Need help with trimming nails

[haydee]

I have a 5 month old Chihuahuha named Noel and he hates to have his nails trimmed its a struggle to clip his nails ,I dont want to traumatize him by being forceful with him but what can I do to make it less stressful for him? He acts like hes being tortured when I try to clip his nails .:confused:

[DiggityDogs]

if you are comfortable with trimming his nails, except for his behavior, what I used to do is put the trimmers in my back pocket and sit on the floor or couch to watch TV. Call your dog over and give him a big belly rub. when he looks like he's about to fall asleep, trim just one or two toenails. There's no rule that says you have to do all of them at once, and this way you get to do it pretty stress free, and can feed him a treat afterward. After doing this for a few days you can probably get most of them trimmed. Sometimes you'll want to call him over and give him a belly rub and handle his feet and toes without trimming his nails so he doesn't think every time you call him you're going to do it. I also will hold my little one on my lap and trim his nails, even though he hates it, and give him a sharp "NO" when he starts to get rowdy. You don't have to be forceful and hurt him, you just need to tell him 'NO, you don't act like this, every dog needs his nails to be trimmed'. Eventually he may just get used to it. If not, I'd recommend getting a professional groomer or vet assistant to help you out.

[tftmom]

I have found that when you have a dog that gets hysterical or vocal when you trim their nails the best thing to do is to get the job done matter of factly without saying a word. These dogs seem to feed on coddling and think they are gaining the upper hand if you speak to them. If they try biting, give their little butt a swat and then continue the process without saying a word. When you are done, set them down, say, "good boy/girl!" and give them a treat or a game of fetch. My dog, Seji, was a screaming, nipping mess of a puppy. Now, he sits through the process and when he is set down he rushes to the toy basket and initiates a game of fetch as his reward. He does the same after a bath, shots, anything he thinks he has been subjected to.