10 Steps To Teach Your Dog To Love Nail Trims

The Importance of Dog Nail Care

Dogs' nails should be trimmed regularly as part of an overall healthy maintenance schedule. According to veterinarian researcher Dr. Petra Edwards et al., "Appropriate nail care is an important aspect of companion dog health and welfare." Trimming your dog's nails is a vital practice every dog person should teach their dog to willingly accept.

Nails that touch the ground create pressure and pain on a dog's toes when they walk. If you hear the clicking of your dog's nails when they approach, their nails are too long. Long nails can interrupt your dog's gait and cause misalignment of their feet, leading to soreness and arthritis. Short nails are critical to geriatric pups' longevity.

Willing consent for nail trims is essential to your dog's comfortable, vibrant life. Follow these 10 steps to teach your dog to love nail trims.

1. Get the Best Equipment

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Get the best quality grooming equipment possible. In June 2023, The Spruce Pets reviewed the six best dog nail clippers of 2023. Guillotine, plier, or scissor styles are all good nail clipper choices.

2. Begin With a Relaxed Pup

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Always start grooming sessions with a relaxed dog. Go for a brisk walk or run, or have a fun play session before teaching proper grooming behavior.

3. Acclimate to the Grooming Area

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Choose a safe, comfortable surface for your grooming area. First, simply place your dog on the grooming surface, give them a tasty treat, then let them go on about their day. Do this for many extremely short — a second or two at a time — sessions per day, building up the amount of time until your pooch is comfortable laying on the grooming surface.

4. Reinforce Touching Their Paws

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Touch their paw for less than a second while giving them a treat, and immediately release their paw before they have time to pull it away. This teaches them that letting you touch their paw is rewarding.

After several repetitions, gradually increase to holding each paw for two seconds while giving them a treat, then a few seconds, and so on, until they let you handle all of their paws. Repeating several short sessions while rewarding handling their paws builds intrinsic value for your dog, making them want their feet to be touched.

5. Touch the Nails

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Using the same gradual process, reinforce touching your dog's nails. Expand to giving a treat while you gently wiggle each nail.

6. Introduce the Trimming Tool

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Introduce the nail clippers by showing your dog the trimmers while giving a treat. Let them sniff and investigate the clippers while giving lots of praise and tasty tidbits. After a second or two, let them go on about their day. Repeat short sessions of showing the trimmers and giving treats until your pup is happy with seeing the nail trimmer.

7. Make Contact Valuable

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Touch the trimmers to your dog's paw for less than a second while at the same time giving them a treat. Remember to start with the smallest possible time frame and only gradually progress to more repetitions, and those only for a second or two with multiple repetitions over time.

8. Do a Pretend Clip

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Make the clicking sound with the trimmers and give a treat each time. Build up to giving a treat when contacting your dog's paw with the trimmers while making the clipping sound. Giving praise and treats reinforces the specific behavior of willingly letting their paws be touched.

9. Make the Clip

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By now your dog is eager for the wonderful experience of having their paws manipulated on the grooming surface because you have built high value through positive reinforcement. Make the most gradual clip of ONE nail, giving a jackpot of treats at the same time, then be done for the day.

10. High Frequency of Reward While Learning

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Progressively increase to clipping two of your pup's nails, then three, and building up to trimming all the nails. Be sure to keep a high frequency of rewards while teaching. Keep each iteration very short so your dog arrives and leaves the grooming area happy, looking forward to the next session.

Using these 10 steps, your dog learns to love having their nails clipped. You educate your pup to get into position when you put them on the grooming surface, eager to get their trim.

Your Dog Now Loves Their Pedicure

Because you've consistently rewarded them for loving the grooming surface while having their feet and nails touched, your dog knows that having their pedicure is a rewarding experience. This happy occasion now has intrinsic value. When the clippers appear, your pup eagerly anticipates great things happening.

With frequent trimmings, the quick — a nerve and vein that runs through the nail — recedes. If your dog has a dewclaw — a fifth nail on the inside of the leg — be sure to trim that as well.

Now that having their nails trimmed is a wonderful venture, gradually reduce the number of food treats you give while grooming your dog. Continue to reward your dog intermittently during nail trims to maintain the value your dog has for wanting their nails clipped.

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