Re: bathing and clipping nails

In Reply to: bathing and clipping nails
Category:   Behavior Problems
Posted by:  Diane
Posted on:  February 23, 2002 at 22:51:03

: Please help! I have a two year old male "Buddy". No one I mean No one can clip his nails or bathe him. He goes crazy and bites you. The only way I can get anything done is to muzzle him. In the summer he loveS to jump into the pool so that helps keep in clean in the summer but in January in Chicago wet and muddy I don't know what to do . He will not let you touch his feet at all. Do you have any suggestions he is so much fun other than this crazed side of him.

Response:

Hi Diane,

This can be a tough problem and so far you are using the right solution by muzzling him. You could try to get him more used to having his paws handled by gently handling them when he's laying next to you on the couch and when he doesn't go ballistic praising him and telling him what a good dog he is. However that will take TONS of time and it still may not fix the problem.

Now my boys aren't as bad as Buddy, but I still haul their little behinds into the vet's office and have the tech clip their nails for a nominal fee. Seems worth the $5 so I don't have to deal with it and they behave much better on that cold steel table haha!

As far as the Chicago winters (know them well I was born and raised there), you may want to consider having like a dish-pan full of water by your entry way and have Buddy stand in there for a minute to get the mud off his paws. Then confine him to an area of the house while his feet dries.