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Frank D'Andrea is the owner and trainer of D'Andrea Professional Dog Training located in Suffern, New York. His dog training dates back to 1987 where is worked with Dominic LaBrutto, a long time dog trainer in New Jersey. D'Andrea is a graduate of the Academy of Canine Education in Fresh Meadows, New York where he was taught by Anthony Jerone, one of New York's most renowned dog trainers. Frank is a proud member of the IACP and the ADPT associations and also volunteers for the Triboro Animal Welfare. His goal has always been results through training, and commitment to the dog. | |
| Aug 4 Written by:DPFrank
Monday, August 04, 2008 Q: I have a one-year-old Boxer/Rottweiler mix. She is very headstrong and hyper. She will not allow anyone to touch her paws to cut her nails or she will bite you; she hasn't yet but sure acts like she will! The vet is unable to draw blood, do an upper body exam or cut her nails because she will not allow you to put a muzzle on her if you don't catch her at the correct second. She is the biggest cuddle bear with me, our four cats and with the kids. She will lick your face for an hour straight and wants all of my attention at all times. Her nails are so long and she is a huge jumper; they hurt and cut people! I know I need some expert dog training of some sort to take care of this problem. Otherwise there won't be a vet that will see her anymore because no one wants to get bitten! They want to heavily sedate her next time I come in so they can get all of this done. Is this the only way? A: The key here is control and respect. You may not be strong enough to make her deal with it on your own -- a muzzle is a must! Try running her on concrete to file her nails down naturally. I don’t like that too much as they may break. Otherwise at least sedate her until the nails are normal and start touching her on the feet every day. My first Dobie hated her feet being touched, but the vet made her do it, with my help holding her.
Tags: 7 comments so far...
Re: Dealing with the Vet
There is nothing wrong with sedating the dog to allow the vet to do their job safely ( I work at a vet hospital- a dog bite to the hand can ruin your life, not just your day!) You may even want to lightly sedate her, take her to the vet, and have them just talk to her, feed her treats, and just touch her feet, nothing scary. The next time, more heavily sedate her, and let them cut just a few nails at a time. It may eventually not be so scary, with you doing work at home too, to desensitize her...
By atticuss on
Monday, August 04, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
You say she's a big cuddle bear with you. . .then start getting her accustomed to having her feet rubbed. I do that with my jack russell and she loves it ! We don't have problems at the vet because she's accustomed to me rubbing her feet. I noticed she was skittish about it as a pup so when I cuddled her, I'd just ask her if she wanted a foot rub. Didn't make too much a deal out of it and would just massage a foot at a time. She relaxes, snuggles a bit more and then hops down. The vet told me that was a great way to desensitize her to having her feet handled. It won't happen in a day, but it does work !
By bedbiscuit on
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
i have a Siberian Husky just like that and i have to take her to the vet to get her nails trimmed and he has to sedate her.i have heard that if the nails aren't cut that it hurts the animal.
now i have another Husky that while i cut her nails my husband feeds her treats LOL it works very well.
Good luck,
Janet
By Janetjean on
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
It is hard to muzzle a boxer (look at that face). I would try doing some desensitizing exercises to get the dog used to having its feet handled first. Sedation should be a last ditch effort. Try working with your dog to get it used to having it's legs and feet touched. If you take this dog in to have the feet done now it can become a very traumatic experience. You might see if a local groomer will make a house call and see if, using HIGH VALUE TREATS, you can treat the dog and the groomer can get the nails done.
Good luck!
By sillydogmom on
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
I have the same problem with my Doxies! I have to have someone hold them while I do the trimming. I try to trim once a month at least, but they don't make it easy at all. I'll try the 'foot rub' approach and see if that may help. Thanks!
By MyDoxiesRule on
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
My Chow/Rhodesian mix absolutely HATES to have his paws touched and he has been this way ever since I got him as an 8-week old pup. I've tried everything suggested, but finally decided it's safer for the vet staff (he bit two techs while wearing a muzzle) and it is less stressful for him (especially now that he is 10 years old) to have his nails trimmed as low as possible once a year when he gets his teeth cleaned and is fully sedated. In between trims I walk him on concrete, and this files down the sharp edges. I've have another Chow Mix who is 2, and though she is less than half his size, her bite is just as intense when I try to trim her nails. Fortunately, she usually behaves well enough at the groomer to have her nails trimmed regularly, but she fights them every step of the way too. My guess is Chows don't like having their paws handled!
By nomadwriter on
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Re: Dealing with the Vet
When you are cuddling with her at home, practice putting the muzzle on. Take it right off and keep it on a little longer each time. She will eventually realize it's not going to hurt her.
Try to remain calm when you bring her to the vet. If you start to get nervous she will react to your energy and think there is a reason to be nervous. I'm suprised your vet hasn't asked you to leave the room.
By Steve on
Saturday, September 06, 2008
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| There are many approaches to train dogs. My philosophy is simple, Be fair and respect the dog’s intelligence. Whichever way you teach a dog, make sure they are clear on what you are teaching them, be consistent with rules and follow through if they don’t comply. Correcting behavior problems must start with basic training.
We must have a line of communication with the dog, respect and control. This comes from training. Dogs learn by trial and error, repetition and consistency on our part. Dogs are extremely intelligent. We need to respect them, help them stay out of trouble, and stimulate them both mentally as well as physically through exercise and training.
Frank D’Andrea is the dog trainer for DP Dog training in the New York, New Jersey area. He can always be reached at www.dpdogtraining.com | |
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