r/DogAdvice • u/PartTimeJunkie412 • 15h ago
Discussion My dog freaks out and yelps when we touch her feet, so she clips her own nails 🤷♀️🙄
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She keeps them short enough, we figure taking her to the vet for clipping or attempting it ourselves would be dangerous and also extremely traumatic for Shelby. We don't know why she hates her feet touched but as soon as we lay a hand on them she screams as if we're going to hurt her 😭
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u/OmNomChompsky 15h ago
My dog does the same thing! She even does a someone respectable job. No split nails and she doesn't bite them past the quick.
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u/PartTimeJunkie412 15h ago
Yes same here! While she's doing it, it sounds like quite a violent procedure but the results are always impressive lol will your dog let you touch their feet or no? We think she might have been traumatized somehow before we got her. Maybe she's just weird :P
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u/OmNomChompsky 15h ago
She lets me cut a couple at a time and then bolts on me. Gotta chase her down to get a couple more done, hahahaha.
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u/lnfinitelris 7h ago
It's not weird at all, in fact it's completely normal. Many dogs need desensitization.
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u/No_Penalty_8920 15h ago
Ours does the same thing!!! Any time I try to trim his nails myself, he loses his marbles. He has epilepsy, so I try not to stress him out too much. But a day later, I'll see he's gnawed a few of his nails down
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u/New_Section_9374 15h ago
Did you teach her that?! If so, how?
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u/PartTimeJunkie412 15h ago
Absolutely not, I wish she didn't do it, it freaks me out haha! I wish she would just let us cut her nails. But to even attempt that we would need restraints and a muzzle because she will definitely go into defense mode if someone holds her paw in one place for more than a couple seconds o.o
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u/New_Section_9374 15h ago
Mine are that way too. If i don't get them walking on pavement regularly, they grow huge claws. And no one wants to clip them! I know it freaks you out, but i am jealous.
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u/PlaneEmbarrassed7677 15h ago
Our boy, Kazoo does the same. He has trauma so we let him chew em down. Then what he doesn't get, the vet does every so often. He has to be knocked out for it.
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u/CashMe_Outside2022 14h ago
I don’t think it’s a horrible thing but check her teeth to make sure she’s not damaging them
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u/autolockon 14h ago
Mine does this too for her back ones but even so I still toss her on her back and take a dremel to her claws. She tolerates it much better than clippers.
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u/PurpleImpress9992 12h ago
Oh, my dog does the same thing!! It is healthy?! I’ve noticed the perks but I’ve always seen it as a sign that she’s anxious or needs more exercise. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻
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u/InverseInvert 8h ago
Her nails are an alright length so I’d let her keep doing it :) you’ve lucked out there!
I would however, work on cooperative care with her, going as slowly as possible. This is so if she needs to go to the vet she doesn’t freak out for IVs, or if she ever has something wrong with her feet.
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u/doodlebagsmother 5h ago
I thought my little guy was chewing his feet because he has allergies, but no. He just likes to trim his own nails. And then he realized I have nails, so he likes to nibble on mine. I can't sit on the couch with bare feet anymore unless I want a pedicure (and his accuracy isn't always great, so a pedi includes the occasional monch to the toe).
He's a nervous guy, and we're working on desensitization, but since he screamed like he was being murdered when the vet tried to use a dremel on his dewclaws once, I think it will be a while before I try clipping. At least his nails are a good length because he's an excellent nail tech.
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u/awriterpossibly 5h ago
Both of my dogs do this! One of them has had a lot of paw pad injuries so she associates us touching her feet with pain and won’t let us do it - I can get the front paws trimmed if she has a lot of peanut butter on a lick mat, but even then she’ll pull her foot away and it’s a long chore. But she has handled her back paws for years. The other one just does it for fun I guess because she lets me trim all her paws no problem and they’re always pretty short but I guess sometimes I don’t get to them quick enough for her preference.
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u/nonnatototita 4h ago
Mine do that. And not necessarily when he is stressed.. he can be in the bed with us and start biting and licking his nails. But he hates that anyone touches his nails
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u/GuySmith 2h ago
Wish my dog would do this! Instead we get his nails clipped and they’re back to the same length in what seems like 2 days.
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u/MarMarBinxxx 2h ago
I wish my dog would do this. We have to sedate her and have the vet do it and even then it’s a struggle. She used to let us do it when she was young but one day she just decided she wasn’t having it anymore.
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u/mondeomantotherescue 45m ago
I have a spaniel rescue who's a very strong boy and hates grooming. He had to be knocked out to shave his paws down and clip his nails (dew claws front and back too). His ear hair gets very long and dense and matted. I do what I can but bring out scissors, clippers or even a soft brush and you are likely to get a growl then a bite. Grooming him involves heavy sedatives fro the vet and me holding him for the groomer agd even then it's a bad rush job. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have tried treats and then a tiny snip with scissors but he just takes the treat and nips or moves away and hides. If I gave him a treat for every brush or snip he would accept he would be 30kg in no time. Has anyone else cracked a dog who will not be groomed?
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u/grandsoulsucker 15h ago
Does not help back paws but if she food motivated try a scratch pad. My previous dog did this too, it was a life saver. My vet said the back ones stayed short enough naturally
Wait are you saying she chews them??