trimming feet hair...

how many ppl trim the hair inbetween their kids pads...i try to do it when it gets long..King hates it... but i dont want him gettin debris stuck inbetween his pads...a groomer i kno says that the show cut is basically no cutting at all...but since he's not a show dog its ok....but i dont want to put him through hell everytime...plus its very frustratin tryin to clip the hair when he's not for it... :bang: :bang: :bang: any feedback will b appreciated

The hair between the bottom of their pads should be trimmed or they slip and slide all over -- and you can trim this hair on a show dog too without penalty. You are not supposed to trim the 'slippers' (long hair on top of the foot) but if you aren;t showing your dog you can of course do as you like! You really should get a little special rounded-edge scissors for trimming feet hair, if you don;t have one, as it is easy to accidentally jab a pad using a regular scissors.

You probably eed to work to acclimate him to having feet handled; you can do this by first just handling a paw and treating as you do so and praising. Increase the time of handling and what you do with his paw, then work up to doing each paw; then work up to trimming a little on one paw... etc... most dogs will gradually accept the treats in exchange for the grooming. But this takes patience.

In addition to what Karlin said, I feel you should get a dog used to having every part of his body being touched. And I mean EVERY part :yikes You never know when a dog may have some kind of problem where you have to touch him and he has to trust you to do that.

I don't trust myself using real scissors on the bottoms of their feet. I usually do feet twice a month and my daughter brings her boys, and we have a homed rescue nearby that we sometimes do. By the time I've done them all - I am frankly tired. I use a small clipper and do nails at the same time.

It is so necessary to have your dog trust you to touch his whole body. If he is afraid to let you touch his ears-- he'll freak if they hurt and you have to check/clean/medicate them. Sandy

well the thing is i can do practically anything to King...touch his feet/pads any part....but as soon as i come near him wit nail clippers or scissors/hair clipper...he freaksdont kno y but it makes it harder to make him comfortable....i can clip hair on any other part of his body (but rarely have to) but his feet r the NO NO area...my mom and i hav to hold him down stressin him out to do this....any ideas???

Dudley used to be the same way, but now he just lays and lets me do
whatever I want.
I always reward him with a special treat after grooming. Always praise him too, he will get used to it in time.

Maybe start slow. Let him touch the nail clippers/hair clippers/scissors and if he is calm give him a little treat. Keep going slowly day by day. Let him touch, smell, lick them and don't use them. Gradually do a little thing at a time when he seems calm with them. Like clip one or two nails and make a big fuss when he is good. Takes great time and patience sometimes and consistency.

thnx for the tip...he's been gettin better but i gotta work wit him.