Our dog (rescue) has some kind of history with nail trims...

First we asked the groomer at Petco - he said that he had to stop after one nail because Rumo kept barking at him. Then when Rumo was boarded over Christmas, we asked them to try (they offer nail trims and bathing) and they also said they couldn't do it. Finally the vet did it, under sedation! But I hate to use drugs/sedation every time!

Rumo gets a lot of walking on asphalt/concrete but his nails do get kind of long and start clacking on the floor and he gets less confident walking around in the house. I'd like to keep his nails at a good length without using sedation...so it's looking like the nail trimmer might have to be ME.

Does anybody cut their own dog's nails?
I'm feeling pretty anxious about doing it. I don't know how to make sure he keeps his paw still so that I can cut accurately. He tries to jerk his paw away.

Get a pair of nail clippers that have a stop on the back side. This will prevent cutting to short and into the quick.

That's the good news...bad news? I have those, they work fine. But Ami is a royal PIA, and I think I've successfully cut maybe 6 nails in 4.5 years? There is a grinder you can use (also a dremel with attachment) but that still requires puppy to cooperate.

What I do (and my vet confesses, does with her dog) is walk a lot on paved surfaces (she runs) That wears the nails down enough...sort of. Digging also wears them down.

You have my heart felt sympathy. I have 2 that are easy peasy. Then there is Ami...

An afterthought. You could try a muzzle but that won't stop the bucking bronco, catch me if you can thing that Ami has going.

Three dogs:

Avalanche and Sky keep my "driveway" looking like moon craters, I don't worry about trimming their nails.

Sasha: About the only time I've seen her dig seriously was when we'd be on a walk and she wanted to dig up a critter. That's lasts for all of 4-5 minutes and she's bored. She gets her nails clipped at the vets. She's bitten me more than a couple of times and at least at the vets they have a muzzle and a few bodies as needed.

Ami also sounds like a tough customer!
She sure is beautiful, Rumo would fall in love at first sight.  

Thanks for tip, I'll look for those kind of nail clippers.

And we'll keep logging our miles on pavement/streets. He isn't much of a digger...( although he has managed to bury 2 tennis balls and a squeaky purple dog toy in the backyard, it only takes him a few minutes - so not much effect on nails.)

SIGH My wish is that a magic dog person will turn up...somebody who can trim his nails without getting barked at or growled at...I hope that person does not have to be me...

I've never really had to trim Echo's nails. I think i've done it once his entire life? I think cause we're out so often and we walk on the sidewalk so much it just naturally does it. The vet always asks if I get it professionally done, and I'm like nope. Finally some return in all the taxes I pay to the city =P

Echo does have dew claws though and they get long really fast. For that...+1 on the dremel suggestion amymeme mentioned. I like the dremel because I can cut the nail slowly and it seems more gentle rather than a loud and traumatic clamp. You can also be precise about avoiding the quicks.

My OCD always has me wiping Echo's paws off every single time we come back indoors since he was a puppy so he's used to me man handling his paws all the time. Though, I still typically have to have him in a headlock and grab his foot tight to avoid any injuries. Lots of treats of course. I find the hardest is trying to get him from licking the rotating bit while i'm trimming. Don't want to trim his tongue =/.

Good luck!

Ami is a he. His name is Hebrew for member of the tribe and pronounced Ahh mee. I'm his "mom" and my name is Amy. Don't feel bad...Al routinely gets it backwards :p

Fortunately, walks through the neighborhood and hikes up the mountain are keeping Kohdi and Mishka's nails short. Kohdi has dew claws though that need to be snipped once in awhile. Luckily it's not that often cuz he's a big baby when it comes to being handled for stuff like nails...and ear drops.

I do trim Mars' nails with a dremel when his nails/dew claws get a little too long. Mars doesn't mind his paws being touched so this helps. I have a routine.  I start by making sure he is tired, turn on a fan so it muffles the dremel's noise, grab treats, and have one of my daughters to help.  As he is being fed treats, on one side, I work on the opposite side. it was not easy at first.

Oops, sorry about Ami's gender! That is a very cool name.

I did look around more online last night and a lot of people were saying that they prefer a dremel...and they do "conditioning" where first they are holding the paws (with treats), and then they turn on the dremel so dog gets used to the noise (and give treats) and finally, touch the dremel to the nail (with treats). They seem to be able to get their dogs relaxed for the nail trim.

Good idea to ask my husband or daughter to help, they can feed treats while I work...

I think the dremel would be a good fresh change, since he already has a bad reaction to nail clippers and people holding nail clippers.

Argh, I will try over the next few weeks...
will post back to this thread if any success!?!

I used the dremel, as the breeder did, when Grant first came home, and due to his screaming, I was relieved when he had his shots and could go on trails, concrete, and asphalt thus eliminating the drama for both of us. Ack.

The best advice I received from the vet was, if you quit because he sounds like he's dying, you're rewarding him for yelling when he finds something unpleasant. I forget now what a big baby he used to be.

Kenzi will bite, cry, thrash, growl...pretty much you name it she does it if you are trying to mess with her feet. I use a dremel as well. It has been a god send. I can do them at my own pace and never worry about clipping crooked or too deep. My husband bear hugs her on her side while I sand her nails down. My other two love the dremel. Took a bit to get used to the sound. I would turn it on and just hold it and walk around with it for a while. Then I would walk toward them with it on and hand them treats. Eventually they didn't care anymore.

Wow, you guys are brave!
The first time I tried Rumo, he jerked his paw away and issued what sounded like a growl, but he cut it off almost right away... that was enough to scare me away from trying again! I am such a chicken!!

Rumo gets miles of walk/jog on trails, asphalt and sidewalks and that keeps most nails short, but there's one or two claws on outside front paws that got long...he probably isn't putting his feet down evenly? When they get long, he slips more on the floor and, for instance, if I call him to come, he doesn't come trotting, he comes slowly, as if he is walking on ice! After the vet cut his nails short (under sedation), he comes quickly when I call him again...so it was never disobedience, it was that he felt unsteady on the wood floor, which is sad.

So I am determined and will arm myself with a dremel and some tasty treats...

I've been lucky in that my dogs have never given me serious grief over trimming their nails, though I think they put up with it only because I tend to out-stubborn them ("Don't even THINK about it, Fuzzy!"). That, and I let them get used to seeing and smelling the trimmers first, and I pretend to use them on my own nails so the dogs get the idea.

I do use guillotine clippers just because I'm used to them.  I grew up having to trim BIRD toenails, so I learned how to avoid hitting the quick, even very long quicks -- but I do keep plenty of styptic powder on hand just in case.  Compared to trimming the nails on a grumpy old Conure, trimming dog nails is a cinch.

That, and I let the dog choose the position. Some dogs insist on standing up (my Shiba liked to stand) and others insist on lying down (Misty prefers to lie down).  The lying-down ones are MUCH easier, but the standing ones aren't a big deal. And everyone gets a treat afterwards!  Misty's gotten to the point where she immediately lies down when she sees me get out the trimmers because she can't WAIT to get a treat.

@Misty Mia, this gives me hope!!

Yep, I have trimmed cat nails, guinea pig nails, and Great Dane nails, and never gotten any grief from it. Haven't tried birds, though!
Rumo is the toughest customer so far! No other animal has ever flinched away and been as upset as he is. My Great Dane just let me grab her paw and clip away (she would occasionally lick my hand). She had black nails too, so that was tricky! Rumo has white nails and I can clearly see the pink quick inside, so it should be easy, right??!

I clipped a toenail yesterday He had just come in from outside, I dried him off and he was eager to get in the kitchen. And standing up - I was able to lean over and SNIP...

The problem for me is back and knees. THe maneuvering required with Ami elicits all sorts of nerve pain and the up and down and weird angles in fast succession make me dizzy. Rather annoying. But...I got one clipped!!!

Impressive!! Woohoo!

This is why we have to buy a groomer's table...ha ha...just kidding! But seriously, it's so much easier for them because they have the dogs higher and secure the head, etc!

Hey, congrats, Amy!

I have always cut my dogs nails. However once Dakota developed arthritis I had to start having the vet do it because he would yelp like he was in pain and I needed more than one other person to help me hold him still. We get it done at the vet when they have to draw his blood and it requires 3-4 people to keep him still, no sedation necessary...just man power.

We have 3 dogs. The lil Yorkie, I have no idea how his nails are kept trim. None of us do it and he isn't necessarily an outside dog but I've never seen them get long. Our mastiff mix is getting pretty old and can't walk as much as he used to so I give him regular trims. I looked up online how to do it and I've never hurt him. And then there's the husky. I'm lucky if I can get 2 nails done in one sitting. She absolutely hates it. She'll bite (not violently but hard enough that I'll have to stop) and roll around and growl. So, I'll usually take the whole day to do it. Just one nail either every hour or every time she takes a nap, lol.

This is the video that I am going to attempt to replicate with Rumo!

https://drsophiayin.com/videos/entry/training_a_dog_to_enjoy_toenail_trims/

His nails are still short (from the sedated trim at the vet) but I am gearing up to do something like this...

This goes for all dogs, you must rub their paws a lot, every time you are rubbing their ears, also take and hold their paw, play with em, grab a paw, get them used to you touching their paws, if you don't, they will never allow you to cut their nails, also I learned that when cutting nails, pet them, coo them and most importantly place a dish towel over their eyes, just lay in over their head, not the nose, just enough for the eyes and you'll be done in a few minutes