| Moxie and her nails!
I don't know what to do next about Moxie's nails!
Moxie is the perfect dog for me, in all aspects but one. She loves other dogs, she's ok with kids, she loves her crate, she's healthy, not overweight, not barky, cuddly, well behaved, and responds well to verbal commands (especially off leash). She tolerates me bathing her, brushing her teeth, cleaning her bum (when her anal glands explode), cleaning her ears, etc. But she will not let me touch her feet!
I got her when she was nine months old. Her previous owner lamented she could not keep Moxie's nails trimmed: anytime she went near Moxie with nail cutters Moxie would flee.
I knew what I was getting into. I started by switching to the guillatine type nail cutters. Moxie tolerated them unwillingly, until I accidentally clipped one nail too short. I cut into the quick: she yelped and ran to hide. I couldn't pull out those nail clippers after that without her becoming stressed and trying to hide.
I took her into work at the shelter one day and asked a coworker if she could trim Moxie's nails. It took two people to hold her and a third to trim her nails. Moxie did everything she could to escape. (Moxie doesn't try to bite or snap or growl in these situations -- her eyes just about pop out of her head, she whines, and she tries to free herself.) She was horribly stressed by the event, and worse still, she injured herself. In trying so hard to pull her leg away from a human grasp, she herniated a muscle in her thigh! I felt horrible.
I next took a different approach. I started to reward her with freeze dried liver when she would let me touch her feet. We got to the point within a few months when she wouldn't tense up when I touched her foot. She was relaxed and eager to get the food reward. I then used cat nail scissors to trim her nails. It worked -- for a while. The day came when I again clipped her nail too short. She hid underneath the couch for the rest of the day, and wouldn't come anywhere near me. Food rewards for allowing me to touch her feet does not work anymore.
Her nails need to be trimmed. I don't like to be stressed about this, and I really hate to have to stress her. But they need trimming! I don't know what to do now. I half-joke with my partner that we should have her declawed, but part of me wonders if it would be less cruel to have her under anesthesia to get her nails trimmed. Maybe she needs tranquillizers.
Any advice or suggestions?
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FAQ 
Lavander 
: Together in Singapore 
