What is the technique to restrain a dog PROPERLY to have nails clipped?

<br />
I'm asking this question not because I want to do it myself to my dog, it's because I'm doing a contest later this month where I have to demonstrate the proper way to restrain them.<br />

Lie the dog on his side. You can keep him in position by gently "leaning" on him with one arm, just enough so he feels you're there. Your hands will still be free enough to clip the nails easily.

take your dog to a vets or dog salon & they will do it right please do not attempt to do this your self.<br />
If needed they will sedate it

He He that's funny. All but one of my five is fine and will just let them get snipped. My little one 45 lbs is muzzled.<br />
<br />
My moms pug is muzzled, my mom holds his body down and my daughter holds his head in a head lock and the groomer snips. A pug mix.

Do not I mean DO NOT let anyone sedate your dog to clip their nails. Almost everyone clips their dogs nails Nicole I don't know where you get your information from but you not right in your answer at all. I have my groomer do it when she is grooming my dogs, or the vet office will do it for free when they are checking out my dogs.. Or I will do it at home. The best way I found to do it is that I hold my dog while a person is cutting them. They feel safe in my arms so I don't have a problem.

If you take your dog to a groomer or even a vet for a nail trim, they should be willing to show you how to hold the dog -- if you stay in the room while the vet/vet tech trim the nails, you can watch how the tech holds your dog, and how your dog reacts to that method.<br />
<br />
I restrain my dogs in the way most vet clinics do it (I think) -- <br />
<br />
Starting at the front: Stand at the side of the dog (on a table) or sit beside the dog and pull them into your lap. Put one arm under and around the dogs neck/head, and press the neck/head against your chest/shoulder. This will immobilize the head.<br />
<br />
Put your other arm over the dog's back and, using that arm to press the body against you, grasp the elbow joint of the front leg. This will also prevent the dog from pulling that foot away from whomever is trimming the nails. The easiest thing to do would be to reverse the dog's direction for the other front leg.<br />
<br />
For the rear legs, you can hold the same way (and just let the person trimming deal with the hind feet. You can also put the arm that was going over the dog's back under, instead, and press the body against you. Either way, you may have to hold tight!<br />
<br />
Again, this is hard to explain in writing, and would be much easier to understand if you could see it. Nail trims aren't terribly expensive -- it would be worth the $$ to get the technique so that you can do it at home.<br />
<br />
Good luck!

all I have every done is when they are very young pups I would always play with their paws....like when they were laying on my lap or something I would just rub their feet, front and back ones, just to get them used to that feeling....now I just tell them to sit..pick up one paw at a time and clip their nails.....for the back ones I have them lay down...and just pick up the rear paws and clip....I don't have to hold them down they just wait until I'm done and then get up and start playing again.

I am a groomer and the best thing for your pet if he/she is that "wiggly" is to let your groomer do it. We charge $8.00, so it is well worth the money to have it done right without you having to struggle with him/her. In some rare cases, the animal does have to go to the vet and be sedated, but only if the animal is highly stressed about having his/her nails trimmed. That eliminates the stress to the animal and ensures that they won't be hurt during the process.

HAHA<br />
OK time for the comedy act<br />
Wrap both legs around the dog (your legs) then pull its one leg up so you can see the nails...<br />
No, wait a minute, better than that get someone to sit on the dog without squashing it...<br />
<br />
No actually, talking in a sweet calming voice does help. Sometimes it is a good idea to have them restrained it really all depends on the dogs. Some are no problem at all. One thing is true though and that is if you are very Sweet to them, and manage not to cause them any pain than eventually they do get over the nail trimming fears and aren't bad.<br />
<br />
There are devices that groomers that do not have an extra set of hands to help them use. Some involve a set of arms and a harness that also lifts the belly of the dog so it has no traction and can't really do much to push away as there is nothing to push on.

Of all the dogs I have ever had, only one had a problem with having his nails cut and he did it anyway. He would get muzzled and the person would just trim. He had to do it, like it or not.