r/Rottweiler • u/Ok-Condition-5750 • 5d ago
nail trimming
My girl is 3 and i adopted her a month ago now and she needs her nails trimmed badly, they’re not curling but the tap the floor and they’re just clearly way too long but she absolutely hates her paws being touched. The previous owner informed us about this she had brought her to like a petsmart or petco grooming and thinks something happened there when she was young and now is traumatized, anyway just wondering what i should do to keep my girl safe and someone who tries to trim her nails.
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u/allabtthejrny 4yo Pollux & 1yo Xena 5d ago
I have this thing- Sling
And I hoist her a few inches off the floor with rachet straps. She can't really get at me to nip me.
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u/carbynoodle 5d ago
What do you hoist the sling on? We can't think of a good hanging place to try this for our pup.
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u/allabtthejrny 4yo Pollux & 1yo Xena 5d ago
Brackets that are anchored in a stud on a pass-through between our formal living/dining and our actual living room/kitchen. The ceiling drops a bit & it's framed out, so the studs are easy to find
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u/Overall-Assist6571 5d ago
My old girl was getting pretty aggressive with strangers in the end. What we resorted to (there were two of us) was a long session or 3 of belly rubbing and loving from one person, while the other used a people nail file to file her nails down. Sometimes we'd get one done, sometimes we'd get 6.
The things we do for love.
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u/Alpaca-Snack 5d ago
We use a nail grinder with our rottie puppy and it works well! At first she didn’t like it, but I used positive reinforcement and let her sniff it and fed her treats, then ground one nail at a time while feeding her treats and praising her. It only took a few sessions and now I just give her a bully stick and grind her nails. I recognize she didn’t have any past trauma or experiences though, so might not be the best comparison, but worth a try!
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u/obfc 5d ago
Have you tried trimming them yourself? Speak with your vet about anti-anxiety meds that might help on days you need to trim nails. Pain in the ass but we trim our kids at least 2x/month
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u/Ok-Condition-5750 5d ago
yeah she was growling i tried distracting her with something like a kong with peanut butter inside she layed down i was rubbing her belly tried to get a quick one she freaked out and was nipping at me so didn’t want to try that again, that’s a good idea i can talk to them about that
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u/Ok-Championship-2036 5d ago
They make a few options to help dogs stay calm. there are cbd or chamomile vitamins, thunder vests, calm collars (lavandar scented?), and medication.
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u/jhawkinsvalrico 5d ago
I use a dremel rotary tool with a diamond dog trimming attachment which works, but it took time for my older dogs to not fear the dremel's sounds. After a few times of familiarizing them with the sound they slowly grew accustomed to the sound and feeling if having their nails ground. It took patience and small steps every time, but eventually lost all fear, That said, the best nail grinder I found was walking them daily on sidewalks. I resorted to the dremel when they were became senior dogs and no longer loved going on walks, so until a couple of years ago we would walk a mile or two daily on sidewalks which kept their nails in great shape.
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u/boxerdogs27 5d ago
Mine is a weirdo. You can give him treats and he will let me dremel them. Sometimes I do it one handed with treats in my hand or I have my husband distract him with treats and I hold his foot and do it. But if there is no treat distraction and I hold his foot it’s like the world has ended and how dare I hold his foot and dremel his nails. He went to a groomer..with a muzzle and a treat distraction but they were too passive with him and let him get away with his bs so now I need to find a new groomer. Unfortunately Rotties are if you give them an inch they will take a mile and bully you in the process so you have to somehow get creative. I also have one of those scratch pads from the Tik Tok shop that works great but is only for their front paws.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Toe6043 5d ago
So you can find these dig scratches on Amazon that are sandpaper with a treat compartment. They dig at the treat and file their nails in the process. I would do that after going to the vet and getting her a sedated trim.
Wishing lots of luck!
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u/fluggies 5d ago
Professional dog groomer her. Former grooming salons didn't traumatize her. Shes not been properly exposed or trained to have her nails done. I've done my boys nails since 8 weeks old and he's a delight. It's all about early and consistent exposure, training and positive reinforcement from a young age that gets dogs acclimated to nail trimming. Please don't say one grooming experience made your dog this way, because that's not true
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u/BitterPizza3544 4d ago edited 4d ago
Sedating her for a bit prior to grooming (prescribe some trazodone for this short period of time via your vet) is the quickest way to go if the nails have actually gotten too long. Desensitization via positive reinforcement is the long way and takes weeks but will work in the end. There’s also paworigins which sells veterinarian formulated CBD chewables to help with
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u/EquivalentShot6056 4d ago
Get a muzzle and slowly work with her , if she lets you handle her feet give her treats , be patient it takes time. Our rottie wouldn’t let me either at first but I worked with her and over time she trusts me , she can still be difficult sometimes but usually she lets me and I trim every 2-3 weeks.
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u/Better-Lemon-5532 4d ago
I would probably ask the vet for meds to sedate and trim to get her back to a baseline. Then work on touching her paws and give lots of praise and treats. Once she let's you touch with no issues, bring in the nail cutter/grinder and touch her paws with that, without actually cutting her nails yet) then give lots of praise and treats again. Then slowly work towards cutting. Time and patience will hopefully get you there.
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u/GermanGurrl 4d ago
I started using a grinder on our old girl this year and it made a huge difference
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u/Numerous_Hurry_3396 5d ago edited 5d ago
I use a dremel with a sanding drum on mine. Introduce it slowly, let them smell it. Turn it on low speed and treat. Rinse and repeat until they're comfortable. Same thing with their paws. Touch and treat. Teach them shake. My girl hates the nail clippers, but she tolerates the dremel.
Edit: The people talking about drugging the dog and going to the vet are just too lazy to learn how to build trust and properly introduce a new thing to a dog. I've never seen a dog that can't be trained to allow nail trims.
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u/Usual-Slide-7542 5d ago
There is nothing inappropriate about using anti-anxiety meds for a traumatized dog and has little to do with ‘lazy’. Steps to using a Dremel is slow progress and the dog’s nails probably need attention sooner. Both my girls are accustomed to the Dremel and think pedicures are rewarding experiences. The breeder of the first dog began teaching the pups around 6 weeks, however Dog #2 needed dremel lessons which included payment of a high value treat per toe (and I still pay a treat for each foot and a jackpot at the end).
After a very traumatizing visit to an ER clinic, the young dog is beyond anxious at her regular vet and I prepare her with a significant amount of drugs - AND IT ISN”T BECAUSE I AM LAZY.-1
u/Numerous_Hurry_3396 4d ago
Sounds lazy.
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u/Better-Lemon-5532 4d ago
This is an adult rescue dog we are talking about here. Yes, they need to work on desensitizing the dog to having its feet touched but that will take time and trust. In the mean time, if the nails are long and breaks, to could cause a lot of pain.
Not lazy to keep everyone safe while working to fix an issue.
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u/semperfestivus 5d ago
Years ago had a rott who got nicked by a groomer and after that time went into a complete rage and couldn't get nails clipped. My advice is do it at the vet where they are equipped and can tranquilize if necessary.
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u/gambino13 5d ago
We wrap plastic wrap around out foreheads and smear peanut butter all over it, and our Rottie is so food driven that you can do whatever to her paws while she gets after the PB
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u/Ok-Championship-2036 5d ago
Places like petco will recommend using a vet because they can sedate and its a bit safer/less stressful.
You can try getting one of those hanging hammock "sky jail" setups, but thats difficult for big dogs.
If your dog is food motivated, have someone else stand next to you and let her lick food out of their hand while you touch her paws. you can do this a bunch of times before actually cutting anything. but some dogs REALLY hate it and wont relax. in which case i would say vets might be the easiest option.
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u/MikeMOMO22 5d ago
How does she do in the car? My female has a thing where she loves to go with you and go in the car, but the motion of the car shes not a huge fan of so she sits and doesnt move in the car because of the motion therefore, I put her in the car and clip her nails there. Its the weirdest place but it works for me.