How to cut my dog's nails when he's terrified after a bad trim?

Question

How should I cut my dogs nails? He had a very horrible experience at a new vet, 3-4 people held him down and he was being chocked with his martingale collar while they did it. I tried going back to PetSmart after a few weeks but he is way to scared. He doesn't want me to touch his paws. I gave him benedryl to help calm him beforehand while I cut them and the benedryl did nothing. How do I help my little guy? I feel so bad, and now they are getting so long their breaking off at end. Pet's info: Dog | American Staffordshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 11 months and 25 days old | 74 lbs

Jessica Desrosiers · Accepted Answer

Poor Otis, that sounds extremely scary! You may need to start back from square one, which is getting him used to having his paws and toes handled, and then work up from there. If he has a super special favorite of all time treat, use this ONLY when you're working on his feet so he starts to associate it with good things again. Working when sleepy or worn out can sometimes help too. Start by just gently handling his paws and toes, and giving a treat every time you do. Once he seems comfortable with that, you can start squeezing his nail, or handling individual toes- again treating each time. You can also begin to take out a nail clipper or file (some dogs do better having their nails filed or dremmel-filed down as it's less scary than a nail clipper and doesn't put pressure on the nail) and click it near his feet without actually clipping the nail. Again, treats every time. Once he's comfortable with that, start by just doing one nail at a time. Yes, it's going to take you all day or maybe several days to get all his feet done, especially if he is very nervous, but again, slow, steady and with lots of treats can help. if at any time he becomes too stressed, simply take a break and try again later. If he's becoming too worked up, or the nails are growing so long that they are breaking or digging into his skin, he may need to have an initial nail trim under sedation just to get them back under control until you can get him used to nail trims again. This can help make the experience a less less traumatic as well.

How to cut my dog's nails when he's terrified after a bad trim?

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