Monday, January 18, 2016

Ask OBP #21

Benjamin

This week's ask question comes from Martha. Martha wants to know what the deal is with pug paws! Why do pugs seem to be so offended, scared, sensitive on their feet? While we have no good answer for her, we will admit that we were warned when the boys were young pups that we should touch their feet all the time in order to get them used to it and that we would mightily regret it if we did not get them used to it. While we probably did not do our best to heed this warning, we also did not ignore it. The feet of our pugs has varied.

We had Benny who truly did hate to have his feet touched and toenails clipped or filed. Henry was not quite as bad and was way better with the grinder than the clippers. Sol who did not love it and by the looks of her toenails when she came to us, toenail trimming was completely foreign to her. Luna was the worst though. She would literally run and try to hide when she realized it was toenail time. Eventually she got to be ok with the clippers but would tremble with fear if the deed was done using grinders. So later in life (after discovering that the clippers were her preference) it was only the clippers for her.

Pug paws in your neck of the woods....feedback please. What have you found?

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Debbie

01/19/2016

Oh, this is a great question. Petsmart refuses to attempt the nail clipping on my Toby. He gets VERY upset, and to them, it’s just not worth the anxiety it creates. He has a special “note” in his file at Petsmart, so he must have really freaked out. For now, our walks keep them trimmed up, but not as short as I would like them to be.

Patty25

01/19/2016

I had attempted to cut my Angel’s nails, but the nipping and carrying on was too much for me! Even with someone holding her, she could whip her head around and nip! So it was either done at her vet’s office or the groomer. But after her fainting episodes started, we stopped taking her to the groomer and did baths at home and took her to the vet for toenails.

Sleighbelle

01/19/2016

Sleighbelle hated nail trims too! I had to take her to the vet. It took two to hold her, love her, whisper in her ears and then one to do the actual trimming. Those poor vet techs were COVERED in pug hairs when it was all said and done! And Sleighbelle would continue to shred copious amounts for the next couple of hours. Just another crazy pug quirk!!

sue wooding

01/19/2016

I take mine to the groomers or the vet my groomer does such a great job and they let her now me forget it they will not let me near their nails with clippers

Sue VDB

01/19/2016

Puggy was good, Bo Peep went to the vet where she was a good girl, Romeo had to go to the vet and when they saw him come in the door and heard nails, you could see the vet techs shudder. It took two vet techs and the vet had to come in to do the deed.

Annie Fannie goes to the groomer. My friend holds her and makes sure she wears long sleeves for the deed, I talk to her (she now refuses to eat the treats when she found out why she was getting them) she pulls and sometimes tries to nip and the sound coming from her sounds like a hound from hell. I must say the last time was the least traumatic so she and the other pugs belonging to Vickie got to share two plain hamburgers from Burger King.

Alayna

01/19/2016

Not happening! I have to leave it to the professionals! Abby’s groomer does it for me every few weeks and whenever we’re at the vet, I’ll have them do it as well. She’s pretty good with them but a squirmy beast with me! LOL

Christie Sachde

01/19/2016

We have been touching their paws since we got them because we clean them after they are done going potty. In no way shape or form has this helped even a little bit when it comes to the cutting of the pug nails!!!

PetSmart is out…we did take Vito there when it was just him…and he ended up with stitches because he got cut when they were attempting to cut his nails!!!

We have two dremels…one makes less noise so perhaps is less scary…my husband and I tag team…he holds them and is at the nails while I give treats…and it really is not all that productive. We can only get a couple nails done if we’re lucky! Olive seems to mind the least about getting a mani/pedi…BUT both Vito and Luigi are horrible.

At this point we get it done by the Vet when we are in for other things…

Christie Sachde

01/19/2016

Do you need any questions…I have one…does Henry or did any of the other pugs ever climb in the dishwasher while you were loading it after dinner??? We call Vito the “pre rinse cycle” -every night as I am standing at the sink doing dishes he comes over…I open the dishwasher to load it…I put the glasses in the top then put the plates in the bottom rack. After I push the rack back in Vito hops up in to the dishwasher…he is standing on the door…and proceeds to lick the plate(s) that I just put in there clean! And I do mean clean…they look like they have already gone through the dishwasher by the time he is done!!!

Elizabeth

01/19/2016

Yes, the vet was our path of least resistance. But unless I witnessed it, I would never have believed 20 pounds could be so strong, defiant and MAD about his little paws.

Martha

01/19/2016

Well, now that I’ve heard from my panel of pug experts, I don’t feel as bad about Bennie’s completely dreadful behavior.

The last time was at the vet’s, and when all was said and done, three people were bleeding from the thrashing whirlwind of my fighting pug. It was the claws that got them, not the teeth, thank goodness. And also, I was the only one to emerge from that room intact. The vet, his tech and my husband…all bloody. The sound that comes from Bennie is like something from a horror movie. But it seems many of you already know what that sounds like ; (

I really appreciate hearing the stories, because I have felt terrible about his behavior. The last time I had his teeth cleaned, I asked for a nail trim while he was sedated. Seemed like an opportunity for an easy nail trim, and it worked very well!

Mandy

01/19/2016

I got super lucky with my pug, bath, teeth, toenail time, he would just lay his back on my chest and just let me grid his nails. but he also like to be on his back ( which is strange cause most pugs/dogs I met will flip over right away when they are on their back)
so I guess really depends. When I first started to grid my pug’s nails, I just start talking to him like nothing is going on, which is a tip my vet gave me. when my vet gives my dog his shots. He just kept talking and talking.. and then boom is done.. as long as we are not nervous our pugs will feel safe and let us groom them.

Dances In Garden

01/19/2016

Now that I have learned how to hold Ruby so she cannot move (set her between the couch arm and myself, reach around and under to grasp the opposite paw, so she is in a death grip and can’t bit me LOL). Back paws I sort of lean on her against the back of the couch so her head is behind me and extend her leg behind her (upside down, the paw pads face up). Max? No way. Too strong for even three of us to hold, and impossible to touch his paws. He will let a stranger do it because he is scared stock still. But nobody that he knows can be in the room, or else he is impossible for them as well. But he is silent. Ruby used to make crazy monkey noises!

Minnie, Mack and Mario

01/20/2016

In our house, the pug HATES his feet/toes even being touched and has ever since I can remember. He will bite those who touch him….at least with fewer teeth it isn’t as deadly. But our holistic vet has assistants that get all 4 feet done in no time and has a fairly happy pug at the end.

Our 2 puggles, could care less when their nails are done, but being mostly black nails, I also take them to the vet to be clipped. I have hit the quick one too many times and I think it hurts me more than it does them.

Pat

01/20/2016

No touchy the Paw Paws… Mr. Skittles motto.
We take him to a groomer… she showed us how she holds him, then when she is about to clip the nail, she kisses the top of his head (each time she clips a nail) I would say he is spoiled.
I like to pat his paws when he is cuddled next to me, but he really doesn’t want them to be touched.

Martha

01/20/2016

Pat, Mr. Skittles’ motto is one of the best I have ever heard, and it makes me smile!

No touchy the Paw Paws! I love it!!!!! And I love the fact that you have a pug who has his own personal motto ♥

Now all the other pugs are going to want mottos…..

pug mama-Jen C.

01/23/2016

This sounds about right. My dear Abby (born 18 yrs ago today, the 23rd) became the Tasmanian devil when it was toenail time. I did as I was told, played with her feet when she was young, but it made no difference. She would scream, claw, wiggle, DEFECATE! Anything to get the job over with. She usually won. So much so, that she ended up only going to the vet for sedated nail trims. I knew the importance of keeping her nails in check, and each time, it cost around $75.00!

Now my Lily on the other hand, she must not have been told when they passed out brains that she is supposed to go nuts and ballistic at nail trim time. No, my Lily, although she won’t let me do it, she sits patiently at the pet store or vet for nail trims. They say they have never seen a pug act so good. The only time she has given anybody trouble at nail trim time, was when there was a rowdy Beagle on the next table over!

Corsario

01/24/2016

Yesterday was the first time Xavi and Temu faced the Dremel nail grinder. Lately, the boys haven’t been getting their usual walks cause it’s too hot, so the nails have grown a bit long. At the same time, we found a couple of nail bits around the aprtment, like they broke off some pug’s paws. Worried, I took them to a nearby vet office but they told me ‘we don’t do pug nails here… some bad experiences with the breed’. Not surprised, since I’ve seen some pugs scream and freak out when it’s nail clipping time.

I went to the other vet place down the block, and the lady was super nice and treated the boys very well. She even let me hold them so they wouldn’t panic (although Xavi did panic a bit… he emptied his glands on the table).

Surprisingly enough they seemed to like the grinder better than the clippers, so I’m thinking I might get one of my own and do it at home.

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