Those ridiculously large feet belong to Talos. Those things that look like talons? They're nails. They need to be trimmed.
But you can't just rush in, hold the dog down, trim the nails, and get out. Well, you can, but you'll be paying for it the rest of the dog's life. Do that and you're setting yourself (and your dog) up for a battle at nail-trim-time.
There isn't any reason a dog needs to be muzzled, sedated, or restrained for nail trimming. Especially if you've got a young dog and you can teach the dog to tolerate nail trims.
How do you teach that, you ask?
It's pretty easy, really. You'll need some really fantastic treats. This works regardless of the age of the dog. You can teach an old dog new tricks. (Note: If your dog growls at you when you work on this, stop immediately. Call a professional dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement – call me if you need a referral to a trainer in your area.)
Not dog food, Pupperoni's, or dog biscuits. Get the good stuff: steak, chicken, ham, salmon — real meat! You want your dog to look forward to your handling his feet, so make it worth his while by getting the best of the best treats.
You won't trim nails right away either. This is all about getting the dog comfortable with you handling his feet.
I'm working with Talos right now on this very thing. When he was a small pup, he accepted nail trims very easily. Sometime over the last three weeks (the last time I handled his feet) he's decided he's not a fan of it.
Not a problem.
We'll take a few steps back, remind him how much fun it is to have me handle his feet, then we'll move forward to nail trims again. Watch this video for the first step:
Loved this, thanks Laurie! My working dog does great, but she “came that way” from an experienced trainer’s home! Our family dog has not been easy to do! This gives me some great ideas – Thank you!
I like to think I’m getting better at this with each dog in my life. I won’t scare you with the reality of prior dogs (or current older ones) and toes, but with Lilly I succeeded through lots of paw rubbing and lots of treats.
We call it the Turkey for Toenails program, where I take just a tiny bit off each nail each week. This keeps the behavior/tolerance for it fresh, and it prevents long/broken nails.
We had to work up to all nails in one sitting, but by about 9 months old, we pretty much had our routine down. If she gets fussy, I deliver 5-10 high-value treats in quick succession for each nail. That usually buys me the rest with just one treat per nail.
Hi Denise, I hope to have more nail trim video up soon. Because Talos has gone backward in his training, it’s a good chance to show how to take it slow and go at the dog’s pace. I’ll try to get some more video up soon.
Roxanne, I love “Turkey for Toenails!” That’s a fantastic name. It takes the scariness out of nail trims (for you and for the dog!). Love it, love it!! 🙂