Dachshund won't let his nails get cut! UGH!

[xLOBOx]

:anyhelp:My male dachshund Peanut HATES having his nails cut! I have no idea what to do!!! Every time I take him to the pet stores to have his nails cut, they bring him right back to me and tell me they're unable to cut his nails. He freaks out and starts nibbling and crying and wiggling.....I dunno what to do! Is there something I can do to calm him down so he can have his nails cut? They need to be done pretty badly....any suggestions? Any help would be appreciated....thanks!!!

(There's probably a simple solution to this and I'm being a moron and can't figure it out...)

[Ravenwolf]

Nail trimming can be a very sensitive thing for dogs. Most simply, if he's ever been quicked before he is avoiding the potential for pain. Or it could simply be that some dogs are very leery of having people touch their feet, and to go to a strange place and have a stranger to throw them up a table and grab their paws can be traumatic and scary.

A dog that small should be rather simple to do at home. Get yourself a good pair of nail clippers. If your dog is the snuggly type it's a bonus. Set up your covert nail-cutting station (clippers, and little gauze, bleed-stop if you have some, and small bite-sized treats) by the couch or wherever you sit. Pick up your dog and set him in your lap while you're watching tv (better not to invite him up because if he gets agitated it will encourage him to disobey and not want to come to you later). As you're chillin' and petting him wander down to his paws and play with them, holding each individual toe. If he doesn't like it and fusses, just go back to petting like you could care less, and do only that for a few sessions until you touching his paws isn't such a big deal.

Once he's cool with you touching his paws, bring the clippers in and snip one claw. If you're worried about quicking him (and I'm guessing his claws are black), just nip an 1/8th of an inch off the end. Casually give him a treat - again like it's no big deal. You want to keep him calm, so no vocal praise that would excite him. Go back to casual petting, and as long as he's relaxes do another. And another. Treats after each one should hopefully convince him to stay, but if he wants to get up and leave, let him. Confining him when he's afraid/agitated by clipping will only make the experience worse.

So what if it takes you a full week to get all his claws the first time? Each subsequent time will be easier, and clipping will ultimately become a relaxing procedure that involves delicious treats! The end result is that you should be able to do them all in one sitting, because it will be no big deal.

I've used this method on multiple dogs and cats. One cat in particular solidified in my mind how effective this can be, because the owners could not trim her claws. And whenever someone tells me you can't do something with an animal, I just have to try it! The end result was a manicured kitty, and that without the use of treats.

The quick and dirty method is to have someone hold him down and muzzle him if necessary, and once he lays quiet do it all in one blow. The downside of this is that it's still stressful, and praise or treats afterward won't necessarily make it a good experience for next time. If you do it the slow way, there will eventually come a time where you can sit down and specifically have a nail trimming session without it being a big deal.