Inspired by the poodle question, how to deal with a big dog?

[jennylou]

My dog is huge. Probably close to 90 pounds. He's a big, black lab.

I tried trimming his nails the other day and he growled at me. I would then just pet him and calm him down and try the other paw (thinking maybe the other one hurt?). Anyways, that didn't work either.

I obviously can't do the burrito trick with him :p, so any suggestions. I'm thinking a muzzle might be in order. His nails need trimmed, and I've done them before with no issues from him.:confused:

[maxandmolly]

With our 100lb. Rott/Chow mix, his daddy made his nails bleed more than once, so after daddy passed and he came to live with mommy, he would immediately try to get away if he saw or heard clippers.
With our 65lb. Golden/Chow mix, I can still love on him, then grab him under the fron legs and sort of flip him over so he's held baby-style, so I can croon in his ear while I grab his paw, and get them that way.
Til he realizes what's going on.
With my 45 lb. Beagle-mutant, there's no hope. She screams like I'm trying to kill, tries to flip herself over (if I use the above technique), and wiggles away. She *way* too damn strong for me to hang on to, even with every bit of my strength, and s-dad helping hold her too.

[Rose]

I have the groomers do it just because I am not comfortable enough and I don't really know how. I play with his paws often though. If you feel comfortable I would probably just get a muzzle just to be safe.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

For nail clipping, my 130lb-ish Saint just needs a good belly rub during, and we're good to go. In the beginning, he was very timid. So, after every nail--if he behaved and didn't yank the paw back--he would get a treat. Now he doesn't mind, goes with the belly rub, and gets a snack with lots of praise afterwards.

If I want his teeth brushed well, I take him to Petsmart and let him become their problem. And leave him, because they assume that if I'm willing to wait for them to finish, I must be willing to help hold him down (never, ever again will I wait for the guy!).

Anything regarding his eyes, you need about 6 full grown adults with him cornered--and you'll still have problems. I tried to put drops in, and I've been thrown up against the kitchen cabinents. Sneaking up only worked the first time, because he now sleeps with one eye open. He must be sedated for some procedures.

[ejs]

We usually have the groomer or vet tech trim our dogs' nails. We can play with our big guy's paws and he's fine, but he runs if he sees the nail clippers. We were told that if we really want to do it ourselves, we should just trim one nail per day, every day, and move around his feet.

[ManteoChik]

We're lucky because nothing phases our black lab...she's about as mellow as they come. That being said she will just lay there while you clip her nails or stand there while you give her a bath so we've never had any problems with what you've said.

However, I would also suggest taking your dog to the vet to get clipped. They are used to dogs who don't want to get clipped and will have extra people on hand to help out.

[Vegastrtle]

I've taken her to PetCo and they couldn't do it. She cries and jerks her paw away at the sight of clippers. She's the same way for the vet. Like someone else said, we're able to touch her feet with no problem...but can't get near her with the clippers. The only people that can do it are the groomers at day care..and they get her at the end of the day when she's too tired to fight much :D

[Hello Kitty]

The treat, clip, treat, clip, repeat works really well for our dobe. DH holds her in his lap and snuggles with her, and I do the clipping. I also take off just a little, and go back for more if I can. It's definitely a two-man job, though.

[jesvet]

One of my 90 pounders can be trimmed just by me, since she's pretty good. The other one is totally wiggly and it just can't be done without brute force. So I tke him to work and make the techs do it. :D For the really uncooperative dogs it can involve a muzzle and several people laying on them.

[Kanga]

What jesvet said. I used to be a groomer at Petco. We used to have this 110lb lab come in that absolutely hated his nails trimmed. Took 4 of us - one to clip, one to hold the paw, and 2 to hold him still. No doubt in my mind he would bite if given the chance, so we had to muzzle him. But even if you use a muzzle, they can still bite so be careful.

I would do the treat, clip, repeat first, and if he didn't get the hang of it after a couple of times, try doing one a day. If you don't want to hassle with it, it isn't expensive at all to have the groomer or vet do it.

[mjfish]

What about using a dremmel? Just a second or two on each nail and you're done. I own a Rottweiler (100lbs +), and I don't really have a problem with him (so I haven't tried the dremmel), but the breed is notorious for having nail-trimming issues, so I know a lot of owners have had success with the dremmel. You would need to get the dog used to the sound and the vibration sensation, but it may be better than the clipping/cutting sensation.

If you're going to clip, get it out of your head that you are hurting him. Snip, praise, move on. Do one nail a day for a little while if need be, and work your way up from there. If you clip one too short and it bleeds, don't make a big deal out of it. Dip nail in the quik stop powder, and move on. I think sometimes we are nervous so they get nervous, and while you're not hurting them, your energy and voice and body language is telling them something entirely different.

If that doesn't work, get a few 200+ lb men to lay on him and snip away! :p (J/K)

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

We take the easy way out: our guys get their nails trimmed at the vet's office. :D :p
For other things, when we need them to stay still... Either DH or I just grabs him or her and bearhugs them, while the other person does whatever needs to be done. Neither one of our guys has ever growled though. I think if they did, we'd probably muzzle them while doing whatever.

[jennylou]

It's just so odd that he suddenly wouldn't want it done, to the point that he expressed it with a growl. I've done them before and he seemed unphased.

Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant? (It has been awhile since I did them last...)

[jennylou]

Me thinks he just doesn't want it done. I got the clipers out and he started limping as soon as he saw them. Now, I know nothing is wrong because he was fine right before. So, I put the clippers away and was playing with him. Got the clippers back out and he started limping on the other foot. I call shinanigans. :p I've got a faker.

[Marie]

Patience. Lots of patience.

Make the clippers part of his stuff - put them in the lock position and leave them on the ground with his toys (I do this with a brush as well, then it isn't so scary). After his brushing, start getting him used to you touching his paws. I start with touching paws, give praise. Then touch one nail at a time, give praise. Then hold one toe at a time, give praise. Then pressure on one toe/nail at a time, give praise. Then touch the clipper briefly to each nail, give praise. Then hold the clipper around the nail, give praise. May take weeks but eventually he'll get it. Best if done with a nightly brushing ritual, followed by a treat of course!

[Chimichanga]

We can't clip our labs nails anymore. Once I nicked him and I just freaked out. I swore I could never do it again. DH clipped them for awhile (he never held him good for me) but I can't hold our 90-lb boy anymore.

We take him to PetCo to get his nails clipped. We usually do it every 2-3 weeks or so. He gets long nails quick. We get him groomed every 6 weeks or so - bathed and teeth brushed too. We can't give him baths anymore either because he gets WAY too hyper and I can't control him in my condition (could do it otherwise - he knows I'm the alpha mommy)

[Nigellas]

When I worked the Humane Society we would trim nails in pairs if a dog was weird about it. One person would knee down behind the dog, put their right arm (or dominate arm) across the dogs neck and grab the opposite ear (not hard) and bring the dogs head across their (the person's - not the dog's) chest (to the same side as the arm you are using) – bring their head across with your hand pressure- don’t yank at the ear. By holding the dogs away, the dog’s teeth are away from the other person who is in front of the dog trimming the nails. It’s important to keep a firm grip, because dogs can be crazy strong then they don’t want their nails trimmed.