Saturday, October 19, 2013

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.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Kirsten, that's the perfect approach. We all do to the groomers to get that done. My peeps are too chicken to try that on us.

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  2. Nails are the Bain of my existence. The hounds are weenies for the most part - the bigger, the more chicken. Walter Coonhound doesn't like nail trims but then he noticed Peanut eating his nail clippings. WELL - if he could eat it, may not be so bad...these guys. Love the photo of Lamar lifting his paw - sweet. Using high value treats does help :).

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  3. Those things are quite tasty
    Benny & Lily

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  4. I can trim Frankie's nails as they're see through but I won't touch Beryl's. Not even me being offered chocolate after every nail would get me to do hers! I just can't bear the thought of hurting her. That's a very novel review :)

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  5. I recently took both my babes to the vet for nail clipping, and somehow they got so many nails bleeding, that I thought they might need blood transfusions! I am going to try hot dog treats for the next time, with me doing the nails! Such a beautiful face you have, Lady.

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  6. Haha! I think that's a pretty good test of how good treats are and these look DEE-lish! As for me, I'd MUCH rather have my nails clipped than get a B.A.T.H. (shiver)

    Wiggles & Wags,
    Mayzie

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  7. We always want to do things that positively impact our dogs, but sometimes we just need to take the bull by the horns, so to speak. For instance, while I never want to yank on my dog, if it means removing my dog from a scary or bad situation and other methods aren't working, well then I have in fact yanked on my dog. Of course I apologize immediately, but I'm not sure they get that.

    One nail, one treat was how I used to have to do both my dogs, now it's one paw one treat. And Delilah readily offers hers too. :-) Glad you found something that works!

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