Need some advice

[xavierandrea]

:-? I adopted a Rottie a year ago. Her name is Patti. I can tell that she was mistreated by her previous owners. She was very scared of loud noises. Everytime I talked loud she went running to a corner. She was scared to be touched and under no circumstances would she go near my boyfriend. Everytime we would wave our hand in the air she would crouch down. All the signs of abuse was there. Anyways sorry this is long..... Ever since we got her she will not let us cut her nails. We tried taking her to the groomers, vets and even let her watch as we cut our other 2 Rotties nails. She will not have it! She barks and snapps at us. We tried using treats and stuff but no way...... I do not like taking her to the groomer because they tie her to a wall and she looks very scared. I do not want her to be scared of humans, so to put her through that it will ruin what I have establish with her and that is she can trust us we will not hurt her. Does anyone have suggestions? PLEASE.. :hmmmm:

[behle]

I wish I had some good advice, but I have the same nail clipping issue with Max. :-? We got him at six month old and he obviously had never had his trimmed. It was always a struggle. But now that he is feeling poorly it's even worse. So now, he gets his nails clipped at the vets. The last time was when they sedated him for x-rays! Someone here will have some advice....I just wish it was me, then I would know what to do too! :oops:

[imported_Cassie]

Try clipping nails daily for dogs like this! :lol:
Alot of dogs do not like their feet being touched...and these dogs have never been abused...they just don't like it. At the grooming shop I work at of course its easy as we have a grooming table the dogs are heisted up on and they have a noose around their neck....we have lots of Sheperds, Rotties, Dobie's come in to our shop to have nails done. We are so quick at doing the nails its over before the dog knows what happened! :shock:
When I first adopted my Rottie which had been neglected before I got her...I had a heck of a time to clip her nails...instead of taking her into the grooming shop all the time I instead started giving her massages...down the back, down the legs then down to the paws the first few times she would pull her legs away and freak out...but after awhile when I was able to massage her paws, and massage each toe she actually began to enjoy it and lay back and relax...I'd snip a couple of nails and leave it massage some more...give her a treat then do the same the next day and snip off a couple more nails...basically I desensitized her to her foot fetish!
One other thing, any groomer that would tie a dog to a wall has got a problem...then your backing the dog into a corner :nono: that would be very scary especially with humans luming over top of him, nothing worse than putting a fearful dog in that position. Now, putting a dog on a grooming table is not bad, the dog is off the floor and they are some times more concerned about the height they are at and a groomer etc can clip the nails quite easily without putting the fear of god in the poor thing.
The massage therapy worked well for me, dogs always need to have some thing good go with the bad...and plenty of treats should be available. Get the dog relaxed and laying down, don't come from above the dog with the nail clippers...if worse comes to worse walk your dog on plenty of pavement to keep the nails worn down! in the summer I never clip my Rotties nails.

[imported_Cassie]

One more thing I want to mention, some times the symptoms which patti is showing is an indication of a fearful dog...but, it does not always mean the dog has been abused...it can also signafy a dog which has not been properly socialized...I see that alot!
We also have had alot of dogs in for grooming which you would swear have been abused by their owners, cowerinig etc...even the owners will say it seems as though the dogs have been abused they take them different places and they act like freaks and they act like phyco's in their own homes..but they have had them since pups...and they are good dog owners, some times it can be the product of bad breeding also which can land a litter full of phyco dogs.

[Rosebud]

:-?

I know you are going to take great care of this poor baby. I hate to hear of his past. People just don't understand a dog's value and potential.

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merenski/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html

Check out this link, follow it completely and most certantly use the babies favorite treat, I use yogurt. I would go ahead and try the dremel especially on a rottie's nails. It's the sound and developing his trust that is the most important thing here. I would also extend her time frames due to the previous abuse. Hopefully in a few months you will have a snoring rottie.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

:angel:

[xavierandrea]

Thanks for all the advice. I am actually going to try all methods and see which one is best working for Patti.

[imported_Cassie]

I just wanted to add one more thing...with black nails; if you look at the bottom of the nail (underneath) you can see the quick perfectly...they are just as easy to do as white nails. It would be nice if you can get a Dremel...