I want a (well-trained) dog

Today I clipped all the nails on Nemo's front paws. This may seem like an ordinary, less-than-desirable pet owner's duty, but to me it was a miracle. (The sound of his paws clicking on the floor makes me nuts, and I've read that it can cause their paws to spread. Plus he looks like a man dog in drag, only with very dirty nails. It's gross.)

I've had Nemo since October, and there have been two instances before now where I've tried to clip his nails. Both times were extremely traumatic for both of us. They involved a lot of running away and growling (him) and a few tears (me). I know, crying seems a little melodramatic, but I feel very close and synched up with the boy most of the time--so much so that when we're at odds, it really disturbs me. Especially when I know it's because he doesn't trust me.

And for good reason. The second time I tried to clip his nails, I got to the second-to-last one, clipped it too short, causing him to yelp in pain and start to bleed. Oh the guilt. Neemes's nails have been neglected (avoided) for so many months that the quick has grown way out near the end. (Imagine if our fingers grew out to reach the tip of our fingernails. Weird.) I felt so terrible and couldn't bring myself to put us both through it again.

So there were a couple of aborted attempts since then, with me chasing him around the apartment with treats, and him doing his darndest to get away.

Then I started training with Nicholas, and told him it was one of our biggest issues. He asked:

"What does Nemo do when you try to clip his nails?"

"He gives me these fake little mini-growls."

"What do yo mean 'fake'? What do they sound like?"

[Alison attempts to immitate Nemo, and feels like an idiot.]

"Um, those aren't fake growls. Those are warnings, and they're to be taken very, very seriously."

"Oh."

I guess I was blissfully ignorant of that. Just as well. I felt like the important thing was that I show him he couldn't make me back down; that I was in charge. But of course I wasn't.

So Nicholas gave me a piece of his ever-sound advice: get a nail file. At first we talked about using one of those brummel sander contraptions, but I tried it once when I was visiting Shannon and Neve, and the drill sound made Nemo even more anxious. So he said, get a nail file, and during the 5 minutes every day when you massage him and touch in between each of his paw pads, start using the file for 30 seconds on each nail. Once he's used to that, then file all 16 nails and then clip the last one. He won't know what's coming. Then the next day clip the first 14 and then clip the 15th. Keep going like that every day until you can clip them all.

This made a lot of sense to me. And most amazing? It worked.

Well, my modified and accelerated version of it worked. I did the "puppy touch" massaging every day, and it came in mighty handy after our extensive tick checks following a romp in the woods. He got pretty used to that and was fine with being man-handled. It helped to have gavin there to stroke his head and talk to him while I went to town.

So the filing went well also. I did that about a week ago.

And today I was taking a nap, and had Neemes up on the bed with me. It's hot out so he's pretty mellow these days, so I thought, I'll just do some filing while he's laying here all relaxed. I got to file a few nails and realized I could see how much I could clip off safely.

I did 9 of the front 10 nails without so much as a flinch. I'd alternate with a little filing now and then to lull him back into submission. I decided to wait on the back 6, since many of them are black and it's harder to see how much is safe to cut.

Anyway, yet another reason I'm so thankful for Nicholas. He took the insurmountable and gave me a strategy and a plan. And there's less clicking around the apartment now.