Getting nails clipped

Bodger

I have 3 BTs and they all flip out when we try to get there nails clipped. We have to bring them to the vet and two people hold one of them down while the vet tries to clip them while he is thrashing and growling like a nut. Is this a BT thing or just my dogs?

Mark

My EBT Emma used to growl like mad when her nails were being done.  In contrast, Katie was so laid-back I could put her on her back and use my Dremel on her nails, and she'd just lie there.  Phoebe started out very scared of the Dremel, so I went to clippers, which she doesn't mind.  And just recently she's stopped minding the Dremel.

So, in short . . . heck if I know.  I think your little guys started out not liking the experience, and being held down while being clipped isn't making the situation any better.  I'm not saying you are wrong, just that the current procedure is reinforcing their dislike.

Neil

My male BT doesn't like his nails being clipped.

So instead of stressing him out, i started off by just clipping one nail a day while he was sleeping.

 Now i can clip all of them in 2 mins while he sleeps.

Try it....it works.

Djammy

 I have to agree with Mark and I am even going so far to say it is dangerous to stress the dog out so much.
Honestly, if MY vet would suggest this to get the clipping done on my dog, well, if I had not have the chance in a while and the nails have grown really much too long, I would - M-A-Y-B-E - tolerate it for ONE single time. Knowing that even this one time is going to cause a lot of emotional damage, I will have to deal with later.

But if the vet suggested this procedure even as the STANDARD procedure for a scared dog, I would take my dog and RUN! What kind of a vet IS this???
Does he also do surgery with a pitch fork and no anaesthesia?

I am not even saying that I used to be any better. Only I am just a dog owner and did not know better back then. But a vet should know better, because that's the one we are turning to for advice, if we don't know any better.
I used to think that getting it done as quickly as possible and using some force to get it done is the best way for everyone.

My last EBT was VERY scared of clipper and dremel. And not until she ultimately fainted during the procedure once I realized HOW MUCH STRESS I had put on her every single time I did it.
For nothing! This one thing I deeply regret with my last dog even until today. Because I now know there really ARE other ways.

Sorry for all of those capital letters, but "professionals", such as vets, who are dealing with numbers of dogs every day, giving such advice just make me angry, I have to admit.

My current EBT, Djamila, also did not like any fumbling on her feet and of course not the clipper or dremel. She is the type of dog choosing growling and going forward as her outlet for fear.
This is very easy to be mistaken as aggression and could scare people, who are trying to handle her. Therefore it is of course an issue that needed to be worked on, which we did since she was little.
My last EBT before was the quite opposite of Djamila - Fancy submitted to her fate and suffered in silence - until her body literally gave up and she passed out.
I mean, imagine HOW MUCH STRESS your dog must be going through - no matter if it reacts either outraged or intimidated.

Imagine, if someone just held you down, sat on you, no movement possible, no escape whatsoever and then did strange things to your body that do not hurt, but do not feel good either. And you do not even know what for. Super scary, isn’t it???

Nail clipping is not a natural thing and MANY dogs - not only EBTs - are afraid of it.

The good news is, usually there IS something you can do about it.

Only you do have a disadvantage for now, because your dogs have connected the clipping to very bad experiences: people holding them down and doing things to them that scare them and that they don’t want. I can’t overlook how much damage already has been done and therefore how long the way will be to repair it or if it is even possible any longer to turn things around. It will for sure take a lot of patience, empathy and time.
But I would at least give it a try.

Your task now is to break the negative associations with nail clipping and tie positive ones to it.

If you have the time to deal with it on your own, I would first skip the vet for clipping, well, at least THIS one. It does not hurt, if your dogs’ nails grow for a few weeks or even 2 months or so.

Then I would take one dog at a time - and keep it that way - and approach the issue in tiny steps.
Neil’s idea to do it one nail at a time while doggie is sleeping is neat. But I am afraid that ship has sailed with your dogs for now @Bodger.

Still, in general this "recipe" is already how I would approach it as well: One dog at a time, super relaxed situation and environment, not being in a hurry myself, making it as comfy as possible for doggie.
Then I’d first just introduce the tool (I’d stick to the clipper in this case, because it just works faster than a dremel and is more effective this way) hold it near, let doggie sniff it and reward every non-aggressive behavior.
Next step after a while is clipping one nail at a time. And a looooooooooong while in the future maybe try even more than one at a time.
I have described in this article how I have familiarized Djamila with the clipping.
http://www.bullterrierfun.com/dog-nail-trimming-anxiety/

Even today the clipper is still suspicious to her, but she now tolerates it.
I still have to be careful, not be in a hurry and talk to her, reward her. BUT we have come to the point, where I can lie her down and she lets me clip her nails. ALL at once. Because she still does not like it, but she trusts me that I would not do anything that hurts her.

I guess with your dogs it will take quite some time to get to this point - months. One reason also being that you are now nervous yourself and probably a little scared how your dog will react. That transfers to your dog. If your dog is used to a muzzle, you could use one during the first time to make sure you do not get bitten. The message to your dog should not be that you stop what you are doing, because you get afraid of it because of the growling. Your dog should get the feeling that you understand it is growling out of fear, you do care about its fear and you take it into consideration. Your voice, body language and everything should communicate to your dog that nothing threatening is happening. And that goes for every single time that your are handling your dog in critical situations that it obviously considers intimidating and cornering.

Vital is also to avoid wrong cutting and hurting the quick, because that would cause the dog pain and only add to its existing list of negative connections to nail clipping. Less is more here!

chooba

The simplest solution for me is daily 1/4 mile+ walks on pavement. It wears down the nails so other than the rare exception, the length regulates itself.
Where I run into trouble is the Cold Michigan winters where the boys have no interest in walking outside. Every week I avoid trimming the quik length seems to double.

philsergeant

@chooba.... Yes that is the best solution... if there's no grass around... my dogs dive for the grass and rarely want to walk on the pavement... but to me, clipping is out... Dremel or VERY coarse emery boards... I use the latter  ... they just lie there and enjoy the spa treatment (I keep telling them to bring their Amex.... but you know Bullies, they never listen and expect the world)

BulliesofNC

In the event you schedule periodic deep cleaning of the teeth that's the best time to additionally ask that the nails are clipped and dremmeled all the way to the quick.
One thing that won't frighten a dog that much is a common nail file. You can simply gently file one or two nails a day to get your Bullie used to it. try to have a good time while you are doing it. Use treats if necessary.