The dremel ate his tail...

2GoodDogs

2GoodDogs

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Ack! We had been doing so well, no drama with nails! I was finishing the last nail on the last foot, life was a song ...

Then it happened. The dremel snaked up his tail and I panicked. Instead of turning the variable speed down - it went up... fast! He barked and it choked and the drum came loose from the drill.

MY POOR BABY!

I tried not to freak out, but it scared us both, badly.

A half a jar of peanut butter lately, and he still won't come near the dremel.

Guess I should give it plenty of time, and liver brownies...

Tonight I will dremel the other dogs and make sure he sees them eating YUMMY stuff. :pop:

I feel terrible that I hurt my boy. :(

There used to be a dremel cap that had just a hole for the nail to go through and kept foot hair and tails safe?
 
I've done the same thing before, so don't feel bad. Accidents happen. Now I normally try to get someone else to help me hold them for just a few moments so I can finish their nails.
 
Oh the dreaded dremel monster. I've had Edan's fur get tangled up in the tool before, though never his tail. Usually it will be his chest fur or the fur between his pads/grinch toes when we are close to a grooming trip. (Hopefully I can prevent the foot snags since I just picked up a nice pair of scissors to trim his feet with between groomings.)

Unfortunately the cap you are thinking about is for the PediPaws or similar, badly underpowered, "as seen on TV" grinders out there. I've never seen one for the demel itself. If there is such a thing, I want one!

I hope you can retrain him to allow you to use the dremel. Is there someone who can help you? Maybe hold the treat near his mouth while you work on him one foot at a time (or one nail at a time if necessary)?
 
2GoodDogs said:
Ack!

Then it happened. The dremel snaked up his tail and I panicked. Instead of turning the variable speed down - it went up... fast! He barked and it choked and the drum came loose from the drill.
Click to expand...

I can relate! Last year, I caught MY HAIR in the dremmel doing Haley's nails. As I switched from her front feet to her back feet, I leaned in, my hair fell forward, and the dremmel bit wrapped around my hair so fast. Scared me!

Now I wear a pony tail.

I've read where folks use an old nylon stocking over their dog's feet to help prevent leg hair from tangling in the bit--not sure what you can do about a furry sheltie tail.
 
AngelinaL said:
I've read where folks use an old nylon stocking over their dog's feet to help prevent leg hair from tangling in the bit--not sure what you can do about a furry sheltie tail.
Click to expand...

I actually tried using a nylon stocking as a safety precaution and had more problems with it than I ever did with fur getting caught. I DON'T recommend it.

It may be tough, but you need to re-teach him that the dremel means good things.

I'd start by bringing it out, but leaving it turned off. As soon as he even looks at it, either click with a clicker or say 'Yes!' and give him a treat. Do this first when he just looks at it, then for stepping closer to it, sniffing it, etc. Eventually work toward turning it on, having him in the room when your other shelties are being done, then using it on him again.

You may need to work up to having him in the room when you're Dremeling your other shelties, I wouldn't trap him in a room with it, which would just reinforce his negative feelings. If/when he'll accept being in the room with you when you're dremeling, make sure to throw treats to him while you're doing it.
 
That happened to me too! I looked up because of the phone ringing or something......I felt wretched!

Don't despair.....they do come back, though Indy still runs now whenever he sees me pull it out. But he settles just fine once I get started!

Take heart!
 
I did that to Diva's mane right behind her ears when she was a bout a year old.:cry:

Diva is a bit dramatic with her feet(even though I worked and worked with her from 8wk on) and she was throwing a minor hissy fit and whipped her head towards me right into the dremae!:eek2: Took a long while to get her to even sit again when I touched her feet. She is still a pill with her feet but atleast I can dremel them with little issues. What I do now is turn her upside down between my legs with her feet sticking up. Tail and head under control and out of the way.
 
Happened to me too! Poor Romeo didn't even flinch while I was sobbing apologetically at him. I tried the stocking thing but really, I'd have to bag him completely before I can be sure I don't get any fur near the dremel!

Now I use the dremel with the guard. But only after cutting the nail first, so it's more for shaping and filing the sharp bits down. :(
 
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