I think I might be in over my head with my dog, looking for some honest advice. I adopted him about a year ago from a rescue. He has a large patch of burn scars on his back and is missing two toes on one of his back paws. Most of the time he’s a happy “normal” dog, except for when I’m cooking, and when we try to cut his nails.
When I cook, I think the sizzling sounds and smoke really trigger him. He gets extremely scared and tries to hide or run out the door. So much so that he pees and poops indoors. Nail trimming is the same. He won’t let anyone touch his paws and we’ve taken him to multiple vets, and no one has been able to trim his nails. He’s gets so scared he pees and poos at the vet. The only way we’ve been able to do it is under anesthesia which is honestly really crazy……
Honestly I feel like I’m in way over my head. I’m a first time dog owner and I feel like I’m not a good fit for him. Nothing I tried has improved his trauma response, and it’s just been getting worse. Any suggestions? Or is rehoming the best option?
Edit: for nails, we’ve tried grinders, nail filers, cutting one nail a day (took us 1 month of trying everyday to cut 1 lol). We use a scratch pad for front paws, but it doesn’t get his back paws and dewclaws
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