Absolutely, I think I could have hugged him! It's so nice to hear people talking about and encouraging positive training methods, and to know that's the type of environment that she'd be in if we left her there for the day (or a just a few hours - baby steps ☺)
Thanks, still 8 looooonnnnnggg weeks to go ☺. We've got about a week of weather in the mid 30s coming up so that will definitely take its toll. I'm actually feeling jealous of those that have a cold Christmas for once!
Thanks snowbunny I get the feeling we have a long journey ahead of us. Today I started with a simple paw hold (front paws only for now as she seems more comfortable with this). I tried sardines for the first time ever and honestly, I just changed her world! Best treats ever! The good news is she was happy for me to run my hand down her leg, pick up her paw and handle her "toes" and nails on each front foot. I'll work on getting this to a really good positive session with all four paws before I even get the clippers out. I think we'll get this step done reasonably quickly as she's seems quite good with it (I've always played with her paws when we cuddle on the couch) but once the clippers appear I think I'll have to break it down into tiny steps (e.g. just placing the clippers down beside her, then just a touch on her paw with them to eventually just clipping one nail etc. etc.) My question is, what should I do in the short term? Her nails are really long and, whilst I don't want to make things worse, surely it can't be good for me to leave them like this until she's happy for me to cut them?
That's a good question and one I'd love an answer to. Willow is happy to have her nails filed with a metal file, but it's not very effective. So her nails are getting longer, to the point where something really needs to be done, but I know that forcing her into it will take us back to square one or even worse. The thing is, as the nails get long, the quick extends, too, so it takes a while to get them back short again, because you have to clip/file a tiny bit every day, or you'll nick the sensitive bit. Willow's nails grow as I look at them, I swear.
Not impressed, I really hope you'd have the magical answer for me Ella's nails seem to grow at a frightening rate too! I just don't know what to do. I'm contemplating paying the vet to do them now, even though she'll hate it. I'm trying to convince myself that maybe it will be ok because it won't be me doing it so won't affect my work with her too much. I just want to get to the point where she'll let me do one nail. Then I'm happy to make it part of her routine to clip a tiny but off one nail every day. That way we can slowly get them shorter (reducing the quick) but each session will be super speedy as it will be only one nail.
