Calgary and Area Private and Commercial Pet & Equine Photographer

Part 3: Handling Difficult Pets

In this segment of the interview Desiree talks about pets that are difficult to trim and helps us decide when we can attempt it on our own and when to seek help..

Do you have any recommendation for handling difficult pets… the ones that are really anxious, scared, aggressive or are just really resistant to having their nails trimmed?

For the service that I offer I come to my client’s house. That takes away the anxiety of car ride dragging them to the vet clinic you know where Lord knows what the dog in behind the door is telling them… “Don’t let them bring you to the back here!” I try to make it as comfortable for the pet as possible. I think dogs know they are vulnerable animals and so they particularly don’t like being put in vulnerable situations, especially with their feet.

I also pride myself on knowing breeds. If I go to do a shepherd I know shepherds are vocal and I know that they can be mouthy so I know that when they get insecure they might want to nibble on my fingers. They might not want to bite me but they might just want to warn me “Hey I’m uncomfortable with this.” I think knowing different breeds and their traits are a bonus.

I do have a lot of difficult dogs and I’ve only ever had one dog that I could not do. I’ve got 3 dogs that before me they used to have to go to the clinic and get sedated they were so bad. They’d been banned from groomers and even the vets won’t him unless he’s under. I find being at home with their owners where they feel safe it makes a huge difference. One of those dogs in particular, the first time I went to go meet him we just had like a big cuddle session and got to know each other. I clipped one toenail and I was like, you know what we’re going to leave it here because he did so good. Then I’ll come back in a week and maybe we’ll clip two nails… so I really like to take my time.

When you go to the clinic you’re on the clock, the clinic staff has so many other things to do and you’re just one appointment out of the million in a day.  They don’t have the time for that so it’s really stressful to take them to the clinic to do that. So for me I give myself lots of time and I’II read the dog and see how comfortable he is and I’ll push him a little bit but I don’t push him into being uncomfortable and then behaving reactively because he’s insecure.  

If you have a dog that is it’s a little bit concerned about having their nails clipped but you’re going to do them on your own would you suggest to just do one nail at a time?

Honestly I would probably recommend not doing a dog on their own if they’re insecure. I do get the odd client that I’ll go to their house and they’ll be like oh there’s my dog there you go and I’m like no, no this is an owner involved process.

Even if there’s someone there just feeding them cookies as a distraction I would recommend not doing them on your own to be honest because an insecure dog … you know people think that an aggressive dog is the most dangerous dog … it’s actually an insecure dog that is the most dangerous. There are a couple dogs that I do have to muzzle when we do them even with the owner giving treats to distract them or just cuddling and them petting them.

So if your dog is scared or anxious, or if your dog isn’t secure in public, it’s better to take a precaution and muzzle them and then take them to a professional who’s used to dealing with those types of animals rather than risking getting hurt?

Yes because dogs for the most part do not bite the hand that feeds them and that’s why I’ve had dogs put their mouth on me but they’re not pushing on me because they know. They are warning you that they are nervous and really insecure about this but they know not to bite you. However there are some very reactive dogs that won’t think twice about biting a stranger that’s trying to cut their toes off, so you do have to be very careful. I do have a couple dogs one particular that comes to mind, that he will bite his owner when we’re doing nail trims. He won’t think twice about it, but you know when they’re in secure and they’re very fearful some of them get in that state of mind and they’re just not thinking.

So you should you start them as a puppy?

I think yes starting as a puppy is very beneficial. I tell a lot of my clients that you need to play with their paws however people misunderstand. They’ll teach them give me your paw or shake a paw and they’ll give them a treat, but the trick is actually to manipulate the pads. That’s what we need to be doing with our puppies from a young age because I have some dogs and I’ll go to trim their nails, and I won’t even cut their nails I’ll just be holding their paw and manipulating it and moving the fur to find the nail, and they’ll scream at me for that – not even cutting them.

I find a lot of them don’t even like the manipulating of the pads and that is when puppies first tremble. A couple of my clients are breeders and one lady in particular, she has Yorkies, and I have clipped their nails because poor mum was getting all cut up on her mammaries, I think they were 6 weeks old.  

Yes, as soon as they start getting sharp you should start. Mind you, it’s not a lot that I’m cutting, it’s very minimal, but you know the puppies are easy to do and then as they get older it’s been a thing that we’ve done their whole life so it’s not a big deal and it becomes easier and easier.

In Part 3 of this interview with Desiree we talked about handling difficult pets and helps us to know when to seek help. Please come back next week for Part 4 where Desiree will be talking about what to do in nail emergency situations.

Once again, if you would like to ask a question, please write your comment below and we will do our best to answer it. If you are interested in having Desiree come to your home to clip your pet’s nail, do an ear cleaning or an anal gland expression, Desiree can be reached through her Facebook Page ~ Desiree’s Pawdicures.

If you are interested in having your pet star in our 2025 Pet Calendar, please consider entering the Ruff Start 2025 Pet Photo Calendar Contest. This contest is a fundraiser for a local volunteer pet rescue. Weekly prizes are awarded to those pet owners who have entered a picture of their pet on the on-line calendar website platform and have gotten the greatest number of weekly votes. Grand prizes are awarded after the contest closes on March 28, 2024 and the 12 pets with the highest number of votes will win a free photo session with Silver Hound Studios and their pictures will be placed into the rescue’s 2025 calendar. The top two grand prize winners will also win extra prizes valued at $150 or more. You can register your pet at https://www.gogophotocontest.com/rsrs . Click “Sign In” to get started!