I am not comfortable putting her under for a nail snip, but our vet wants to try sedating her next. ANY guidance is greatly appreciated. We have tried everything at home that comes to mind. She still gets excited when you show her the clippers and give her a ton of treats because she is highly driven by food. Original concepts are highly appreciated!
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Here’s a neat trick I learned that might help your dog with nail trimming, which some folks here have suggested along with other great advice.
Instead of the usual nail trimming routine, try teaching your pup to trim her own nails by walking on concrete when you tell her to. It’s like she’s using a doggy nail file!
We used a special rough tape called skateboard tape, like the grippy part of a skateboard, which you can easily get on Amazon. We stuck it on a strong board and trained our pup to scrape her paws on it for a tasty treat.
To get started, you can use a washcloth or rag with a treat hidden underneath. Hold it down lightly and let your dog try to get the treat. She might paw at it out of frustration. When she does, give her lots of praise and treats. Keep doing this until she reliably paws at the towel and board combo. Then, remove the towel and hide the treat under your fist. When she starts scraping her nails on the board, celebrate with big rewards! Keep repeating until she understands the command to paw at the board, and voila! Your dog can now file her own nails. You’ll need to teach her to do it for each paw (the back ones might be tricky – some dogs will figure it out easily, while others might need a bit more help).
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I have a dog, but she detests having her nails cut, so I can not offer training suggestions. My husband and I am able to divert her enough so that I can finish cutting one nail in a flash before she screams and flees (do not worry, I have new, excellent Quilty nail clippers). This is something we do every few days, and it never ends.