I introduced the girls to a nail grinding tool today. Eventually want to use it each time I do the girls nails. I understand regular use will cause the quick to recede shorter, shich is a good thing. It was only their second exposure ever to it. I set it all down on the carpet and turned it on. Every time they would "explore" or sniff the motor or wand (it was "on" they got a small treat. Every time they touched the whirring wand with a paw, they got another treat. Button was liking the game so much she was pawing it the wand tip frantically with that "Gimme my treat" intensity and barking. She even let me pick up the tool and touch her claws directly a few times for just a second, which got a BIG treat! Button is always up for a game, especially one that involves treats! 
Zipper didn't do so well and wanted to "eat" the whirring grinding tip!  Didn't seem to matter whatsoever that it was on either! I don't think they're supposed to be used for teeth grinding!  . She did paw at it a couple of times and whenever she did, she got a treat. I think Zip is still a bit apprehensive about it, like the girls are about vacuum cleaners.
Wacky Button likes this new GAME! She thinks the grinder is a TOY! By the 2nd or third treat, she was practically beating on the wand tip to get that next treat! That's a good thing, because eventually, she needs to help me get Zipper to be more accepting of it. The website I use for instructions says to introduce them to it very slowly, over a couple of weeks, so I didn't push it too hard with Zipper. We'll play the "game" again tomorrow and see how it goes.
Today I also had to do their regular claw clipping. They've gotten so long! I always do it around 3-4 PM because the sun is on the patio and I can see the quick of their nails real well. They had both been sound asleep ever since lunch, so I thought "Now's a good time". Lance sat down and held the first one up in his lap (usually Button, but Zipper hopped up there first today). Zipper didn't struggle one bit! Every muscle in her body was relaxed. The sun is so warm today (83º she started squinting and I could tell by the time I was about done, she was going to sleep! Now THAT's a switch! Of course the turkey lunchmeat treats after each paw didn't hurt any, either. She was like a limp noodle during the filing phase.
All the while, Button was on the ground wondering why Zipper was getting so much turkey without having to do much. Button truly does not like claw clipping, though she usually tolerates it long enough for us to finish. Today, either going "second", being somewhat sleepy, or just resigned, she didn't squirm around much. She didn't even pull her paws back away from me and claw her Daddy while aI worked on her. This made him VERY happy!  I even slightly nicked one  though she didn't flinch, whimper or notice (it barely even bled). She rolled over on her back and was quite docile for the whole procedure, even after the nicked nail! She totally relaxed her muscles for the filing phase. Lots of turkey nibbles helped with her, too. 
I hope to eventually use grinding totally, and do it so frequently that the quick stays short & the claws don't get long enough to ever need to use clippers again. |