I am 99.99% sure that Ella is stressed/anxious about having her nails clipped but after a failed attempt at using Adaptil spray (I wasn't expecting miracles but it made no difference at all) I'm second guessing her body language. When I get the clippers out and put them on the floor in front of her she bows, bounces, paws at them, sometimes does a bark when she's bowing, sometimes picked them up (I always make sure they're locked) etc. but never runs away. Are these all signs of being anxious rather than playful?? Or could I be wrong about her fear??
I think they are signs of being unsure. I would hold the clippers near her and give her treats at first. When the clippers are on the floor she'll think she should be doing something with them. Her job is to sit still, so that's what she needs to be rewarded for. As she learns to be calm bring them closer, then - eventually after a week or so - touch them to her nails. Do that until she's completely calm about it (could be days or weeks) then just clip one nail etc. Slow is key.
Thanks Mags . It can just be so difficult to tell the difference between playful and unsure! She has improved a lot and does sit still (sometimes haha) and is rewarded when I touch her paws with the clippers. She will now let me do this most days but we still are rarely able to clip a nail.
I would go back a step an reward for sitting still with the clippers by her paw. Slowly asking for a longer sit. Then just touch etc. I wouldn't try to clip at all for a week or so. Then try gentle pressure with no clip and build it up. (I am doing this with eye drops for Tatze, we are just about up to holding the bottle near her eye - it's taken 6 weeks! Once they get it into their heads that they don't like something it's a sloooow process!! I was too gung ho the first time she got them, so we are now on the upward climb! Twiglet is just fine with them as I introduced them long before she needed them - just water, of course)
So true. When Willow has been scared by a bang, most people would swear that she's over-excited. She'll jump up, wag her tail, have her mouth open with tongue lolling. She looks like an over-exuberant, slightly out-of-control Labrador. There's just the slightest tension in her face that belies the fact that her behaviour is down to stress rather than excitement. Without context, I'd struggle to tell the difference myself. I think when it comes to husbandry, you need to aim for something to be so ordinary that it doesn't warrant any kind of reaction at all. I'd treat anything other than calmness in the same way; she's over threshold one way or the other and so you need to go back a step or two. How about leaving the clippers out all the time. On a coffee table, on the sofa, pick them up and put them down without interacting her at all. Carry them around. Until she realises that clippers are boring and don't mean anything is necessarily going to happen. Then, gradually, start playing with her feet whilst the clippers are on the table, then when they're next to you on the sofa ...
Sounds like a great idea, thanks. I feel like I'm spending more time back at square one than anything else!
I feel your pain, as you know! It's been a looong trek to get to where I am with my two and their nails.
The funny thing is that the vet says they're not too long. I think they look very long but they do a test with a business card where you slide it at the paw when the dog is standing. If the card slides under the nails and hits the pads then they're fine but if the card hits the nails they're too long. Ella's were all fine...
They do look long, but I guess it depends on her paw/pad configuration too. If they are off the ground, then they are fine.
They are off the ground so I guess they're ok but I wouldn't mind taking a little off the front paws (in ten years when we're finally able to do it haha). You might remember commenting on another photo where you can see a little bit of the pads on her back paws when she's standing. I had a closer look and you can definitely see pad but her nails are a reasonable distance from the ground so I don't know what's going on there!
Get her running on concrete until you can cut them - that'll wear them down nicely Twiglet never needs hers doing (except the dew claws) as she does so much pavement walking. .
She's a little bit precious. When we go for walks around the streets she always walks on the nature strip! Haha
I've never yet clipped a dog's claws. I've always found walking on hard/abrasive surfaces has been sufficient.
Well, maybe that's just how her paws are made, or just how she stands. This is what Charlie's nails look like. I don't want them any shorter, because nails should touch the floor when they walk, to aid grip etc. I can hear Charlie's nails when he walks across a wooden floor, and I think this is fine. paw and nails by julieandcharlie julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Willow's nails are a completely different shape to Shadow's. Hers always look very long (they are still too long in my mind, but we are making progress, I'm just so nervous of getting her quick and destroying all the good work). I'll try to get a picture...
Don't the dew claws grow too long? I only need to clip dew claws usually as we do some pavement walking most days.
My photos aren't quite the same quality as Julie's, having been taken on my iPad in a dimly-lit kitchen, but here you go, for comparison. They're pretty much the same distance from the floor, but completely different shapes. Shadow: Willow
Willow just looks to have a different paw configuration, her toes are longer, less arched than Shadow's. This means her nails are at a different angle, and the fur seems to stop sooner, making the nails look longer.
Ella's front paws are a lot like Willow's. Shadow's paws look so much nicer and neater though I'd take a photo but she's snoozing on the couch
