Dog is deathly afraid of getting her nails trimmed tips on how to calm down?

my dog is deathly afraid of getting her nails trimmed. We adopted her from the pound so we have done nothing to make her afraid of it. We have tried doing it ourselves and she has bitten me, and we also have taken her to Petsmart they've actually got through with it once but she was crying, pulling her paws away, and trying to scratch the muzzle off. But we just tried to take her a couple of days ago again and the groomer couldn't even finish it only trimmed the hind legs. i was wondering if there are any tips to calm her down and not be afraid.

I've been told a good thing to do is start handling her paws more. A little at a time. Maybe by giving her treats while you have her paw in your hand. You want her to realize that people touching her feet is a good thing

take her to a groomer they have a special way of clipping the nails,
someone hurt her real bad while trying to clip.

Walk your dog on a side walk or street. The faster you go the shorter the nails will become. Its the natural method.

I really don't know a dog who likes their nails clipped. I have a 10 year old Lab and to this day, I have to wrestle him to the ground, have my daughter hold him and feed him gawd awful treats.

My other dogs either scream like I am killing them or have to be muzzled.

Now, I have found that my VET can trim any of my dog's nails without a muzzle. And the groomer at the my vet's office is just as good.

It is a certain energy that is better with dogs such as yours and mine.
It is called calm.

Find a groomer that floats on air and has a very calming energy.

Me? I am a wall climber.

Hi I have been volunteer at a vet what they do and you can try have on person hold so she can't move around and pet her and when she is calm then start. or you could also try to feed her her fave treat while doing her nails hope that helped!!!!

well, watch the Dog Whisperer, he is on every Friday at 8:00 on National Geographic. he is a miracle worker! there was an episode with a maltese i think with the same problem, but instead of fear she turned to agression and he completely turned it around so now they have no prob. what he did was:
-leash the dog and place the leash on the very tip-top of the dog's neck, lifting their head to make them feel more proud (if you won't take my word for it that dogs feel more proud with thier head up, watch any dow show and you'll see what i mean)
-"present" the scissors. just pull them out while the dog is calm and wave them around, snipping the air with them.
-wait until the dog relaxes, and then SLOWLY begin to bring the scissors closer. do not pull the scissors away at any time, unless they are close to the face and the dog has a tantrum. if the dog squirms, stop moving the scissors and wait.

stay calm at all times and good luck!
p.s.
walking your dog on a sidewalk is good, but while it wears down nails considerably it will not keep them short enough that you will not have to clip them. be very careful of the vein inside the dog's nail, if it is cut it will bleed. not a big deal but the dog gets spooked.

Someone else said it already but, I can't do my own dogs nails because I'm too high strung lol. That energy passes off to him and ... it's not pretty. My groomer can clip his nails with no problem. He gives her kisses while she trims his nails ... This is why I'm a trainer and not a groomer.

I think with dogs that are fearful of that, it's best to leave them alone with a groomer or vet tech to have it done. They tend to behave better when you do. I never stick around when it comes time to have my dogs nails trimmed or when they draw blood. If I'm there, my dog is bouncing off the walls, if I'm not ... he tolerates it. It's just like kids acting up more when mommy is around.

I had the same problem UNTIL i took these simple steps and now they are PERFECT for grooming!

Here is what you do:
1) Have a specific spot where you grrom them ( my spot is a table )
2) Have TONS of treats with you when you groom
3) Pick up their paw and let go if they haul away or do something such as lick your hand ( i don't like it when they do that). When they let you JUST hold it give them praise and a treat!
4) As you move on using the previous skill and are able to pick up the paw without complications, pick up the paw and pet it or you can squeeze it ( i squeeze it because you will be squeezing it alot more) and continue until that skill is mastered.
5) Eventually, when you get to the place, start putting the clippers near the nails. You will master this soon.
6) start TRIMMING LITTLE BITS! One nail clipped, give a treat!
7) YOU'RE DONE and you have a GREAT DOG!

If you want you can take little breaks when your dog starts to get annoyed with it. Quickly though, resume by doing the steps above. My dogs only had to go through these steps 3 times, now , less than a week from being introduced, they go through it like its a breeze.

REMEMBER: the dogs get to pull away, NEVER HOLD ONTO THE PAW!

Also, I would advise when you are cuddling/petting your dog, JUST PET THE PAWS, don't handle them. I tried this with my dogs and I just went further downhill.

Have fun grooming!

Surprise no one has mentioned it yet, but try filing her nails. It'll cost a little bit more at PetSmart than a nail trim but it could work. I would ask what you were doing/ how you react when she acts up. Dogs are like kids, they figure out that this behavior gets this reaction.