetheless. Our 35#, strong ass hell Boston Terrier was like this until I did 2-4. In the end, he hated it but as soon as I hoisted his ass up on a tall table and clutched his body tightly to mine, he didn't move or fight.

I had a tiny toy poodle who hated nail trimming. Vet taught me a trick. It takes 2 people, cover dog's with a heavy towel or blanket and have your helper hold on tight. Jack will be pissed but he wont know where to bite. Don't take too much off at once and give favorite treats and praise afterwards.

Lots of treats. And do it often so he gets familiar with it. It's hard when they don't get exposed to this when young.

Keeping the nails short is good. Trimming them when they are long may be more painful for them (the nerves extend out more?)

Some type of continuous treat as a distraction, we use a small cup of peanut butter. Our GSP licks away at the treat while my wife holds her collar and I clip the nails.

quote:

Clip Nails, I use one of those clippers with the nail guard so you can't cut too deeply.

That is the key,and at my house you do one and two others want their turns.

Our dogs have always gone to the groomer for nail trimming and coat grooming. $38 well spent.

Jim

Dremel.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
(1) Muzzle if he bites (mine didn't).
(2) Elevate the dog strongly onto a table. He gives you shit because he hasn't been subdued.
(3) Clip Nails, I use one of those clippers with the nail guard so you can't cut too deeply.
(4) Reward when done.

The first time you may not get everything done, but reward nonetheless. Our 35#, strong ass hell Boston Terrier was like this until I did 2-4. In the end, he hated it but as soon as I hoisted his ass up on a tall table and clutched his body tightly to mine, he didn't move or fight.

This. Try using your washer or dryer top. The metal surface is slick and helps a bit.

Get him a purse!




Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WVtXSMzr2Q

He does not bite, he just becomes impossible to hold, we've tried it with me holding and the wife holding. We haven't tried covering his head. I saw the purse trick a while back, I asked my wife to look for such a purse in goodwill. I'd have an easier time trying to clip the cat's nails!

Another tip is to train the dog to accept his paws being touched and massaged. Do this as a periodic exercise while the dog is in relaxed mode as you are petting them. Reward them with praise or a random treat, but not too many treats. Over time the dog will accept your handling of their paws for any reason. Comes in handy if they injure a pad and you need to address it. The dog will actually be calmed because they are conditioned to know your handling of the paws/pads is a positive experience.

You should hear my brother's Chihuahua mix (formerly a stray) carry on.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Dremel.

This. Takes a little longer than clippers but less likely to cut too deeply.

Don’t fight him to clip em...

I have 2 80lb GSDs that can obviously prevent me from clipping them if they wanted. So change their view on nail clippings...

For a few days, start with touching/playing with their paws and give em treats for it.

Then for a few days, play with the paws and touch the clippers to the nails, but don’t actually cut anything. Then give em treats.

After they are content with that, clip one nail and give em treats.

Eventually they look forward to getting their nails trimmed, and you can cut them all in one go. It just takes a lot of patience and consistency. Slow and steady beats force.

We take ours to the vet, no doubt she'd let me do it, pretty docile hound, however she also needs anal gland extraction and I don't care what it costs I'ma paying the vet for that.... so we get it done at the same time, best $40 I have spent..

Lots of good advice, but as for 3rd party clippers (vet or otherwise), they may do more harm than good because you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes/closed doors.

I had a 85+# German Shepherd who was so abused by the vet tech, she bled all the way home (offwhite leather car seats) and I had to stop and get some clot compound from the pet store. All 4 paws!

It was hell trying to ever get her to do her nails again. Takes a lot of time, patience, effort and tips like covering their head and touching their feet kindly.

In many breeds of dog you can look for the blood vein that goes into the nail (Underside) and you clip shy of that point. Even with GSD’s where the nail is black, you can tell what is overgrown cartilage and what is fresh nail. Use your eyes.

My wife uses a Dremel but beware; some dogs do not like the whirring sound. Another option is to use Emery boards available from beauty supply stores. They come in several different grits so you can pick your poison. If my wife is doing someone else’s dog that’s a tough sell, she’ll start with a fine grit to measure the dog’s temperament and go to a course grit if the dog allows.

For the cats, we 'mumify' them in a large towel or beach blanket. This seems to calm them down. You can pull a paw out and cut from there.

Note that this is for cats. I have no idea what effect this will have on a Jack Russel.

H&K-Guy

CAUTION when using a Dremel. Can cause heat on the nail from the high speed.