Any tips on clipping claws for dog with foot-touch phobia?

[Haffdonga]

Ddog has never much liked anyone touching her feet ( I think she had a bad experience at a groomer) and she now gets quite hysterical if i try to trim her slippers or go anywhere near her front paws. Until recently regular walking kept her nails short but now she's an elderly lady, she wants less exercise and her nails are in dire need of a trim. i tried today with lots of biscuits and rewards but she got extremely distressed and we managed less than one claw

Have any of you wise and wonderful dog people got any ideas or tips, apart from general anaesthetic ?

[TrionicLettuce]

There's an excellent group of FB called Nail Maintenance for Dogs which has loads of excellent information in their files section, it's really worth having a read through.

A scratch board may be a good option for you to start with whilst you work on desensitising her to having her feet touched. It's basically some wood with sandpaper stuck to it and you teach her to scratch it herself and wear her nails down. The 'Teach your dog to self trim on an abrasive surface' file on the above link has got lots of good resources for that.

[PuraVida]

We tamed ours with cheese. She REALLY likes cheese

[Belle89]

Are you holding her paw correctly?don't pull forward, bend leg backwards and clip nails. More natural position for dogs and you'll have more control. Can someone else feed treats while you do it? Or spread peanut butter for the dog to lick so they are distracted. Failing that if smaller breed dog calming cradles are great at reducing stress

[wishparry]

Haha.my dog hates her nails being cut by us,so she bites them herself...she's really good at it.but the noise isn't so good.

[wishparry]

Sorry,not much advise there.but could you get her while she's asleep?

[Eolian]

Place marking. I have a large dog who will not let us clip his claws. He goes for lots of walks but his front claws don't wear down. He bas no problem with us touching his feet - he even quite likes them being geld or stroked. But go near him with the clippers and he's petrified. He's the same if we approach him to examine him in any way (if we think he's got a scratch or a tick or something.

[Eolian]

*has
*held

Stupid phone.

[Haffdonga]

Wow- so many helpful ideas already. Thank you {smile]

I'm already trying the desensitisation rewards - treats for touching her feet. She's liking the treats part.

Belle - interesting what you say about holding her foot. I didn't know that. i was watching videos on how to do it before trying on her today and they didn't mention the hold - and their dogs all slept peacefully throughout . I am tempted to try doing it while she snores next to me on the sofa (amazing how much space a small terrier can take up when she's relaxed) but I wont, I feel that would reduce her trust in me. Tomorrow I'll have another go with a helper to feed treats.

[Haffdonga]

Trionic Thanks for that really helpful link. Amazing that you can teach dogs to file their own nails. I know you can teach an old dog new tricks but ddog is a old and stubborn and a bit thick so I think that may be a bit ambitious.

[Belle89]

Hard to explain in text, i have tried adding a picture. You'll find that you can see the quick alot easier this way too. They naturally bend in this way when moving but don't naturally lift legs up and forward which is what people generally do to them when trying to clip claws, Some dogs are ok but others with start to resist and pull back before you've even got clippers near them this way.

[Haffdonga]

That makes so much sense Belle. I don't know why I didn't try it like that before. Thanks