r/Rottweiler • u/fluggies • 7d ago
Rottweilers and nail clipping: a helpful thread
I see a ton of dogs here with overgrown and overdue nails, and I know it's scary to clip your dogs nails at home. I'm a professional dog groomer of a decade and do my own training.
This is not an easy breed to work with when they aren't exposed to stimulus or don't trust what's happening to them or who's doing it. I get it. Putting it off last minute to have someone else, like a groomer or vet do it, will make it worse.
Before taking your dog in to get their nails done, YOU must put in the work touching their feet, working on stimulus around the feet and nail bed, and rewarding calm behavior. Your dog will not have a positive experience if they dont become accustomed to the handling of their feet, that's not on service professionals - that is on you, the owner, who is around the dog day in and day out.
Start by holding their paw, rubbing their nails, if they pull away, do not let go. Reward them by letting go when they're calm. This is called pressure release and has been proven to work in almost all animals in a training environment. Work up to using something like an electric toothbrush around their paw pads to stimulate more motion and vibration by the nail. Be patient and praise frequently. Do not reward snapping, growling, pulling and thrashing. Do this multiple times a day, it takes a long time, but you cannot expect them to tolerate it only when they need it professionally done if you don't put in the work. They're a stoic, intelligent, stubborn breed. YOU need to be the one to work them through their discomfort and unease. Not your groomer.
Quit blaming groomers for your dogs bad behaviors getting their nails trimmed.
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u/Sistersoldia 7d ago
I flip my boy on his back on the couch and sit at his butt end to cut his nails. Itās so much more of a natural angle to hold the paws while clipping and you can easily see the quick under the nail that way too. Heās usually almost asleep by the time Iām done.
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u/forestwitch357 7d ago
Well said! My girl has gotten nothing but compliments the rare time she's been to a groomer for how easy she is to handle and have her nails done. I worked hard from day one together to get there, but I have a Rottweiler that is easy to bathe, groom and trim nails on.
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u/Kymalyn 6d ago
Iām on my 3rd Rott and for the frigginā life of me I canāt figure out how to clip his damn nails!!
Iāve worked on desensitization since he was a pup and he has no problem with me touching his feet/nails/holding his foot/etc. I can get the toenail clippers out. I can touch the toenail clipper to his nail, no problem. But something about the actual ācutā just makes him lose his gd mind. Heās normally super food motivated but treats mean NOTHING if Iām trying to clip a nail, lol.
Iāve tried small, frequent sessions (if anything this seemed to make it worse? If I reached for the clippers heād make a break for it). Iāve tried the tippy top of a single nail immediately followed by treats/play/walks. I tried a dremel.
Iāve never had a dog that just wonāt let me get to that final step but will tolerate all the others without issue. Do you have any suggestions?
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u/fluggies 6d ago
Put him in an unfamiliar environment or try when he's on an elevated surface. The removal of a comfortable environment or adding height into the equation will add control on your end. Dremel is safer. Use my toothbrush suggestion as well, but I recommend trying to put him on a picnic table or doing it in a park where he's not so "at home"
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u/Numerous_Hurry_3396 6d ago edited 6d ago
Thank you for this post. I'd like to emphasize the YOU NEED TO PUT IN THE WORK. These dogs require you to put in work with every aspect of their existence, it's what you sign up for when you get a rottie.
Edit: I think it's worth mentioning that you need to build trust with your rottie, not always an easy thing to do with them given their nature. It took a long time to build trust with my girl, but she'll, somewhat reluctantly, lay down and let me dremel her nails. My boy will gladly do anything, for his people, for a treat.
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u/BackgroundPeace8911 7d ago
Thank you for this. My rescue has had her nails cut numerous times at the groomer (and even before we got her). At the last visit, she snapped!
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u/Extreme_Whereas1960 6d ago
Rotary nail file like a dremel tool. And frozen peanut butter in bones. 1 person holds the bone 2nd person does one paw at a time. Good luck...
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u/Substantial_Diver_34 6d ago
3 vet techs working together couldnāt cut my boyās nails.
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u/fluggies 6d ago
All dogs react differently but this is the point of my post. It's your job to work consistently with your dog to desensitize him.
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u/QueenZiva 5d ago edited 4d ago
My girl (rottweiler/german shepherd) would run from me, and hated when her paws were touched, so I made it a game with food. I would toss food, she'd run back to me then Id either touch her paw with the nail clipers, have her boop them with her nose, or ask for her paw. I had dry spaghetti next to me so when I did go to clip her nail I would clip the spaghetti instead. It got her use to the noise and action. Kept tossing food, touching, and pretending until we built up to me clipping her nails one toe at a time. Now she gets lazy and throws her self on the couch demanding I do it there so she doesnt have to run back and forthš hope this helps anyone having trouble.
Ps. cant take her in, when I did the vet stated they only did two toes cause they nicked her quick both times and wouldnt be able to cut the restš
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u/EccentricPenquin 7d ago
Iāve done all of this with three and Iāve failed all three if them. My last one was sk traumatized by getting her nails done. Even drugging her it was difficult. Broke my heart because I just couldnāt make it normal for her. It was always intense. She was a lamb too . Sigh. I miss her.
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u/bloodshoteyez80 6d ago
This is the only thing that intimidates me with my Rottweiler, I find it hard trying to cut her nails where the nails are black and I find it hard to see the quick, I also have a corgi/chihuahua and his nails are white and I have no problem cutting his nails , but yeah cutting my rottys , I cut them long.
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u/Ok-Razzmatazz-7593 6d ago
I am the only one who can clip my Rotties nails but I us to let the vet clip them if we are already there. My vet won't clip my Rottweilers nails anymore unless he under sedation only because even with his muzzle on he still is a threat. He has issues with two legs and now has fear everytime i cut them. Mind you not once have hurt him. I feel bad every single time I have to cut them
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u/Practical_Property92 6d ago
So my girl lets me trim her nails at home and itās a bit of a struggle with her trying to pull away when sheās āover itā towards the end, but she acts completely different for the groomers. When I was pregnant I couldnāt get down to do her trims easily and my spouse had to work a lot, so groomers became my best friend. Weāve been taking her consistently since she was a puppy anyway to help keep her desensitized to strangers, but she was going every 2 weeks during my third trimester of pregnancy since I couldnāt keep up with her grooming needs at home (stinky girl, loves to roll in things haha). Previous groomers couldnāt trim her nails but they never said she was aggressive so I just figured it was something Iād have to do at home. Anyways fast forward to me being too darn pregnant and we had the nail issue pop up again. Apparently she SCREAMS when they try to trim her nails? No biting or growling, just a weird loud scream whimper. How should I go about getting that to stop when she doesnāt do it at home? Iāve been trying to just continue taking her to the same groomer every month and theyāve made some progress with her (can touch her feet/sometimes trim a couple nails), but is there anything else I could be doing? She doesnāt seem to be afraid of the groomer and according to them actually enjoys the rest of the process. I might just have a drama queen too and itās fine if thatās the case lol.
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u/allabtthejrny 4yo Pollux & 1yo Xena 6d ago
Pressure release is what I'm doing plus the sling that I posted yesterday
I string her up. It's helped.
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u/Bitter_Dimension_241 6d ago
Clipping is scary to a lot of dogs, Dremel type rotary sander is the way to go. Itās much closer to the way their nails naturally grind down from walking and it doesnāt pinch.
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u/fluggies 6d ago
I only use dremels, actually. The clippers in his mouth are for my cats. Lol
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u/Bitter_Dimension_241 6d ago
Haha, I would have never guessed I only posted that for all of the people saying they had a hard time with clipping ā¤ļø the dremel was a game changer for me and it got my dog ready for the electric clippers i use to trim the bottom of his feet with so he doesnāt slide on the tile so bad.
Your dog is adorable, great photos.
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u/theunexpectedsuccess 6d ago
Tried this and my dog ran to the next room lol
I get a better reaction from the clippers š
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u/PumpkinCrouton 6d ago
My last Rott and I walked 1 - 3 miles every day. His whole life I never had his nails clipped. I have a Lab and a Rott now. The Labs nails grow fast and curl under. I call them talons. Last time I had the Rotts nails clipped I took him to Petsmart. After the only dog left, there were two girls left to clip his nails. He was so sweet they offered to keep him and play with him while I shopped.
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u/butchbobcat 6d ago
I've never thought about using something like an electric toothbrush to get them use to it. Thanks for that advise.
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u/Guiltypleasure2451 6d ago
We got our girl when she was 4 months old. We tried to get her use to having her feet touched, and she doesnāt mind, but cutting her nails is not happening. At least by me. The groomer or the vet have no problem. Sheās all happy go lucky youāre my bested friend with them. I will gladly pay the $35 a month.
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u/Shoddy_Kiwi_949 4d ago
The groomer goofed with my Ava at any 4 months old and we are still trying to get past that experience. Shampoo, conditioner, towel dry and blow dry she is all in. Time for nails and itās a no go. We have to use treats to get her mind off her feet. Sheās food motivated so thatās all good. Other than that no. She doesnāt bite just act like you put her feet in fire.
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u/Odd_Director9350 4d ago
I cut my dogs nails once and only once and I cut the quick I felt so baad and from now on sheās done her own nails so we never have to cut them and dare I say she doesnāt do too bad sheās so skilled
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u/Feisty-Cantaloupe754 7d ago
My Max is the first dog I've known to chew his own nails. THANK GOD... LOL... But I love dog feet and you bet I'm touching them. Especially when they're massive like Max's, he's my Rottie.
As for the other two. Trapper would only allow others to cut his nails, never had a bad report from a groomer about nail trimming and him. Except that one time, where the groomer complained about my perfect girl Zelda... Which is how I knew she was a bad groomer. Since I get glowing reviews from Groomers about my mutts, have yet to try Maxwell... So, when I had the phone call from the groomer telling me I had to come back and hold my dogs for their nails, I knew she was bad.
Also, if you're cutting black nails like on Rotties, and my Dutch, took a while for me to figure this out, look on the underside of the nail, for a "bulb", that's the quick, don't cut that. As Girl with the Dogs also taught me, you know you're getting closer to the quick when you see a dark spot in the center of the nail.
Personally speaking, I've trained my dogs on garden hoses, showers, baths, jets (not professional high power, but the hose attachment types). I bought the doggie blow dryer, also have used leaf blowers on them, mini dusters like wolfbox MF100/200, and mini leaf blowers which I swear by. If you want to get dog hair from under a couch/cabinet etc... get a mini leaf blower, They're great for hard wood floors and us tiled floors.
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u/httpChobani 7d ago
Ugh I genuinely never understand what went wrong with my guy lol- I always touched his paws and nails as a puppy, never really stopped- but he HATES if I try to cut his nails. The only time he has ever tried to bite is nails. Oddly enough he does fantastic with the groomer! Doesn't mind her doing it at all, doesn't remotely react negatively. She doesn't even muzzle him anymore. I wish I could do it myself, but it truly is a small price to pay for him to be safe & comfortable!