Congrats! Should be a nice litter!
Pedipaws - What's your opinion?
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SO, really, how long does it take you to get them used to the dremel?
Mine absolutely hate the clippers. When the first two were little, I had started using clippers on them and they were generally OK and getting used to it, then I stupidly volunteered to let a Petsmart trainer in our puppy obedience class use my male to demonstrate to the rest of the class. First nail the guy clipped he went right through the middle of the nail, Tigger screamed out in pain and blood went everywhere. Ever since then, he growls if you just get them near him and the others have taken his lead. Now, it is as much my fault as anything as I never really tied to push through and retrain.
I have a dremel with a flexible attachment as well, so the machine is at least 3 feet from them. I have tried a couple of times, but they still get mad at the noise. I really would like to rely on something other than walks and running on the bit of concrete we have in the backyard to keep them trimmed.
Are we talking 10 time, 20 times, more, before I should even try to actually trim the nails?
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I use clippers, not a dremel, but there are a couple of things you can try. When you feed them, that's when to get them used to the noise. Turn it on at dinner time, bring it increasingly closer to their food bowls…...let it become a "dinner bell", so they associate the sound with good things. Let them get used to the vibration by holding it (or an electric toothbrush or vibrator) in you hand and putting your hand on the body, then a leg, then a paw, so the vibration becomes "old hat". In other words, come at it gradually so there is no "fear factor". Then, as long as there is no pain involved, you should be able to go ahead and start using it on their nails. (You might be able to desensitize the clippers the same way, but it will be harder with the boy who associates them with pain)
You should also be handling feet and examining nails on a regular basis. There should be no "don't touch my feet" reactions! If there are, you obviously need to work on that first. Reward for good behaviour, work through resistance with persistence. To me, it just isn't on to have any part of my dog's body that I can't handle.......you never know when it will be necessary because of an injury.
None of my Basenjis has ever been a fan of clippers, but it was never an optional activity. Had to be done, and was done. I don't believe in unnecessary restraint. The dog learns to be responsible for controlling himself/herself while I work on the feet. My show bitch was hilarious......she would become increasingly annoyed, then she would complain vocally, then make a slow motion grab for the hand holding the clippers. She never bit down, just registered her displeasure. I think she was disappointed at my reaction when I laughed at her.
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http://dogmantics.com/2008/02/19/how-to-train-your-dog-to-relax-for-nail-clipping/
this link may help. I haven't watched all of this particular video, but I have liked the ones on that site that I've seen. I've also found that some b's have ticklish feet.
Tigger, with the bad experience, may take longer, but as the dremel is different, I think it would be easier to get him comfortable with the dremel than the clippers. I do have a friend that trained her terriers to scratch at a board with sandpaper on it to file their nails. Don't know how she did with the back toes, but that's an idea.
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We have never clipped or trimmed the nails of Lela and Binti: we walk on road surface frequently and that does the job.
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It does, the only issue is that we have hardwoods everywhere, so just relying on the natural action of walking on concrete and asphalt only trims them down just to the point where they still make tons of noise when they walk around inside.
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Yeah I found the pedipaw ones to be worthless. I just use my dremel.
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On a different note - I love these posts that say "use kibble as a treat…" Butu will tolerate this for maybe one or two pieces (more if it's a new (to Butu) kibble)...otherwise I get a horrified "but this is food" look - Butu has Definite Ideas on what is a treat...
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Kaiser tends to walk a lot on the grass sniffing than on the concrete so we have to do his nails, use a scissor type clipper and have to file after to blunt the edges. He gets a treat(anything is a treat in this house) every couple of toes and loves to eat his clippings, my poodle also enjoyed them. Have ordered a Pedipaw to try out of curiosity, bit scared about the power of a dremel I just hate hurting them when doing their nails as they sure know you did it, so glad Kaiser has clear nails not black like my poodle did and I poked and prodded his feet as a puppy.
Jolanda and Kaiser
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@stash:
I just hate hurting them when doing their nails as they sure know you did it,
Yes, they do. But in my experience they also understand that was not the intent. I always apologize to my animals for any accidental discomfort, and I find both dogs and horses seem to understand that pain was not inflicted on purpose. I don't know if they read my tone of voice, my body language, or something deeper, but almost without exception I find my apology is accepted, certainly for anything minor. If the pain was intense, I suppose it might result in a different outcome, I don't know….
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I have dremeled oakleys nails since he was a puppy, as his breeder had dremeled them since birth. I find the pedi-paws to be be useless; especially since dremels these days are not expensive. The safety guard is nothing but a nuisance and it makes getting a good angle impossible. You learn quickly the best and safest way to do your dogs nails and it becomes second nature therefore using the safety guard is silly. I also find that its not very strong which puts unnecessary pressure on the dog and dremels rougher. All in all, I use the brand name dremel that i ordered through PetEdge.com
I order the replacement sanding bands maybe twice a year but because I do his nails every week to two weeks they stay pretty decent and the dremel doesnt get worn. -
Funny to see this post tonight. We finally were able to use the PediPaws on Kona today. We bought it over a week ago and she freaked out about it, but today after some wrestling and just letting her get used to the noise, she allowed me to do it with no problem. She was rewarded with treats by my husband while I did her nails - which helped her calm down.
Also, we felt that it left her nails a little sharp (could possibly be user error), so I ended up just smoothing them out at the end with an emory board. The things I like about PediPaws is that it stops spinning when too much pressure is applied. This is helpful if the dog is squirmy and the cover on the top to catch the nail dust.
I found Pedipaws and other brands like them would not have enough power to do the job. I use the dremmel exclusively on all three of the kids. you have more control on the angle and therefore do not get the sharp points as mentioned above…. not worth the money.....
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Hi to everyone. We haven't been here for a while, but I just wanted to add my 'YES" vote for using a dremel. We've been using it since we got Kipawa at 4 months.
Yes, there's a period where both dog and human have to get used to the process. Using the dremel weekly, and having treats available was key for us.
We have a cordless model (Dremel brand) that looks like a gun. It's grey with blue. The grinding area is where a bullet would come out of a gun barrel. The handle area is exactly where you would hold a gun. I hope that gives a good visual description of the model we have.
Here's the process I used the first time on Kipawa when he was 4 months old.
1. Get get some Zukes low calorie treats. Cut each in half.
2. Ask your dog to 'sit'. Give a treat while holding the dremel close enough so the dog can associate the dremel sound with a treat. Good boy/girl!
3. Sit down in a comfy chair that has good lighting.
4. Have your basenji lounge on your lap.
5. Spend about 15 seconds touching the pad/nails of the first foot you are going to trim the nails.
6. Hold the foot firmly, but gently. Give a treat and lots of calm praise. Breathe slowly and talk quietly.
7. Still holding the foot, turn the dremel on. Give another treat.
8. Hold the foot gently, but firmly (does that make sense? ).
9. Push on the first toe to fully extend the nail out. The toe/nail should point in the direction of the nail growth - away from you.
10. As you touch the dremel to the toe nail, try not to let the dremel 'bounce' on the nail. Maintain contact with the nail as best you can. Your skills WILL get better!
11. Begin to dremel at the top edge of the nail to shorten the nail. Curve slightly towards the bottom of the nail. This ensures a smooth edge.
12. One toe, one treat, calm gentle praise.
13. Continue until all nails are done.
14. If needed, set your goal for one foot. MY opinion is that it's better to complete the entire job to get your basenji used to the entire process and the time it takes.Hope this helps somewhat.
Here's a few pictures of Kipawa, who just had his 3rd birthday on September 21.
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Well got some batteries for my pedipaws and showed Kaiser held it against his leg turned it on, held it against his nail turned it on said good boy and put it away. Later in the day had a go at using it for real with treat rewards since he had reacted so well, no problem always amazes me how calm he is. Went from toe to toe as they get hot and finished all of them. Do see it doesn't have much power but think it is a good start for me to use until I can get a Dremel and didn't take me as long as using clippers and then hand filing, so will use it weekly and take a little off each time. Cost me NZ$11.50 including postage but not including battery cost, so wasn't too bothered if it didn't suit. Happy me, happy basenji.
Jolanda and Kaiser
