Nail clipping..

OK....I STINK at it! Addie digs...she hunts and digs like a maniac. That is good for keeping her front paw nails down, tho. Hammie looks like an ad for bear claw something or another. I've tried soooooooooo many times...when we are very relaxed, when I just grab him and 'say so' (yeah, like that works), when he is half asleep. I no sooner start and feel it has been a great big deal if I clipped 2! So, am I doomed to have the vet do it (probably for a million dollars).......or does anyone have some tips for me.

Do you know how many bruises I have from a 'love' tap from the paw of 'bear claw Hammie'??

Am I correct in cutting at an angle?? I am so afraid of cutting too much.
(obviously I am probably someone that shouldn't even attempt it, right?)

Debi, you always make me giggle! You took me back to the little Terrier I had when I was a little girl. It took BOTH of my parents to cut Mickey's nails! She hated it! For some reason or other, my Mom was the only person she never bit, so Mom had to hold her while Dad did the honors. She snarled and snapped and growled and made the worst fuss!

Have you got a set of guillotine clippers? They're easier to deal with big dogs' nails, as far as I know, although someone may know of a better type. Some people swear by using a Dremel tool, but from what you've told us of Hammie, he'd probably go berserk at the noise.

It might help, too, if you or your husband held a Kong filled with peanut butter for him to work on while the other one did the cutting. If you can get a look at the nail from underneath, you can kind of see where the digit ends underneath.

You might want to check and see just how much the vet or a groomer would charge you to cut his nails. After you watch it a few times, you'll probably get a better feel for it and be able to do it yourselves with more confidence.

I am soooooo glad mine keep their nails worn down! Can you imagine having to cut these Monsters' nails?

Have you considered taking the dog to a vet to get this done? Or a groomer, the groomer I worked for charged just $5 for all 4 paws. I would get them trimmed by someone who knows how to do them, this way you can see how to properly trim them instead of just reading the idea.

Once you know how it's easy to get the dogs used to it. Just try for one claw a day. Mark on your calendar if you need in order to remember which toe got done. Do this before feeding or special play time so the dogs always know that something good follows the trimming. Keep this up at one nail a day (starting over when you reach the end) and soon you'll have nice short nails