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Nails/Nail Trimming Trouble with Nail Trimming!

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AllThesePiggies

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My one boar, Monkey, HATES getting his nails cut. Every time I go to do it, it takes me like a half an hour to trim them. He gets very nervous and when I pick up his feet he constantly takes it back and moves around, making it nearly impossible for me to cut them. And he makes this nervous squeaking sound the whole time. I always sit my pigs down on my lap with some veggies to keep them occupied, but today Monkey just wasn't interested in the veggies. He even peed on my lap, something he has never done before. :(

I'm not sure what else to do. I give him veggies, I pet him and talk to him soothingly to try and get him to calm down, I am as gentle as I can be... is there anything else I can try? I hate how stressed out he seems to get, and he really needs his nails cut.
 

ellisa

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Can you get someone to assist you? Nail trimming is always a 2 person job here. I do the trimming while someone else holds and feeds veggies. It works for us. Just make sure to have corn starch or something on hand in case you get the quick.
 

AllThesePiggies

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Can you get someone to assist you? Nail trimming is always a 2 person job here. I do the trimming while someone else holds and feeds veggies. It works for us. Just make sure to have corn starch or something on hand in case you get the quick.

Hmm. I never thought about doing it with two people for whatever reason lol. My mom might be able to help when she gets back from camping. Thanks, I'll see how it goes!
 

everydaylou

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and remember, you don't need to get every nail or foot at the same time. You can always do one foot a day to shorten the experience and make it less stressful :)
 

Perham

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Yeah, I do the same things except I give mine a salad afterwards (he tries to squeak while eating lettuce which just freaks me out). I'm on my own so there isn't anyone who I'd trust to help me out. So I give him breaks in between each foot. Sometimes he's just not putting up with any of it and I end up having to continue the next day. For me, if I catch him when he's sleepy and work fast, I can get it all done in about ten minutes. Giving him a large salad afterwards helps him to forget the entire "awful" experience. :)
 

AllThesePiggies

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Yeah, I do the same things except I give mine a salad afterwards (he tries to squeak while eating lettuce which just freaks me out). I'm on my own so there isn't anyone who I'd trust to help me out. So I give him breaks in between each foot. Sometimes he's just not putting up with any of it and I end up having to continue the next day. For me, if I catch him when he's sleepy and work fast, I can get it all done in about ten minutes. Giving him a large salad afterwards helps him to forget the entire "awful" experience. :)

Yeah, I think I'm just gonna have to take it slow with him. I'm such an impatient person though, it might be hard for me! lol Whenever I get close to his toes with the nail clipper, he will sometimes give a high pitch squeel like I hurt him, but I hadn't even cut his nail yet. :rolleyes:
 

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Nail trimming is definitely a two person job.
Me and my Mum have a routine while clipping nails, she holds the pig and I clip.
Between each nail we give them a slice of their favorite veggie. Make sure you have some flour on hand just in-case someone clips the quick. If you have any piggies with dark nails, shine a flashlight underneath the nail and it should reveal the quick. Good luck!
 

Perham

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Mine will do that too but just usually when the session is going on too long for him. I've had him since he was less than a month old but he always does this to me. And I've never hit his quick.
Being persistent and having a firm hold are key!
 

AllThesePiggies

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Alright, thanks everyone! I'll ask my mom if she can help me, and hopefully that makes a difference. I haven't ever hit the quick either, but he still gets very nervous. Poor pig!
 

EmPiggieFan

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The problem I have cutting my girls nails is actually that they aren't that long just razor sharp. We are letting them run around on the patio to try and file them down but is there a better way of doing it?
 

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Wow, reading all these stories makes me so glad my girls don't put up any kind of resistance and don't even seem to notice when it's happening! My technique is to sit on the sofa with the pig sitting on my lap, with the pig facing away from me. I use one hand under their tummy to lift up their top half so they're resting only on their hind feet. I then quickly do each foot, though I stop if they start to get restless. I can usually do 3 feet in one sitting. I don't feed them while I'm doing it because it makes them too squirmy (they want all their paws free to manoeuvre the food). So maybe you could try my technique with your mum helping and see if there's any improvement with his disposition! :)
 

lunarminx

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The problem I have cutting my girls nails is actually that they aren't that long just razor sharp. We are letting them run around on the patio to try and file them down but is there a better way of doing it?


Dremeling/filing any nail is better over just clipping. Clipping still leaves sharp edges.
 

BumblePiggies

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If you have any piggies with dark nails, shine a flashlight underneath the nail and it should reveal the quick. Good luck!

OMGoodness. I never would have thought about that! I'm so going to try this with my Daisy's nails :)
 
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