Nail by Nail

After Suzy-dawg accidentally snagged a claw in my sweater and made a hole in it, I realized it was once again time to attempt to cut her nails. Which she hates. It's comical, really, to the point that my son has asked that he always be allowed to watch when I try to clip Suzy's nails. It's entertainment for him!

Usually I hold Suzy in my lap and kind of anchor her body with my legs, pet and praise her a lot and try to surreptiously clip one nail every few minutes. She squirms relentlessly, but she wants so much to be cuddled by me, the leader of the pack, so she looks at me with suspicion and longing. At the same time, she makes a continuous low noise in her throat, as though she's heading for a blow-up (in which she'll yip at me), so I back off when her noise gets a little too urgent-sounding. That seems to keep things under control somewhat.

Tonight I managed to cut ONE NAIL in about 30 minutes.

I've been trying to help her get used to having her paws handled, but she truly hates it. When the nail trimmers are nowhere in sight, I invite Suzy onto the couch, where we snuggle and I gently hold her paws for a second or two -- before she yanks them away and tucks them under her body. It's hilarious and frustrating at the same time. I don't want to smoosh her body like I've seen in photos online that show how to hold a dog when cutting its nails; Suzy is a ten-pound, delicate little thing, after all. Still, I'm thinking I may have to bring in an adult helper one of these days. I don't want to pay for something as simple as nail trimming. Well, something as ostensibly simple as nail trimming. ;^)