Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:30 pm Post subject: Clipping claws??
Heya - last time we took Toby to the vets to get his claws clipped and it took two chews and three of us to hold him down while the vet did it Toby didn't seem very traumatised by the whole experience but as I was very flustered and scratched all over by the time we left (and £11 lighter ) I thought we could try and do it ourselves this time.
I've just spent an hour or so building Toby up to it and with OH's help and the truster clicker (and lots of treats!) we've got all of his claws clipped. However, I'm not sure how short I should have gone as Toby's black so not really any guidelines on the nail (I understand that lighter pets have a darker bit towards the paw where the blood is??) and also the cut claws, although they're a lot blunter, are quite jagged and still prone to causing scratches (wanna see my arms as proof?? )
Should I have cut them shorter and is it normal for the edges to be jagged? I would say that his bigger claws (the ones in the middle) are about 8 or 9 mm long and the smaller ones are obviously shorter but in proportion...
Sorry for the major vagueness but it's a bit hard to describe!!
I think it's best to cut just a small amount off the end of the claw, if they are black nails, it's very difficult to see where the quick is and too easy to cut the nail too short, which I have done on a couple of occasions Well done you for managing so well.
Take Toby out for a road walk and that should file the ends down for you
Ah brill Thanks was thinking I'd have to get out my manicure set and try to keep him still for that not sure he, me or Matt would appreciate that though! lol...
Will take him out for a walk in the morning to sort out dodgy ends
I 'cant' clip my dogs claws and usually take them to the poodle parlour or vet nurse where I hand them over and sit in the waiting room- however Jets seem to be growing at a rate of knots recently- I always used to try and do it when they were pups but they squirmed so much and I became too nervous to do them
( I am a nurse who has no qualms about doing most anything to a human without the same trepidation!!! Well apart from putting 'drips' in a skill I still hate trying.
but can take blood with my eyes closed almost )
Over the weekend I was brushing all my dogs as it took two empties of the dyson just for downstairs and thought I would have to do something with one or two of Jets nails- so having had horses and found housekeeping their feet not too difficult. I have a pair of clippers with a guard on to help stop cutting off too much.
I think that little and often you should get the hang of it and with less treats etc. All my cuts werent clean cuts, but I wonder if that comes with practice- would he tolerate a bit of emery board treatment?
I finally bit the bullet and stood over Jet and did them 'backwards' horse fashion so I could see the underside and where the soft part was- he wasnt happy but my OH had his collar and I managed 3 nails, and nowhere near as manic as when I used to lay him down.
As I could see what I was doing it made it 'easier for me' and dont know why I havent tried it before in the 9 years I have had him
I think you have to be happy to do them and be quite matter of fact- else the dog picks up on your nerves. I found that by picking out the dirt in front of the soft part easier to see how far back to clip- but if push came to shove I would have rather had a competent person do them- call me a wimp!!! Someone who isnt such a woose will probably help shortly- but well done you and Well done Toby!! Hope the scratches go away quickly!
That way the corner touches on the ground and wears back further.
I start claw trimming early in the pup's life. I started Amy at 7 weeks old, just tipping one claw at a session. This way it was over so quick and lots of fuss and praise follows. We are now at a position where when I pick up the clippers she throws herself onto her back and sticks her feet in the air. Try to make it as quick and stress free as possible. Do just one claw, and dont aim to shorten it too much in one go. What matter if it takes 3 weeks to do all four paws if by the end of that time he is holding his paw out confidently to to have them cut by the end of that time. It's not a race.
We are now at a position where when I pick up the clippers she throws herself onto her back and sticks her feet in the air
We used the clicker with Basil for this when he was very small too (our old lab x hates it so much the vet has to sedate him slightly for it )
Basil doesnt even bother to wake up now when I trim his claws.
Incidentally, I only clip the dew claw as the others are all naturally trim from walking on pavements. Should I be trimming them all???
I trim as per Johns diagram, so that there is still a little curve to the claw to be safe as I cannot see the quik.
oooh thanks guys - love the drawing John - is that one of your own? hehe...Not sure what angle I cut them at this time as it was a very hard process as time goes by, I'll hopefully have a more relaxed dog so will be able to pay attention to that kind of detail...
Well I wasn't nervous as such but Toby is a normal squirmy puppy so he was wriggling around a lot! No possibility of emery boards at this stage! hehe... I think I'll just continue doing it every month and try and get him used to me clipping his paws - even if some of the time it's just a pretend clip - so hopefully he'll get better!
I only clip the dew claw as the others are all naturally trim from walking on pavements. Should I be trimming them all???
I don't have to trim Danny's claws - only the dew claw.... so you can judge for yourself whether they need trimming or not.
Sometimes I do file off the rough edges on his other claws with an emery board if i feel they are a bot jagged - but not to take any length off, just to smooth them over
Oh yes, just do what's needed. The problem with my dogs is because they are mainly in the fields their claws do not get worn down. I call them their steel running spikes.
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Toby didn't seem very traumatised by the whole experience but as I was very flustered and scratched all over by the time we left (and £11 lighter 
) I thought we could try and do it ourselves this time.
)
was thinking I'd have to get out my manicure set and try to keep him still for that 
)
