My Rotties are the same way.
When i come with the clipper..... they run.lol
This is what i do, it works for me and for them.
I alwas have a piece of cheese. They love cheese.
I cut one nail .....they get a piece of cheese.
The next nail....another piece of cheese and so on.
Sometimes they work away anyway and then i stop and finish the next day.
My vet say it dosen't matter, just do a few everyday.
Most dogs put up a fight when it comes to nail clipping.
Hope it helps a little.

Christine

Thanks Christine, this does work well for my beagles and using treats is how I trained them to tolerate clipping. But it doesnt work with Abbey, unfortunately. Abbey is, and has never been food oriented.. matter of fact, when we first brought her home, she wouldnt even eat her meals because she was afraid to walk to her dish! I used to have to feed her by hand in a quiet corner away from all distractions just to get food into her. Not to mention I had to carry her upstairs at night, downstairs in the mornings, etc because she was afraid to move from room to room! After a few days of this I realized "this is nuts!" and started calling training schools and behaviourists. One recommended she be crated at all times 'to restrict her movement'. I said "She doesnt HAVE any movement! She stays in one place all day and wont move unless I carry her!"., and then when one recommended she be put down I gave up!
She came out of her shell when my son visited with his puppy, so we went and got her one of her own. And she blossomed.
Okay, now she has two of her own but thats another story... lol. She's made tremendous progress, but like I said, when she is afraid, nothing, absolutely nothing will get her to focus.

To restrain her enough to clip her we would have to literally bind her legs, and that isnt reasonable and wouldnt solve anything other than to make her worse. She becomes like a giraffe.. legs flailing every which way and she is STRONG! The only thing I'm quite confident of is that she wont bite in her fear.

You know.. it has to be the sound of the clip. A loud crack when the nail is cut. I watch as her beagle brothers gnaw away on her feet and legs and ears and she stands there, enjoying playing and gnawing back on them. If she only knew nail clipping wouldnt be near as painful as having her brother chew on her in play!

hi balego,

The clippers our vet uses don't make the noise you describe. I can find out the brand if you like.

Our rescue mastiff was at first terrified of having his nails clipped. The vet suggested a low dose of valium, which helped. We accidentally discovered that having his buddies there helps just as much. Because they are good role models (they are totally relaxed) and get treats afterwards, the vet clips the other two dogs' nails first. The rescue mastiff is now so calm (he used to struggle, even on valium, but now stands quietly) that we have halved the valium and will eventually eliminate it.

Perhaps a low dose of valium and the company of the 2 beagles your whippet loves and trusts would help calm her. If the beagles are good role models their nails can be cut first. If they also get upset at having their nails cut, just having them there may help her not panic.

Hope this helps.

Have you tried filing her nails instead? My husband files our dogs nails with an attachment on our Dremel, but they also make electric filers especially for dogs.

I found that dogs who don't have their feet handled as pups tend to be fearful of foot handling and of course clipping. My dogs would be afraid of the Dremel, the noise and vibration. There are good ideas here. I got one dog overcomming cliping fear by handling her feet when we cuddle. First just touching them to rubbing them. Good luck. You must be very kind people to get her out of her shell as much as you have, fearful is hard to overcome.

Have you considered the rotating thing for taking the dogs nails down? (sorry, can't remember the name of the thing). I is an alternate way of dealing with this.

As far as the other issues, have you tried any type of calming sprays? You might be able to get one from your vet, if not, a holistic store will have something.

SG

To dogs, their front paws are their most sensitive and guarded areas. You are doing the right thing. You might walk your dog first, so she is a bit tired. Then massage her, bring the clippers out so she can see them and smell them, keep massaging. Do one nail, talk to her telling her she is a good dog, if she is settled with this, dont do another - always end on a good note. The next day do the same, only do two nails. Lots of praise and its okays....good luck, let me know how it goes - sometimes it takes me a full week to do my dogs nails. Seems like we are doing it everyday.

Thankyou, mazer. Sometimes it has just seemed like such a huge ordeal to me, and you've made me see that it isnt such an uncommon problem and that its okay to take baby steps. I have been feeling so guilty when I look at Abbeys' long nails and see how she skates around our hardwood floors when trying to run and play with the other dogs. I'm going to be busy this weekend so might not be around the computer, but I will attempt to use some of the suggestions here, and report back on Monday how it went.

Thanks again, everyone, for your ideas and kind support. :)

Once they've been nicked, oh boy! Imagine if someone had to clip your nails, and from time to time you got cut to the quick? Owie!

Anyway, I used to take mine to the groomer or the vet but he hated it so much. The vet did the best - they'd have me hold him, then they'd take just a tiny sliver. Okay, but his nails were starting to look all "Dracula" LOL.

So a girlfriend finally showed me the right tool and method to do with my dachshund. I bought a "guillotine" style clipper, not the usual kind. Then I lay him on his back on my lap or in a chair (which he doesn't mind - some dogs DO mind being on their back for you, so your mileage may vary!)

When he's on his back, I can see his black nails from the bottom, and cut each one carefully. The guillotine doesn't make any noise. It's more like a quick slice through the nail. I do a little at a time and do it twice a week. Here's a page that shows the type I got - the first 3 are guillotine style - the last ones are the typical ones - the ones that are more "butcher"-like!

If your Abbey doesn't respond to anyone's ideas, you may just have to have her sedated at the vet to do it. Poor girl.

Oddly enough some dogs that pitch the biggest hissy fit you ever saw over clipping their nails will stand quietly and let you dremel them.

Lisa

If you decide to switch to the dremel, introduce it slowly!

Day 1, take it out of a drawer and show it to her, give her a treat and put it away.
Day 2,3,4 take it out of a drawer and show it, turn it on for an instant, treat and put it away.
Day 5,6,7 take it out, turn it on, treat. Turn it off, touch one toe, treat, put it away.
Day 8 - as above and touch one toe with it on.
Keep going very slowly. You want her to associate the dremel with good things. You could try same slow approach with clippers, but since she's already spooky about the clippers, I'd try the dremel.

Good instructions,including more tips on slow introduction, (forgot about this when I started answering!) are linked below.

If you do stick with the clippers, I wouldn't recommend a guillotine style for a whippet. They have heavy thick nails, and standard clipper will be much easier for you and her. Millers Forge are the best I've found.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Dremel

What a wonderful, patient, loving owner you are. Abbey is a lucky dog.

I hope the advice here helps.

Love my vet but he will not go near my sweet old dog. Lab/pit mix sweet as pie twelve years old. It broke my heart the last time. The tecks cant handle he,r her nails did not look any shorter it was pathetic plus $$$my old girls seems to be to old for them to handle wish I would have started years ago ..... .......HELP-!!

Here is a link that might be useful: yahoo .com