How can I get my dog's nails trimmed without the struggle?

When my pup was younger he would allow me to cut his nails with no problem, however now that he is growing up (7months now) he is not letting me get near him with the nail clippers. I finally decided to take him to a groomer who was able to put him on a table and cut his nails without a struggle. What can I do to get him to hold still while I do this at home? I have tried having my husband hold him, giving him something to chew on, and snipping while he sleeps. He just struggles terribly and i'm unable to trim his nails safely. I always mess with his feet, holding his nails and running my fingers between his pads. He's fine with this, but when the clippers come out he is gone! Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do? I have tried using different nail clippers- but he still won't let me!

I don't think it is worth the hassle. Let a groomer or your vet do it. It is not expensive and it is a lot easier on all parties. My dogs have to be muzzled to do it. They are trained to work with pets who don't like this. To me it is like the Dentist. I would not let my Mom clean and fix my teeth. I go to the Doctor.

Some people wrap an animals in a large towel if they can.

This is a common problem. Dogs should be taught how to present their paws so it is worth it to the dog. Take a look at this video to see how with positive reinforcement training you can overcome the problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgEwiH8CeUE

Grommers can do it far better but if you must do it at home try getting him used to the clippers or if you really want to, put him to sleep and then clip his nails and when he wakes up he should be none the wiser, but make sure you use a small dose of tranqualizer depending on the dog

It is excellent that you mess with his feet to get him used to it. Keep that up... squeeze his feet and his toes, too. Also do that while you are holding the nail clippers.

Expose him to the clippers as much as you can. I know this sounds stupid, but pet him with the nail clippers, too. Run them all over his body, face (careful of the eyes, of course), up and down legs, and especially feet and toes. Let him see, hear, smell, and feel the clippers. Squeeze the clippers open and closed while you are doing this with him so that he can hear the noise they make. Do all of this every day, and praise, praise, praise him all the while ("gooooood booooy!!" ...make your voice sound ridiculous when you say it -- they love that)! Do it for as long as it takes to see a positive improvement in his behavior.

The idea is that he will eventually associate the clippers with good attention, petting, and praise. There is no reason why he shouldn't. If you do it often enough for long enough and praise him while you do it, he should improve.

However, if he throws all that out the window as soon as you cut a nail with the clipper, he may just be one of those dogs... you may just have to let a professional do it. He may be overly sensitive in his nails and maybe he just hates that pinching feeling... who knows?

I hope that helps... GOOD LUCK!

Hey! Definitely bring him to a local Dog Groomers where they can trim your dogs nails safely, even if he gets scared they will know what to do. I know from experience. My dog is freaked of nail clipping when I try to do it, but I brought him to my moms friend who is a dog groomer and she trimmed his nails safely and he wasn't that scared!

Sometimes I find it easier to use a nail grinder if the dog doesn't like clippers. They sell them at pet stores and online. Another thing you could try is Oliver's Paw Pal. Its a new kind of nail grinder but it is really expensive and I haven't tried it. I just stick to my nail grinder. You have to be careful because just like with the clippers, you can cut the quick if you grind too much. Good luck!

Just take her to the vet's office. Our vet charges ten dollars for nail clipping, and it is stressless for us. Plus the dog doesn't hate us, it hates him.

We had the same problem with out 8 mo. old pit bull puppy- the best advice I can give is to do it late at night when they are tired, or try and get to them when they're sleeping- they put up less of a fight and it will be quick and stress-free for you! It has worked well for us!

What worked with my puppy (other than massaging her toes & nails at non-nail-clipping times, which it sounds like you already do, good job) was to clip her nail, give her a tiny treat. Then clip the next nail, give her a tiny treat. With lots of "good girl, good girl" every time she let me clip one.

Then when you're all done, puppy party! Seriously, go nuts with telling him how good of a boy he is.

ALSO: try cutting in very small doses. Like each evening, cut a tiny bit off of one nail. And give him a treat! Then let him run off and play. After a while hopefully he won't see it as a big deal.

Good luck!