As a new dog owner, many people go to the vet shortly after the little puppy comes home, and of course we did too.
At the vet, Rudy was described as a beautiful, healthy and fit dog and everything was as it should be.
The vet provided a nice service, so he trimmed Rudy's nails - this is where things went wrong!
Rudy has several black nails/claws, and it can therefore be difficult to determine how much nail to trim, apparently also for a vet. Unfortunately, the cut was too short, so blood flowed out and to stop the bleeding, the vet burns the nail. This is incredibly normal practice, but it is extremely painful for the dog, as the nerve is exposed and it was unfortunately enough for Rudy to refuse to have his nails trimmed again.
I didn't feel competent enough to cut his nails myself, especially since the vet couldn't even figure it out. I also wasn't allowed to touch his paws at all.
About a year later, I saw an advertisement at our local pet store, they were having a vet visit. The vet was coming to offer nail clipping to customers, so I signed up.
When the day came, Rudy refused, and unfortunately it ended with involuntary restraint and again cutting his nails too short, causing them to bleed once again.
After that, I was recommended to have him under anesthesia when he needed his nails trimmed, which was completely against my way of keeping a dog. Anesthesia is certainly not without risk, so it was a big NO from me.
I spent a long time wondering what the hell we were going to do with him. He was really panicking about nail clipping. Rudy had lost all trust in both vets and us.
I agreed with myself that I would have to cut them myself.
We simply had to rebuild trust so that I could be allowed to do it.
A really good nail clipper was purchased, lots of treats, and then I gathered my courage and had plenty of patience.
We started by letting me hold his paw and touch his nails/claws, he would then get praise and then a treat. We started by doing that many times.
Then I took the nail clipper and patted his paw with it, he got praise again and then a treat. We repeated this many times.
We did this exercise several days a week over a long period, and then it developed into me being allowed to hold the nail clipper properly in my hand and right up against his nail. This whole process involved many thousands of repetitions, and went on for several weeks.
One day I was allowed to get really close, so I took the chance and clipped him. It was a huge success, he got a lot of treats, hats and praise, so we continued this for several months.
In just under a year, I turned the panic around nail clipping into a positive experience. It suddenly became a cool thing to do with mom because we cuddled together, he got praise and treats, and we generally just had a good time.
Today, almost 5 years later, he still enjoys nail clipping and everything that goes with it, and even though we have changed vets in the meantime, I am still the only one who cuts his nails.
If you have a dog that refuses to have its nails trimmed, then train, train, train – it can be done. We are living proof of that.
Bloggers of the week
This blog post is written by Mie Eriksson, who is the lucky owner of a 7-year-old Old English Bulldog named Rudy. They are active together on Instagram with the profile @erikssons_boys
Nail clipping - a bad experience
As a new dog owner, many people go to the vet shortly after the little puppy comes home, and of course we did too.
At the vet, Rudy was described as a beautiful, healthy and fit dog and everything was as it should be.
The vet provided a nice service, so he trimmed Rudy's nails - this is where things went wrong!
Rudy has several black nails/claws, and it can therefore be difficult to determine how much nail to trim, apparently also for a vet. Unfortunately, the cut was too short, so blood flowed out and to stop the bleeding, the vet burns the nail. This is incredibly normal practice, but it is extremely painful for the dog, as the nerve is exposed and it was unfortunately enough for Rudy to refuse to have his nails trimmed again.
I didn't feel competent enough to cut his nails myself, especially since the vet couldn't even figure it out. I also wasn't allowed to touch his paws at all.
About a year later, I saw an advertisement at our local pet store, they were having a vet visit. The vet was coming to offer nail clipping to customers, so I signed up.
When the day came, Rudy refused, and unfortunately it ended with involuntary restraint and again cutting his nails too short, causing them to bleed once again.
After that, I was recommended to have him under anesthesia when he needed his nails trimmed, which was completely against my way of keeping a dog. Anesthesia is certainly not without risk, so it was a big NO from me.
I spent a long time wondering what the hell we were going to do with him. He was really panicking about nail clipping. Rudy had lost all trust in both vets and us.
I agreed with myself that I would have to cut them myself.
We simply had to rebuild trust so that I could be allowed to do it.
A really good nail clipper was purchased, lots of treats, and then I gathered my courage and had plenty of patience.
We started by letting me hold his paw and touch his nails/claws, he would then get praise and then a treat. We started by doing that many times.
Then I took the nail clipper and patted his paw with it, he got praise again and then a treat. We repeated this many times.
We did this exercise several days a week over a long period, and then it developed into me being allowed to hold the nail clipper properly in my hand and right up against his nail. This whole process involved many thousands of repetitions, and went on for several weeks.
One day I was allowed to get really close, so I took the chance and clipped him. It was a huge success, he got a lot of treats, hats and praise, so we continued this for several months.
In just under a year, I turned the panic around nail clipping into a positive experience. It suddenly became a cool thing to do with mom because we cuddled together, he got praise and treats, and we generally just had a good time.
Today, almost 5 years later, he still enjoys nail clipping and everything that goes with it, and even though we have changed vets in the meantime, I am still the only one who cuts his nails.
If you have a dog that refuses to have its nails trimmed, then train, train, train – it can be done. We are living proof of that.
Bloggers of the week
This blog post is written by Mie Eriksson, who is the lucky owner of a 7-year-old Old English Bulldog named Rudy. They are active together on Instagram with the profile @erikssons_boys