i have a 3 year old beagle, although placid he wont let you cut his nails or clean his ears,although he likes his ears touched.im worried as he keeps getting nippy when you attempt to do them,he the same at the vets,she usually has to knock him out,this is expensive,anyone any tips thank you

Can you put a muzzle on him for the task?

im not sure how to go about learning to put a muzzle on as he scares me when he tries to bite,also the vet said once that he would hurt somebody one day.he is usually very sweet,and that being said to me has made me feel useless.it makes me cry i cant help him

You could check out the books or TV shows of Cesar Milan.. I remember he did a show about a dog that hated having its nails clipped and showed you how to get it so it accepted it - by the end of the thing, the dog was sitting there passively, letting its owner cut its nails. I was interested as my dog also hates this. I tend to swoop when she's fast asleep. But Cesar's method looked to be very good.

When we first got our dog he wouldn't let us brush him, clean his ears, put in ear drops or eye drops, even Frontlining was accompanied by growling and snarling. We muzzled him to do all these and gave him a treat afterwards. After a while he learned that when had his ears cleaned or was groomed, he got a treat. We haven't had to use his muzzle for years now (he still gets the treats though).

Dogs Trust have a video on how to get your dog used to being handled, which might be helpful for this as well.


The best way to introduce a dog to a muzzle is through play and treats (there's a Dog's Trust video here).


Have you considered taking him to a behaviourist? Your vet might be able to recommend one or you could look on the APBC website for one..

I don't know what CM did in the situation you describe, but generally his methods are not very helpful at all, can be cruel and have the potential to make things much, much worse.

The best way to get a dog to accept ear cleaning, nail clipping or a muzzle is by positive association - as demonstrated by the videos Sandgrownun posted. From previous posts I get the impression that CountryBumkin is somewhat nervious so it might be best to get in touch with a behaviourist or trainer through the APBC or APDT.

thanks for all your posts i am nervous stress monkey is that why you thinj i need a behaviourist or because im being useless lol.how did the poster who muzzled their dog go about it did it take long thanks everybody

I think you would gain a lot of confidence working one to one with someone with a great deal of good experience with dogs. When you see some positive results you'll feel much better.

You aren't useless - you just need to be shown what to do by someone who knows dogs.

Have you tried wrapping a tissue around your finger and placing it in his ear and rubbing? I don't know what you mean exactly by ear cleaning but I know my mum has found alot of success on my old cat with this technique as he loves the attention.

As someone else said, try Caeser Milan. It is tricky so good luck.

thank you all for the help youve given me, i really hate that i cant put his drops in easily,i wish i was able to.i am really nervous as im afraid i make him nasty.how do other owners control their dogs when there doing this,he is quite well behaved usually.this is my ist dog as an adult.