Wellness Wellbites--a new weapon in the war against long nails

Many of you are part of Chewy.com's product review program, where we bloggers get free dog stuff in exchange for our honest reviews. For our last review, we discovered the value of True Chews lils beef bully sticks.



This time we had the pleasure of testing out Wellness Wellbites Turkey & Duck Recipe Soft & Chewy Treats. 
















The ingredient list is impressive, composed as it is of whole animals and vegetables and not processed byproducts thereof. 

These treats have a substantial feel and as the name implies, are soft and chewy. 













This makes them good for older dogs who may have some tooth and gum sensitivity.

Now Lady may not be the best product tester in general, because I don't know if Lady ever met an edible product she didn't devour with enthusiasm.

So to really put these dog snacks to the test, we had to do something that required a high value treat.  Since Lady returned to us once again with long nails, it was a perfect opportunity for us to revisit this challenge with a fresh tool in our toolkit. 








Now I know I've written extensively about the slow, step-by-step process for desensitizing a dog to nail clipping. Lady is one of the most nail-clipper-averse dogs I have ever met, and we worked, when I had her before, on nail clipper desensitization without seeming to make much of a change. I think with a dog like her it would just take time, and patience, and very gradual steps.

But when I got her again she was obviously having trouble walking, and I felt a certain urgency to get those nails clipped. So I just held each paw, clipped each nail, and gave her a treat after each one.


























Though not happy about the whole thing, Lady did allow me to do her nails and once she realized she was getting a really good treat after each one, she did seem to endure it a little more readily. 

But this is definitely one of those cases of, in the words of my dearly departed mother, "Do as I say and not as I do." Whenever possible, the slow, steady desensitization is the way to go.

Just to see how the other pups responded to the clippers with the promise of a special treat, I wielded the mighty clippers on Fozzie's and Lamar's paws. Fozzie wasn't having any of it, but was a quivering mass as soon as he saw the clippers. Good thing his nails stay naturally short! Lamar, the moment he saw the bag of new treats, lifted his paws as if to volunteer for a pedicure. He was less forthcoming once he saw what was really involved, but I gave him a handful of Wellbites and called it a day.

Whew, that was stressful! Maybe we'll have to come up with a more pleasant way to review products.