Trimming Dog Nails
Long nails are so yesterday. Especially on a dog.
If you are starting with a puppy, the acclimation process is going to be much easier. Regardless of your dog’s age, start acclimating him to having his feet handled and nails clipped right now. If you don’t he will figure out he’s supposed to absolutely loathe the experience and then make it as traumatic and guilt ridden for you as caninely possible.
Your first step in trimming puppy nails is to decide how to do the pawdicures, clipping or filing, or a combination of the two – clippers for cutting the nail and a rotary file for a smooth finish. The size your puppy is going to attain has an impact on this decision. If you’ve got a small to medium breed, clippers are probably going to be just fine. A larger dog’s nails are harder and tougher and sometimes too large to even fit between the blades. In that case, the rotary file is a better bet. Whichever tools you choose, the quality is going to have a direct bearing on how well they work. The better they work the easier it’s going to be on you and your dog when trimming dog nails. Something to keep in mind as you make your choice: with clippers you have to be careful not to cut the nail too short and catch the quick; with a file you need to just do a few seconds on each nail to keep heat from building up.
Whether your dog is grown or still a puppy, the starting point is the same: you want him to be comfortable with you handling his feet and to associate the experience with pleasant things. While the two of you are relaxing, handle his feet, see how much he’ll tolerate before he pulls his paw away from you. It’s like stretching. You don’t stretch until it hurts, but you take it a little bit farther each time.
Reinforce the concept that having his paws touched is a good thing by slipping him some tidbits of a favorite nibble as you massage the toes and even run your fingers down the toenails. Finding a treat your dog is passionate about and only using it for pawdicure sessions can go a long, long way toward taking the fight out of nail trimming. Once Dog is fairly relaxed with his paws being pawed, it’s time to introduce the tools. Slowly . . . don’t undo the progress you’ve already made. While you’re working on this, those nails are growing!
How to Clip Dog’s Nails:
Clippers shouldn’t take as long for a dog to get used to them as a rotary file. Clippers don’t hum or buzz or generate heat. They just pinch a little (more of they’re dull, a good reason to get the good ones and keep them sharp) and make a snipping noise. Let your dog check them out. Slip him a few goodies once he’s decided to accept their presence without undue notice. When you’ve gotten that far, hold them in your hand and give him his special paw-time treats. Hold his paw in one hand and the clippers in the other, talk to him like it’s just another normal, no big deal thing, because that’s what you want it to be.
If you’re opting for clippers, you have two choices: scissor/plier type or guillotine. Guillotine clippers are not recommended for larger dogs, they are more difficult to close and the blade becomes dull more quickly and need to be replaced fairly often. When the blade is dull, the nail is squeezed more before the cut is actually made, not only making the process more uncomfortable for the dog, but leaving the nail with ragged edges that can cause the nail to split back into the quick.
How to Get Your Puppy Used to the Rotary File for Trimming Dog Nails:
If you’ve opted to use the rotary file, start by laying it near your dog, switched off. Let him get used to it, sniff it, prod it, poke it around, and decide it’s not threatening. When he’s figured that out, give him a goodie. Move it closer to him, reinforce behaviors that indicate he doesn’t feel it’s a threat, just as you would with clippers.
Keep using this technique as you get him used to the sound the file makes, then hearing the file buzz while you hold his paw in the other hand, working him up to letting you use it on a nail. When he jumps back – and he will, initially – let him have his paw back and retreat if he wants. After he’s calmed, call him back and let him sit next to the file again without turning it on, give him one of his treats when he’s chilled back out and try it again. Don’t push too hard and undo all your work.
It’s a process.
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