Came here years ago to get my little canine's claws trimmed. I kept coming back to this short haired dirty-blonde pet groomer, who was confident and experienced (sometimes those two adjectives are synonymous).
She also knows of many interesting pet grooming stories.
I don't know if your dog enjoys getting his nails trimmed. Mine tolerates it, but there was one time he gave some attitude to the groomer - he was going to resist getting his nails cut. She looked him straight in the eye and told him a thing or two. He settled after that.
In any case, she would always have a standard groomer's Plan B: strapping the little guy in. ex: http://www.you-can-do-it-dog-grooming.com/haunchholder.html
I'm going to try going back sometime - if that groomer's still there, we'll be in luck.