For the last five days, I’ve been able to cut one nail each day. I think I’m seeing progress. There was no blood today – from me. Every other day, I’ve ended up with battle wounds. I’m not saying he sat quietly or cooperated but . . it was a little better.
It is such a struggle to cut those bear claws of his but it’s much worse taking him to the vet to have it done. I am hopeful that some day, it will be easier – not necessarily easy but not quite so difficult. Little Cooper doesn’t even seem to notice when I’m cutting his nails. The funny thing is that I have to put Oscar in the crate while cutting Cooper’s nails because Oscar will bark and growl and jump up on me trying to get me to stop cutting Cooper’s nails. Crazy boy!!
I’ve tried the different grinders – some even maid especially for cutting dogs’ nails but these (affiliate link) are the ones that are working best for me now. They don’t make much noise at all and it’s easy to put a treat on top of them and let Oscar eat it off the cutter . . just trying to get him to be not so afraid of them.
Today Vince said “I’m glad one of the dachshunds is easy to deal with.” I’ve never had one quite as chill as Cooper but I’ve also never had one quite as difficult as Oscar. Some days when I’m dealing with Oscar, I’m surprised I was brave enough to get another one.
Surprisingly, at this point, Oscar was easier to house train than Cooper is being. When Oscar was this age, we were going into spring . . and that probably made things a bit easier.
The best news is (1) neither of them are picky eaters and (2) they are both excellent sleepers.
Donnalyn says
Judy have you looked at pet grooming hammocks. There is a wide variety of them at Amazon. The dogs look very comfortable, and even if they dislike it, it would be safer for all involved. Vince could probably make you one too.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I have seen those and talked to a friend who has a dachshund and she said if your dog is a biter (and Oscar will bite me if he gets scared enough), their legs are so short that in the hammock, he can still reach me with his mouth when I’m cutting his front nails. I don’t have to trim his back nails. He wears those down on the concrete.
If any of the readers can tell me a dachshund can’t reach my hands while he’s in this and I’m cutting his front nails, I’ll order one.