Nail Grooming

I wanted to point out one of the most difficult to deal with problem with a dog is grooming their nails. Dogs tend to be quite sensitive about their pads and their feet in general so it can be quite difficult to trim your dogs nails. In fact most people ignore this aspect of dog care altogether until the nails get so far gone that a trip to the vet is required. If you have a dog it's important that you begin conditioning the dog as puppy to get used to you handling every aspect of their body. While this sounds time consuming every night you should touch all four of your young puppie's feet, and run your hands over their body. This will condition them to get used to you handling them.

But what can you do about adult dogs? Remember that every old dog can learn a new trick. It just takes time and more positive reinforcement. In this case make sure you have your dogs favorite treat. Furthermore make sure that these treats stay special and are only used for training and conditioning. Dogs can grow tired of even the best treats so make sure the dog is enjoying their treats. Currently due to my over jealous treating with pig's ears, my dogs actually won't touch them. So if the dog loses interest in their current treats, try rotating them.

For an adult dog the process is similar but you can expect it to take longer as you attempting to over come a few years of learned bad habits. So slowly introduce them to your nightly once over of their paws. Keep in mind that as sturdy as a dog's pads are, they are sensitive so don't be too rough. The length of time it takes to get them used to touching their feet will vary but certainly expect the process to take a minimum of three weeks. At the end of the first week bring whatever nail trimming equipment you plan to use with you while touching their feet.

After you have gotten them used to touching their feet, it time to get them used to actually triming the nails. They should be used to the equipment at this point. Make sure that you have their absolute favorite treat with you. Clip a small portion of the nail and quickly treat them. Resist the urge to cut too much of the nail. The quick of a dog's nail grows with the nail so cutting too much will certainly cut into the quick. So one quick clip, a quick treat and you are done for the night.

By clipping the one nail per night with a treat you are reinforcing that getting your nails clipped is a "good thing." Depending on your dog's disposition you may be able to clip more than one nail a night. I feel you should go slow at first, nail clipping can be painful, especially if you take too much and clip into the quick.

If you do cut into the quick make sure that you apply a quick bit of Gold Bond Medicated Powder on the cut. It should stop the bleeding, help prevent infection and relieve the pain.

As you can see starting this process when they are a puppy is much easier as the puppy is a more flexible learner.
As far as the actual nail clippers themselves I recommend staying away from the electic dog nail clippers. They make a whirring sound when running which makes them sound like small animals. Look at it from the dog's perspectative. Here is a small thing making this whirring sound. It's coming towards my feet - ouch it bit me. better bite it back.

While you can get you dog used to it, it just makes the process harder.

I just recommend the simple dog nail clippers you can find everywhere. They are available in our Dogstore.

Products mentioned in this entry.
Dog Nail Clippers
Gold Bond Medicated Cream