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FunnyGuy

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm up for a discussion. As long as I've had Bishop, his nails were never cut. So he was dingin up the hardwood floors, so something had to be done. My dad bought some trimmers and did the left 'hand.' He told me that the dog didn't want to come back to him after he did that. So I did his other hand, and could tell that he was getting irritated as I did it... a look of concern in his eyes and the twitchy upper lip. I decided I'd take a break and let him mellow out... for a day... to avoid a conflict. True to bully nature, when Bishop is pushed too hard, he'll push back just a little more.

So today I figured I would try his back paws. I grabbed one of his new favorite toys and tried getting him distracted with it. He was having fun, and so I snipped one claw, but I could see the anxiety building up in him again. He tried to run away, but stopped him, relaxed him a little bit, so he knew there wasn't anything to be afraid of. I reached for the clippers, and he turned around and sort of went for them. It was more of a show than an all out attack... a bit of a growl and I think he tried to attack the clippers themselves rather than my hand, as I didn't feel anything when he went for it, and he just tried to get away as soon as it was over, and went to play with his squeaky toy again.

Now, I'm not really upset, because the way I see it, he went through the whole range of communication he has at his disposal... avoidance, change of facial expression, and then a harmless threat when he finally couldn't avoid the situation anymore. Am I wrong about this? And, if I take him to a vetrinarian to finish the job, and I tell them how he acts, am I doing the right thing?

Behaviorally, I've figured that he will only show this sort of behavior in certain situations... when he is cornered and something is happening against his will... i.e. trying to pull a bone out of his mouth if he doesn't want to drop it, or if he is extremely excited about something and then you try to impose your will on him... pulling him up the stairs by his collar when he wants to keep playing he'll let out a little noise (which is quickly reprimanded), or if I put him in his kennel when he is excited, sometimes he growls as I close the door, but never follows through or shows any continued signs of excitement... more of a show than anything else.

Your thoughts.
 
#3 ·
Hmmm....don't want to offend, but if one of my dogs EVER bared teeth, growled or acted otherwise unhappy with me taking a bone away from them, we'd have a MAJOR problem. That's unacceptable.

As for clipping nails, I try to make the experience as 'unscary' as possible. I'm very matter of fact about it and try to distract a little bit (give them a new treat, a bully stick, etc). Maggie is great about having her nails trimmed...well, I should say she's resigned to the fact that it's going to happen. Cinder is pretty much the same way, although I did clip one of her nails a little too short once and now she's a little wary...kind of like she's ready to bolt if if goes wrong. Chopper, my Corgi, SCREAMS like a schoolgirl when it's nail clippin' time. It's ridiculous. I have actually had my neighbor from ACROSS THE STREET knock on our door and ask if everything was ok. It's VERY embarrassing! :oops:

I would actually include nail trimming in part of your daily OB with him. Everyday, pull out the clippers, make him lie down and give you his paw...don't necessarily cut them, but go thru the motions. Reward with a treat when it's all over and make a big deal about his cooperation...ya know, lots of silly 'your such a good boy oh yes you are!' type of talk.

You may want to check out the sticky on NILIF, to help with the whole situation...reminding him that YOU are in charge may be needed.
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
mom to many said:
Hmmm....don't want to offend, but if one of my dogs EVER bared teeth, growled or acted otherwise unhappy with me taking a bone away from them, we'd have a MAJOR problem. That's unacceptable.

As for clipping nails, I try to make the experience as 'unscary' as possible. I'm very matter of fact about it and try to distract a little bit (give them a new treat, a bully stick, etc). Maggie is great about having her nails trimmed...well, I should say she's resigned to the fact that it's going to happen. Cinder is pretty much the same way, although I did clip one of her nails a little too short once and now she's a little wary...kind of like she's ready to bolt if if goes wrong. Chopper, my Corgi, SCREAMS like a schoolgirl when it's nail clippin' time. It's ridiculous. I have actually had my neighbor from ACROSS THE STREET knock on our door and ask if everything was ok. It's VERY embarrassing! :oops:

I would actually include nail trimming in part of your daily OB with him. Everyday, pull out the clippers, make him lie down and give you his paw...don't necessarily cut them, but go thru the motions. Reward with a treat when it's all over and make a big deal about his cooperation...ya know, lots of silly 'your such a good boy oh yes you are!' type of talk.

You may want to check out the sticky on NILIF, to help with the whole situation...reminding him that YOU are in charge may be needed.
Click to expand...
I had problems with him in the past, and they were getting better, he just freaks out about certain things sporadically. I brought him to a woman in my neck of the woods who does pit bull rescue and her trainer. They both tried to elicit agression from my dog, taking toys away, grabbing his collar (nothing abusive whatsoever, just going on problems I'd talked to them about), but he wouldn't do it. I'm going to give them another call this week, have them come over to our house, see what happens. I generally practice NILIF with him, and he really doesn't have any sort of domination issues. At night, he'll sleep in my bed, but as soon as I tell him up, he's out of bed, and he'll generally wait for me to allow him back in.
 
#5 ·
How old is Bishop? Are these issues new or recurring?

Glad to see you have a trainer that can evaluate him and help you out. If they weren't able to elicit an aggressive response from him before, you might want to REALLY get into NILIF with him, it seems he may be challenging you.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
mom to many said:
How old is Bishop? Are these issues new or recurring?

Glad to see you have a trainer that can evaluate him and help you out. If they weren't able to elicit an aggressive response from him before, you might want to REALLY get into NILIF with him, it seems he may be challenging you.
Click to expand...
He was a year old in March. Apparently these are prime challenging months. The issues come and go.
 
#7 ·
FunnyGuy said:
mom to many said:
How old is Bishop? Are these issues new or recurring?

Glad to see you have a trainer that can evaluate him and help you out. If they weren't able to elicit an aggressive response from him before, you might want to REALLY get into NILIF with him, it seems he may be challenging you.
Click to expand...
He was a year old in March. Apparently these are prime challenging months. The issues come and go.
Click to expand...
Ahhhh yes, the 'teenage years'...definitely sounds like this is related to his age. Keep up the NILIF, be consistent in your training and this too shall pass!
 
#8 ·
mom to many said:
Hmmm....don't want to offend, but if one of my dogs EVER bared teeth, growled or acted otherwise unhappy with me taking a bone away from them, we'd have a MAJOR problem. That's unacceptable.

As for clipping nails, I try to make the experience as 'unscary' as possible. I'm very matter of fact about it and try to distract a little bit (give them a new treat, a bully stick, etc). Maggie is great about having her nails trimmed...well, I should say she's resigned to the fact that it's going to happen. Cinder is pretty much the same way, although I did clip one of her nails a little too short once and now she's a little wary...kind of like she's ready to bolt if if goes wrong. Chopper, my Corgi, SCREAMS like a schoolgirl when it's nail clippin' time. It's ridiculous. I have actually had my neighbor from ACROSS THE STREET knock on our door and ask if everything was ok. It's VERY embarrassing! :oops:

I would actually include nail trimming in part of your daily OB with him. Everyday, pull out the clippers, make him lie down and give you his paw...don't necessarily cut them, but go thru the motions. Reward with a treat when it's all over and make a big deal about his cooperation...ya know, lots of silly 'your such a good boy oh yes you are!' type of talk.

You may want to check out the sticky on NILIF, to help with the whole situation...reminding him that YOU are in charge may be needed.
Click to expand...
Great post! I did the same thing to Zeus with cutting a little short with one nail now it's harder than heck to do them anymore. I like the tip on the treats and having him lay down with the clippers. I'm always look to save money and if I can aviod paying it to be done, certainly worth a try.
 
#9 ·
this is a sucky job. i cut franklin's nails when he is soooooooo tired, after a long walk or a good wrestle match with my female dog. he could care less.

as far as my female, she's never had to have her nails cut, which is weird, but the vet says she must file them down herself. don't know where or how. but the other day i noticed a few that looked a little long. i grabbed her paw, cut a few down and then got her on the quick, she yelped and pulled away. i felt horrible. have you ever hurt bishop while doing it?

i would be concerned about growling and resistance too. my female is a real bitch but never towards us. if she was, she would regret it BIG TIME. i wish you luck!
 
#12 ·
mom to many said:
Hmmm....don't want to offend, but if one of my dogs EVER bared teeth, growled or acted otherwise unhappy with me taking a bone away from them, we'd have a MAJOR problem. That's unacceptable.
Click to expand...
I have to agree with Mom on this.

Lets see, Xena loves everybody and everything EXCEPT getting her nails clipped. The first time we tried doing it ourselves, Angie, Craig (her bf) and I had to hold Xena in order to do it and I realized then just how extremely powerful my dog truly is. Since that time, I've realized that we did it all wrong, cause like you say, you press hard she'll press back harder - and ultimately nothing really gets accomplished this way.

I do Xena's nails myself and she's gotten 90% better than she used to be. I started off by muzzling her - I couldn't stand the idea of my poor baby muzzled, but it was the only time she ever tried to get nippy with me (can take a bone from her with no problem). In the long run, the muzzle was worth it. Eventually it will not have to be used - she's getting to that point now.

I'd recommend a few things:

1. Use a dremmel. Trying to clip your dogs nails when they're in an excited state and fluttering all over the place makes it hard for you to gauge where the quick is. You may accidently nick them which will make it even harder for you to trim them in the future.

2. Be relentless. I never give up doing her nails no matter how long it may take (the process is getting faster and faster for me now). Xena knows that she isn't going anywhere until the process is all over and all 10 nails have been done. I set the parameters for this situation not her. Otherwise, she'd do everything in her power to weasle out of getting it done.

3. I give Xena treats with the dremmel in my hand so hearing the motor doesn't freak her out. Once, it came on by itself (cats probably). I also have a marrow bone for her when its all over.

Another suggestion I have is to do an alpha test with her. Put his training collar on and sit in a chair. Get a treat that they are highly motivated by that they normally don't get. Have the lead in one hand, and a treat in the other. As soon as he goes for the food in your hand, pop the leash. Keep doing it each time he tries to go for the food. NEVER give them the treat that you use - when they finally submit, give them another treat instead. The good food is yours, not theirs. This alpha test shows them you're the boss. My trainer showed me this the first day of class but I'd already performed the task before. The trainer says that she can leave her food on the coffee table with her 6 dogs, and come back and nobody's tried to steal it.
Hope this helps.
 
#13 ·
nail trimming

When Chance was a pup He had a wipe your feet command whenever we come in from outside. I started trimming as part of wipe your feet a little every day, because he was scared from me clipping too short when I was less experienced. this works out great for us. :)
 
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