Here is two examples of what owners go through with fearful dogs:
"Right now to do routine maintenance on her, it really would be better to sedate her and that will cost about $125.00. I am embarrassed about her nails because they are terrible. I think her feet hurt to walk on them. When they try to do anything, she goes nuts and must have a muzzle (I am not against that), she poops, and pees and she is not big enough to have enough people hold her and have room to do anything. but I would like to hear your experiences with this issue. I cannot afford $125.00 just to have nails trimmed." Another person asked us. S. C: "Mommy said with another dog she had, also a Peke, would not let anyone clip her nails so the vet gave a very short acting sedative injection and cut the nails while under that. This kind of sedative was inexpensive. Is it possible to ask about an oral sedative?"
A lot of us have similar if not quite that dramatic a problem with our dogs and their nails.  Most dogs do not like having their claws trimmed. It has been suggested to start trimming nails in young dogs so that they get used to the process. Some dogs will happily sit in your lap or on a table while you trim their claws but many require some form of restraint.

But for many of us who take in older rescued dogs we need other ideas.  Here is a collection of ideas that might help you if you like me keep coming across Bostons who are not going to cooperate in this event at all.

One method to restrain the dog is to place her/him on a table. Stand on the side of the table opposite to the claws you are trimming. Drape your arms and upper body over the dog. When trimming the front claws, keep your left forearm over the neck to keep the dog from lifting its head. Hold the paw in your left hand and hold the trimmer in your right hand. If the dog tries to stand, lean your upper body over his/her shoulders to prevent him/her from rising. 

If your dog is too wiggly, try laying him/her on his/her side.   Use your right arm and upper body to keep the dog laying on his/her side. Hold the trimmer in your right hand. Use your left arm to keep the head on the table and use the left hand to hold the paw.

There are several styles of nail trimmers, including a guillotine type and a scissors type. The guillotine type is the easiest to use in dogs.

The scissors-type is used to trim a toenail that is so long that it is curling in a circle. Long claws can grow into the toe-pad. This most often happens to dew claws, the claw on the inner side of the paw. Dew claws do not touch the ground so they are not worn down as the dog walks. 

The dew claw is attached to the leg by loose skin. The dew claw can usually be bent away from the leg so that you can fit a guillotine type trimmer over the tip of the dew claw. The claws on the rear feet are often shorter and require less frequent trimming than those on the front feet.

Unlike cats, dogs do not have retractile claws. The color of the nail is determined by the color of the surrounding skin and hair. This dog has black claws on the brown paw and a mixture of white and black claws on the white paw.Always remember to trim the dew claws that are located on the inner surface of the paw.

Light colored claws are easier to cut than dark claws as the blood vessels and nerves that supply the claw, called the quick, are easier to see. Cut the claw to within approximately 2 millimeters of the quick.

If you cut into the quick, the claw will bleed and the dog will experience pain. 

You cannot see the quick on dark colored claws, making them more difficult to trim without cutting into the quick.Cut dark colored claws in several small cuts to reduce the chance of cutting into the quick.

As you cut the nail deeper, you will see a homogeneous gray to pink oval (3) starting to appear at the top of the cut surface of the nail. Stop cutting the nail at this point as additional cutting will cut into the quick.

The sharper the trimmer, the cleaner the cut. The cutting blade on guillotine-style cutters can be replaced when it is no longer sharp.

You can file the end of the nail to smooth the cut surface. If the toenail is cut too short, you can use a styptic pencil containing silver nitrate to stop blood flow, although many animals object to the styptic pencil as much, or more, than toenail cutting. The black end of the stick is held to the bleeding nail and gently rotated until bleeding stops.

Even without any treatment the nail should stop bleeding in about 5 minutes or less.

 Toenail length must be checked frequently. Most dogs need to have their nails shortened regularly by use of either a nail cutter or a nail grinder, as they do not get worn off sufficiently by ground contact. Old dogs need especially frequent nail care. If your dog has dewclaws (5th toe), these toenails will definitely have to be shortened regularly as they do not wear down at all.

SOURCE : The Pet Health Topics Web site is a free service provided by the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University.

Please share your ideas and experiences on how to handle fearful dog nail clipping.. Thank you