That is what I found with Tucker. I told mom to handle his feet, and she does, and he's fine with it. But try to clip them and you can tell he's not okay with it. I dealt with this by step by step handling with treats (ham). I first rewarded for him staying in my lap in a position I liked. Then for letting me pick up each foot very gently. Then for letting me do it with the clippers in my other hand. Then I'd pick out a toe, then each toe. Rewarding frequently (I used a clicker under my foot so I could click the actual moment I liked, not just rewarding after I let go). Then I'd move the clippers near the foot, not close enough so that he'd pull though. If he did pull I let go and then tried again but with more distance. Then I'd practice touching the toe with the clippers and rewarding. Once he was good with that I'd slide it over the nail and rewad.
I had NO plans of clipping the nails during this session, from experience with Phoebe I expected weeks of sessions. But two pieces of ham later and I cut all his front feet without protest. I cut JUST the tips, it was imperative the session went pain free, and it did. So to me that was a HUGE success. So I would try something like that but with no intention of actually accomplishing the grooming.
Also during regular handling try to make feet handling more relastic. I find the only time you really grasp the foot, seperate the toes, and look at them closely is when you clip. It's a more serious grip, so more concerning. Daily I would do pretend clipping sessions, even after you can clip them once, keep it up by doing the whole shebang, including sliding the clippers over the nails, but don't actually squeeze and clip.
Dremels I have no tips on, my dog is scared of the noise so I'd have to deal with that first. plus I think the feeling will be shocking and might scare him enough to wreck the whole thing.
did you just let the nails grow out during this training proces? I'm concerned her nails will get too long while we work through this...?
