Dog hates nail clipping?

HA....... I'd like to see that same video with Gibby.   I wouldn't mind seeing them trying to do that dogs back feet besides. 

Along with several other things we have tried....one was spreading peanut butter pretty much all over the floor so we can trip Gibbys nails....he ran in the other room.

I saved steak pieces for him so we could trim his nails and he still wouldn't be still....he tried to get the steak as he was taking off.

Its a great theory...but it sure don't always work.

I have noticed that when my wife is trying to cut Chuck's nail she gets a "non friendly" response out of him. I can take the nail clippers right away and he would make me do it with no problem. A big part of the problem is the way the owner approaches the dog to do it, if the owner gets closer in a nervous way because he/she is afraid of "cutting too short and hurting the dog" then the dog for sure will have a reaction like that. The dog only knows that the owner is nervous about something and is getting closer (not a good sign for any dog, something bad is going to happen).

Even if the dog has never being hurt dioing this. If the approach is just normal and calm the dog knows there is nothing to be afraid of.

On the video the Doctor is restraining the dog really hard, of course to avoid getting bitten but at the same time sending a tense signal to the dog because the human is expecting that reaction. The human "expectation" of the reaction actually could be the only trigger of the behavior.

I have applied the exercise from the video when we bathe Chuck, even when we are calm while bathing him there are some days that he just does not feel like doing it and we get an uneasy response from him. By feeding him apples while bathing him he behaves like a little lamb

Yeah I kind of have a "grow a pair" approach to nail trimming, since it's something I do weekly.  I have no patience for the dremmel, I use a scissor style cutter and just do it fast and with purpose.  Nikon wailed and kicked and bit and scratched even at 8 weeks old but now...he's my easiest one to trim! (actually, he went from hating any form of restraint to being my easiest to trim, bathe, and crate in any situation).  I have quicked him several times but he doesn't even flinch, to the extent where I wish he had so I'd known rather than finding bloodstains covering every square foot of the offwhite carpet!

Admittedly I haven't actually watched the clip yet....

espencer

Even if the dog has never being hurt dioing this. If the approach is just normal and calm the dog knows there is nothing to be afraid of.

I agree with you there. In the video, yes, the dog is restrained but no tighter than if he was tethered to the post on a grooming table. I do think the counter-conditioning works. But that humans and dog must remain calm at all times.

I also agree with Dyan. This video was easy or appeared that way with a small dog. Try your luck with a 65 lb or even a 150 lb scaredy dog.

Shadow trims his own nails. But I am able to hold his paws, now, when I couldn't do that, at first. How did I do that? Getting chances to rub and hold his paws even briefly and letting go and not making a big deal of it. Even giving treats for being calm while I hold his paws. I even reward for shaking paws and letting me hold his paws in ever-increasing increments. The reason he wouldn't let me hold his paws earlier is fear.

Everyone should remember that. The dog is not being "aggressive" so much as he or she is afraid of paw-handling and the only way it's going to get better is when he or she is no longer afraid of having paws held and nails trimmed.

So, let me pull out a Dunbar stunt and say that you should start handling paws and trimming nails when they are puppies, before they even go to trainin class or whatever you do. This saves a lot of problems later. Shadow had not been to a vet or groomer between when he was purchased by friends and when I got him and took him to a vet. But his previous owner's boyfriend is our friend's son, so I'm not allowed to say how wrong that was.

So, it takes to time to re-condition the dog. Learn to be patient. You have the dog's whole life. If you don't get the nails trimmed this weekend, the world will continue to spin, politicians will continue to lie, bills will continue to arrive in the mail. I promise. The dog has spent how many months or years not being used to having paws handled so it might take a few days of desensitization exercises to get over that.

Or get a dog like mine who wears his own nails down.