Re: Trimming toenails

["J. Renee Brooks" <jrbrooks@mercury.cor.epa.gov>]

Hi All,
   I hope you can stand one more toenail story.  We've done Maple's nails with the
clipper and she struggled a bit but we got them all done.  Torrey, on the other
hand, runs from the room and hides when I clip my nails!!  Our first dog, Acer, was
a total marshmallow, the dremel tool and clippers never phased him in the least.  I
even use to vacuum him when he was shedding with a special dog attachment.  As a
result of Acer's mellowness, I was not expecting Torrey's reaction.  I was grooming
him as I did with Acer, sitting on the floor with him laying down as I brushed
him.  Then I pulled out the clippers and held his paw, well he fought for his life
and ran away and hid.  I made the mistake then to "let him win".   Now, we have to
take him to a professional groomer, and it takes all three of them to hold him,
plus a muzzle while he's on the grooming table to get the job done.   They told me
that once he realizes he can't win anymore, he won't be so bad, but for now he's
terrible.   They charge us an extra $5 for the trouble.
    So the lesson in this story, get your puppy use to nail clipping early and make
it enjoyable for them (treats!).  Most of all, don't let them win when they
struggle.  Keep with it.

Renee

--
J. Renee Brooks
U.S. EPA/NHEERL          (541) 754-4684 (Office)
Western Ecology Division (541) 754-4799 (FAX)
200 SW 35th St.          jrbrooks@mail.cor.epa.gov
Corvallis, OR 97333