Hooray my dremel arrived!

I am using a 120 grit sanding band, it's gentle in case clumsy me slips off the nail and hits the paw.  I slipped and hit my thumb and no problem at all.  I also am only using the low setting right now, it's nice and quiet and although it may take longer, the dog seem to be tolerating it nicely.  Holding the nail still helps keep the vibrations down and the dog doesn't seem as bothered by it.  I just use my thumb to push down from the top and make the nail poke out a bit.  The dremel tutorial site recommends using a panty hose for long coated breeds to keep the fur from catching in the drum.  Woobie's fur got in the way a bit, so I think I will try that this week.

Hope this helps! 

Try that rake when he's covered in shampoo

As far as the dremel, peanut butter on the fridge seems to be a favorite, for my dogs, LOL. 

 Kate I started slowly with Bugsy, my first move was to get him to 'touch' it when I held it, then I laid it down and he 'touched' it (and checked it all out) each thing I treated. Do that more than once and he thought he would get a treat as soon as he saw it he would nose it LOL

Then I turned it on and had him touch the safe end. I did the touch his nails while it was off but that wasn't an issue so we went straight to touching a nail with it on low.  I had treats that were reserved just for doing his nails.  It only took a few days.

I do hold each 'toe' while I do it to minimise the vibrations - that is about it

Darn,,,I want to get one...but I'm just so afraid that I will be wasting my money.

Gibson is sooooo bad about his nails...was since I got him. Pretty bad when you can't cut an 8 week old puppys nails without a problem.  We have been working with him every week...sometimes a couple of days in a row...that is CUTTING his nails.   I thought a dremel could be better...but since he is a dog that doesn't like the vacuum...noise from a hair dryer...that it might be a problem just for that reason.

Gibsons problem is being held down where he can't move...I THINK!   He LOVES to be held...but not tight or so he can't move his legs. His eyes show how terrified he gets...so we just keep trying with tons........of great thinks to eat afterwords. 

Hey Jeanie, please tell me more about the peanut butter on the fridge!

kpwlee

I do hold each 'toe' while I do it to minimise the vibrations - that is about it

Yes, and I also keep a fingertip on the nail area being dremmeled to feel for heat.  If I feel heat, I move on to another area or another 'toe'.

Ok, this is a suggestion for the ladies *grin*

Part of the deal with the dremel is to keep the face away from the dremel -- they tend to want to 'nose' it or sniff it or investigate and you want that face UP and AWAY from the dremel.

Stash your treats in your bra ladies.  (so ok, make a Kleenex 'pocket' to put them in) -- it keeps the nose away from the Dremel, they're easy to get at.  Guys without much imagination you can put them in your shirt pocket ok?

It's probably the best suggestion I can give you Kate -- other than when you actually first turn it on, do it on your OWN nail while he watches so he can **smell** how your nail smells and then he knows it won't hurt him! 

Probably the toughest step is when you turn it 'on' -- I simply rest the back of MY hand against them so they can feel the vibration and then treat.  Then turn it on but leave it propped on the table while you handle the paw. 

Practice on a PENCIL first.  It's almost the right diameter but it will give you a really good idea of how strongly you have to hold onto that individual NAIL (not just the paw but the individual nail) to hold it steady while you Dremel. 

Megan's suggestion of peanut butter (or Tahini, or cheese or anything soft that you can mush on the outside of the fridge or some easily cleaned surface to distract them while you play with their paws.  It works!!

calliecritturs

Megan's suggestion of peanut butter (or Tahini, or cheese or anything soft that you can mush on the outside of the fridge or some easily cleaned surface to distract them while you play with their paws.  It works!!

Okay...so let me give you Gibson  

 As BCMixs said, the rotating drum can catch the fur on long coated breeds. It happened to me with Bailey the Maltese. It was quite a setback in Bailey's trusting the Dremel.

racuda

 As BCMixs said, the rotating drum can catch the fur on long coated breeds. It happened to me with Bailey the Maltese. It was quite a setback in Bailey's trusting the Dremel.

You absolutely MUST hold the coat back with your hand so that ONLY the nail is exposed and you have that nail firmly in your fingers.  ANY hair can get caught in it -- that's one of the reasons why I so emphasized that the head and nose have gotta be 'up' to deal with it easily -- because you don't want EAR hair or whiskers nosing down there either.

dyan

Okay...so let me give you Gibson  

Uh nooooo, thanks.  I've gotta PUG.  Smaller, faster, slipperier with feets almost too dang tiny to hang ONTO. 

Dyan, Emma was a holy terror, when it came to toenails. She would scream, bite, and express her anal glands. She's actually drawn blood during nail trims, on several occasions. It took three people, at one point (jack russells are slippery!), to get her nails done in a "good enough" fashion.

What I did, was start putting peanut butter on the fridge at the same time every day. I'd set Emma in front of the fridge, and let her lick it off. It quickly became an exciting routine. Once it was routine, I held a foot while she licked. A different foot, every day. You may have to start with only touching the foot, but holding worked for Emma. Eventually, I tapped a the nails with the clipper, then clipped one nail a day, then progressed to clipping a foot at a time, all nails, then started dremeling. It took over a year, but it was well worth it. Now, Emma stands totally still for her nails to be ground, twice a week, peanut butter or not. Her nails are always super short, and never cause a problem. 

Megan's suggestion of peanut butter (or Tahini, or cheese or anything soft that you can mush on the outside of the fridge or some easily cleaned surface to distract them while you play with their paws. 

We do this in class to show people how to get their dogs to like being brushed - and, of course, to like having their nails touched.  Only thing is, do clean it off soon after using - otherwise it turns to concrete.

That peanut butter trick is also how I got Ben used to being bathed...not that I bathe him much these days.  Little smear on the side of the tub.  He prefers crunchy to smooth.  

We're making great progress on the dremel front, I do love that thing.  

 Don't kill me, but I actually had a lot more success training Rascal to accept the dremel *without* treats. With treats, he was distracted, wiggly, looking for the next treat, annoyed that I was bothering him while he was eating, etc. It just was *not* working. Finally I just gave up, told him that I wasn't going to hurt him but he needed to relax, and just gently restrained him and stroked him while I moved the dremel around and got him used to it. Worked MUCH better. He relaxed, ignored me, and now he basically snoozes while I'm doing his feet. Instead of so much trying to make it a "positive experience," I decided to just make it a non-issue. And he responded much better to that. Not that I don't use treats in lots of other aspects of his training, but for the dremel, it worked much better to put them away!