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Why does my dog bite during grooming? How to make him like it?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | neutered | 10 months and 3 days old | 55 lbs

Tigre used to get his nail clips and ears cleaned without a problem before, but he’s been giving the groomers problems these last three months. What could’ve caused this? Also, any tips on trying to get him to like it again? He tries to bite the groomer when he’s clipping the nails on his front paws and when he’s getting his ears cleaned.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Vanessa Yeager DVM MPH

Veterinarian

Published on November 7th, 2017

Hi there and thanks for posting. Tigre may have endured being 'quicked' when his nails were trimmed last time or before which is when the nail is trimmed a little too close to the quick and it bleeds. This is common and often happens what the nail is overgrown. Having a nail cut a little too close can be a bit painful and is often a cause of dog's anxiety or fear of nail trimming. However, there are a few ways to get Tigre to have a better association with the clippers but it will take work and practice. You can begin by just touching his paws. Reward calm behavior while touching paws with tasty treat. Begin slowly and gradually work up to longer and longer sessions. Once he feels comfortable with touching the paw, hold the paw with your hand and progress to touching her nails, adding pressure to the nail that will simulate a trim. Reward calm behavior during this with treat. Once he feel comfortable with you holding and manipulating the nail, you can introduce the clippers. Gently tap the nail with the clippers and reward calm behavior during this. Clip the clippers without actually clipping the nail to get him use to the sound. Again reward when calm during this. Gradually work into clipping the nails. Start with one nail at a time, rewarding each time he is calm during the trimming. Go slow and always reward good behavior with tasty treat. I hope this helps and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I suspect that Tigre had a traumatic experience or two that has caused him to be a bit more apprehensive about getting his ears cleaned and nails trimmed. I don't think it was an overly traumatic experience, but likely he felt some pain or discomfort with these procedures (it's common for a nail to get trimmed too close, or an ear rubbed the wrong way). Training him to like this again, will take some considerable work and a few training sessions. However, unless the training is done by the groomer, it may not be very effective. First, you will need to make Tigre associate the groomer's office with something good. This is usually achieved by giving him his favorite treat at the office. You can take Tigre to the groomer's office for the sole purpose of treats and love; no grooming. Go into the office with him and give a treat right away. Sit with him and just pet him and give a treat every so often. This will help condition him to associate the groomers with good feelings. Next, you will want to highly reward good behavior and condemn bad behavior. The best way to do this is give a treat every time he lets you (or ideally the groomer) trim a nail without him trying to bite. If he does try to bite, then say "no" and make a big deal of it, so he knows it's bad. Eventually, he will realize that the grooming is not so bad and will hopefully stop the biting behavior. I hope that helps and all is well with Tigre.

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