My almost 15 month old is now afraid of his nail clippers. Getting his nails trimmed was always one of the things we did really good on getting him used to. Ever since he was a puppy I would make sure to touch his paws and we introduced him to the clippers pretty early on to get his used to them. He was so good with it that I could clip them with him just eating a Kong but last night when I went to trim them he bolted! Last time I cut them he yanked his paw away before I was done cutting and I am wondering if that yanking sensation he felt in his nail wasn't very nice and now he's associated that bad feeling with nail clipping? I didn't hit his quick because there was no blood, and I don't believe I have ever hit his quick cause I knew it would be game over from there! How do I re-train him to not be frightened? He is still fine with me touching his paws. He just doesn't like seeing the clippers.
I think sometimes, the action of the clippers can feel a bit like a 'pinch'. My eldest Lab will occasionally snatch her paw away even though no visible damage has been done. It's a bit of a drag, but you're probably going to have to take a step back and associate just the sight of the clippers with food and work your way back to the point where you can tough her paw with them etc. I'd probably start by putting the clippers on the floor. Place treats on the floor some distance away, then work your way closer. You may find it quicker with a different pair of clippers. I also use a coarse emery board for my dog, she doesn't seem to mind the rasping action.
Tilly dislikes clippers, but we can restrain her enough to get the job done. Cooper Hates clippers and we are actually worried that we will hurt her if we restrain her that much, or we may get kicked to death (she won't bite but she sure struggles) So far it is not an issue, because she keeps her nails worn short, but I am concerned about it down the road when she is less active.
Apart from Pippa's suggestion of desensitisation training, include some loose lead walking on hard surfaces like sidewalks/footpaths. The walking on such material will wear down the nails. Blunt clippers also crush rather than cut.
Alschwaha says, How do I re-train him to not be frightened? You won't. Same situation with mine. Street walking/running helps but I've resigned myself to paying the vet office every 3-4 months. One holds and the other clips. 3 minutes and they're done. I'm out $23 . . . but it's worth it.
I agree it’s impossible to get them liking nail clippers if they’ve taken a dislike to them. I use nail grinders, great grooming tool https://www.christiesdirect.com/en/Bathing-Products/c-229.aspx I had a Leonberger once who, when she saw me take out the grinder, she was sitting in position with one paw up, ready. Why, because she knew for each paw done, there was a very yummy treat. Bless her, miss her
I much prefer the Nail dremel/grinder for my dogs and so do they. The vet tech used to fight them to sit still for nail cutting. Now I go to Petsmart to have it done as they use a dremel. My dogs don't even flinch the whole time.
