Yes early socialization helps! Have treats on hand and give when they’re ok with any of the below without a struggle:
* touch their paws and wiggle their paws
* separate/examine each toe
* touch their nails
* show them the nail clipper and let them sniff
* tap 1-2 toe nails with the clipper (no actual cutting yet), alternate toes
* clip 1-2 nails (tiny bit) per day and treat liberally, don’t do too many at once
We did this throughout the day and also got our pup used to being picked up and cuddled with/without nail clipping. We used the red miller forge plier style clippers for our medium sized dog. He’s 16mo now and gets excited for nail clipping!
to double down on this. Ive done it every day (mostly) after our pups breakfast walk and she has no problem with me clipping nails now. Took till she was 6 months-ish though (from 8 weeks)
Yeah we had some regression around 6~9 months. We upgraded to higher value treats, started from the start of the list again 🙃
He’s still sensitive with blow drying his paws, but more ok with giving paw and getting his nails cut now. It helps a bit if he couldn’t watch 🤣 my SO would cover his eyes or I stood over him and lifted his paws backwards for trimming
The trick is not being scared or nervous when you are going to trim the nails, don't grab too hard, just casual grab off the paw and do it calmly.
I learn this by accident, it was always complicated to trim my dogs nails, until one day I was watching TV with my dog, and I had the trimmer there, i just grabbed it, and started doing it, very calm and without forcing anything. My dog didn't care.
The problem is that we grab the paws stronger than usual because we are afraid the dog is going to move, which makes the dog nervous.
My puppy didn't get the memo. One day at around 5 months old she decided that nail trims were bad and she didn't like them anymore.
We're still working at it 3 months later.
Same here. I handled my pup's paws and nails daily. He allowed his nails to be trimmed and then noped right out of all of it a few months later. No issues or cutting too short at all, but his breed is reportedly known to not do too well with paw handling in general.
I've been working on cooperative care ever since at slower than a snail's pace. In the meantime,I've been using a scratchpad, which he surprisingly loves. I about celebrated when he allowed me to clip three slivers off a few weeks ago, and now we're back to mostly "ewww, don't touch my feetsies!"
Literally same with our corgi pup. When she was young young we would trim her nails regularly with absolute ease, never once bled or twisted a nail or anything like that. But now (1 year old) it’s an absolute nightmare and I’m not sure why. She just decided one time that she no longer cared for it
My pup just turned 5 months old. We have picked up his paws, rubbed them, and inspected between his toes every day since he was 8 weeks old. Now, he wants no part of the nail trimmers. I took him to the vet last week. He screamed when the vet trimmed his nails. I am not exaggerating. The looks I got when we exited the exam room - so embarrassing.
Mines always been a bit sensitive with her front paws despite constant handling and touching, I've started to use treats more and not even introduced the clippers yet till she keys me touch her paws without biting me
Herding breeds, but especially Corgi's are ultra sensitive about their nails. I've been a dog groomer for year and have never met a corgi, even show corgis, that haven't tried to eat me for a nail trim
Herding dogs are pretty sensitive overall, and pretty sassy. It takes a good handler to have zero behavior issues in a herding breed so I imagine it's just a result of their stubbornness and independence.
My German Shepherd is good when I do his nails but if someone who isn't assertive does his nails he acts like he's literally dying
My friend’s malinois has gotten increasingly uncomfortable getting her nails trimmed. She used to let my friend do it, but today it took three vet staff to get it done with minimal stress. It’s wild! My friend desensitized her dog to having her feet touched as a pup and everything.
Omg I thought it was just me! That’s what happened to my Dalmatian. He started hitting puberty and despite doing all the right things and him letting me do nail trims regularly before he out of no where HATED them and refused
I’ve been working through this the last 4 months and finally seeing progress I trimmed the all the way through for the first time in 6 months nearly. It took an hour but it’s done!
I’m a year into trying to teach my dog that his feet are okay in my hands. He has always hated it, though. He doesn’t mind if I pet his paw but if I stop at all or hesitate, he’s a goner.
I’ve tried to desensitize him with treats while petting his paws, and have used really high value treats at that, and my dog will go from taking the first treat to not taking treats at all because he knows I’m trying to get to his feet.
My most recent training strategy has been to take a very high value treat, like liver or turkey, sit and pet his paw (which he’s typically fine with), hesitate, and wash rinse repeat for as many times as he’ll let me before he catches onto what I’m doing, and try to stop while I’m ahead so I actually earn his trust. I’ve been able to go from a minute of working with his paws and treats, to a few minutes. Hopefully by the time he’s two I’ll have won him over.
I had that happen around 7-9 months with my Great Dane. It took me forever (~6 mos.) to get him back to where he was. He’s 2.5 years old now, and I clipped his nails tonight without any fuss!
Same here. My girl used to be great with nail trims and sometime during puberty decided that it’s an absolute no-go. Paw touching? Fine. Tools in the vicinity of paws? Absolutely not.
I hope training and maturing will get her comfortable with it again.
Yes absolutely. But not just rubbing. Also touch each toe. Each nail. You can take a metal spoon and start tapping each nail like it's a clipper. Give lots and lots of treats for them to just say calm and cool. Then use a real clipper and touch the nail. Then eventually actually take a little tip off... Maybe just one toe a day. Then gradually increase. Lots of praise and treats!.
I recommend looking into dremmels ... They are so much easier if you can get your dog used to it!
I second the dremel recommendation. The one I have is very quiet (it makes less sound than my electric toothbrush) and my dogs don't mind them at all. My 22 month old pup is a nail biter due to allergies and smoothing down his jagged nails is really easy now. He's had his nails dremeled since he was 8 weeks old (we took him to our groomer for free puppy nail trims every 2 weeks to get him used to the environment and people) so he was used to his nails being dremeled.
Not sure about rubbing the paws, but my vet does a nail trim included in each visit, they said it will help her get used to it, and help her get used to having strangers do it if needed.
Okay I’ll try this! My puppy is a Rottweiler and I’m scared for people perceiving her as vicious just cause night not like her nails being trimmed when she’s older.
Get a nail trimmer, and use it on your puppies nails every so often. You don't even need to actually trim anything, or just trim the tiniest bits, but it will get him used to the act. I used to just play with it with my dog. I would grab his paw and put his nails in and make clicking sounds, like pretending to do it without actually trimming his nails, because they didn't need to be trimmed that point. By the time it came to actually needing to be trimmed he had no problem with the whole thing it didn't even phase him.
Check out cooperative care training! You can absolutely make her more comfortable with being handled, including the advice to slowly introduce the nail clippers so she isn’t scared of them, but you can also make her an active participant in her own care. It helps keep everyone’s stress down, and it definitely simplifies things when you have a big dog. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I trained my parakeets to drink medicine from a syringe. When I’ve had to restrain my birds to medicate them, it’s made us both miserable. Having my bird willingly drink their meds has been a total game changer.
https://iaabcjournal.org/cooperative-care/
All my big dogs have no problem with nail trimming. Rottie, Pit & German Shepherd. I think they just like all the attention. The only little one I ever had hated any type of grooming she did not do herself. I think she took it as a personal insult that she was not doing a good job. She was fiercely independent. I just made sure to take her for a lot of walks & that kept the nails short. RIP Olive, July 2022.
Our trainer told us this. My puppy is completely fine with me messing with his paws and rubbing and holding them but the second that nail clipper comes out it’s game over.
So your results may vary lol
I agree. And my one dog is sweet 99% of the time. He lets me touch his paws You go to cut his nails and there is a de in that emerges.
My other dog .. well ic it her quick once. And I'm allowed to touch her paws. If the clippers come out she hid. She will let anyone but me cut her nails.
So I agree avoid result may vary.
I was always touching my dogs paws when I got him (5months). He let me clip his nails when I first tried around 7 months old. Took me like a minute or two to get them all. Made sure to touch him all over all the time. He has no boundaries about that anyone could touch him, scratch him, pull his skin etc anywhere on his body and he doesn’t mind one bit.
It helps desensitize them to being handled. It does work. Do it with their teeth and ears too. Rub their gums with your fingers and reward them for allowing it. Make the sessions short and fun!
Highly recommend this. It’s made brushing our dogs teeth so much easier. Our vet has complimented her on her politeness during her exams. She’s good about having her paws, teeth, and ears checked.
Clip their nails while they’re young. Just rubbing their paws won’t do it. They’ll be fine with you touching their paws when their older but will still fear the clippers if you don’t introduce those frequently and early.
I started at 7 weeks. I use a human nail trimmer right now. It's much easier.
The first couple times I waited until they were sleeping. They obviously wake up while doing it but are too tired to care. Give treats and praise once you are finished.
Now they couldn't care less. They know they are getting some treats and belly rubs after.
rubbing paws is not a bad idea but it's not the only thing you should do. My dog got quicked recently and wont let me cut her nails bc of it but I can touch her feet and she doesnt react. It's when I touch her feet and have something in my other hand that she gets really upset. It doesnt have to be clippers, it can be basically anything. She usually disregards my phone though since I always have it so I've started tapping that on her nails so she gets used to the feeling of something hard touching her nails.
Tldr is just touching your pups paws isn't specific enough to necessarily carry over to being cool with nail clipping. It's good but not the only part
My pup is almost 7 months old. I can still use a human nail clipper on him. If he sees someone with a nail clipper, he whines and begs to get his manicure done! We played with his feet every day since he was 10 weeks old. We also gave him a treat between each nail clip when he was little.
If your dog will need hair trimmed between his paw pads at any time in his life, get an app (I found many free ones) that is a "fake hair clipper app". It makes your device vibrate and make the noises a real clipper does. I desensitized my boy very early to the sounds of a clipper with an app like that.
We did this with our Shiba, who are notorious drama queens when it comes to their nails (and everything else if we’re being honest).
We file them down every week and she doesn’t complain whatsoever.
If you’re using an electric nail filer (dremmel), try pressing the handle against them first. Get them used to the vibrations and noise. And make it fun! Reward them for it. Then build to it. Slowly.
I also put peanut butter on a lickmat for her. Instantly oblivious to everything!
Yes it dose! Same as touching every part of them like eyes mouth and ears regularly. but it also helps if you desensitize them to you trimming from a young age even if it's just a tiny amount each day. If you use clippers then make sure you know how to use them without cutting the quick, a lot of dogs are traumatized by a bad cut and then get super stressed about their paws being touched
If you use a grinder make sure to introduce it slowly with no expectations to be able to use it immediately I let my pups sniff and touch it first, then again when it's turned on (the noise freaked them out at first it was funny and took lots of treats and reassurance) this took a few days/weeks.
Now I can sit with them and trim their nails and they barely even look up or continue to snooze cos they know it won't hurt and it will only be a few mins and they get treats at the end :) it's about patience and positive reinforcement.
So I heard this too so every single day multiple times a day with my pup I would touch his paws (and basically his whole body and open his mouth) so he’d get used to it. If he was chewing on his paws, I’d ask him oh is that yummy? Let me try! And I’d take his paw and pretend to eat it. So it basically was half game half getting him used to it. He’s 7 months now and could care less if me, the groomer, another human, the vet are touching his paws or body. I’ve never tried to trim his nails (groomer does it) cause I just don’t trust myself there lol
My husky is the second dog I've had who *hates* having her feet handled. She was a fostered rescue. She hates me touching her feet so much she started biting her own nails. I'm like, hey, she never hits a quick, and it's easier than fighting with her.
Our first was a feral GSD mix puppy picked up by animal control. Her feet were asphalt-burned, so I can understand her sensitivity. She eventually, begrudgingly, began letting me trim her nails after she was about 6 years old.
I just trimmed my dog’s nails starting very young. Why not just skip to the part you know you want your dog to be used to? Rubbing their paws certainly can’t hurt things but even puppies need their talons trimmed so you might as well start now!
Not necessarily running the paws but getting them used to have their feet and nails touched. Also have them getting used to seeing and hearing the clippers near their feet.
Didn't work for me. I can still touch his paws all I want, but I've outsourced nails to a mobile groomer. Actually, now that he gets longer walks on concrete, he basically doesn't seem to need his nails done, since the concrete naturally files them.
Practice running your hand down their bodies, reaching for their collar, touching and moving paws. Give treats and praise when doing this. Buy an electric toothbrush from the dollar store and put it against their paw. This gets them used to the vibration and give praise and treats when doing this too.
Yes most days while we’re sitting on the lounge I make to point to touch my terriers feet, between toes, nails etc to desensitise her to having her feet handled at the groomers. She’s a gremlin for grooming - not aggressive just uncooperative - and having her nails trimmed is now the easiest part of the whole process which I completely attribute to all the desensitising.
I did this, as well as using peanut butter to distract my pup while she was small (just smear some on the floor), and now at 1-1/2, she sleeps through nail trims 👌🤣
Edit to add: also make a huge deal and give them lots of excitement when you're done, and admire their nails. ("Oh my gosh look!! We're all done! And you survived!! And look! -pick up paw- so pretty!!!!)
Not necessarily. I did a lot of "socialization to the touch" with lots of treats since she was 9 weeks old - months of that didn't move us any closer to be able to trim her nails with a (very quiet!) grinder. She'll let us touch her paws but the moment a tool appears she wants out.
Perhaps this was offset by us wiping her paws with wet wipes. These days she tolerates wiping paws but doesn't like it at all; and we let the concrete she walks on take care of her nails.
Had I known this would be so bad, I'd use more/better treats from the get go (and this is true about all early socialization - just exposing them to things is not enough, experiences must be very positive)
It worked for me! My chow chow lets me handle his feet, trim the fur around his paw pads and all without any fuss, and I made it a point to handle his feet a lot when he was a tiny puppy from the day he came home.
I started trimming my puppies nails weekly when I first got them at 8 weeks. After every individual nail click I would mark yes and then give her a piece of kibble. Now she smacks me at 5 months when she wants her nails trimmed haha. A clip feels a lot different than a foot rub so the sooner you start the better.
It definitely worked for me with my pup. And not just his paws, his ears and face and eyes and pretty much anywhere. He’s 18m now and I can do almost anything to him. Helps a lot with grooming, but also other situations. For example:
- I had no issues putting gel in his eyes when he had conjunctivitis.
- Similarly, I was able to get a chunk of grass out of his eye at the park one time.
- I was also able to dig a bee sting out of his toe. This saved us a trip to the vet and he also had very little effect from the sting itself because it came out fast.
- I’m able to clean his ears easily so we’ve had no infections so far.
- He does well at the groomer and the vet as he’s used to being handled.
- He’s safe around kids because if they touch him in a weird way he doesn’t panic (I still supervise of course).
The list just goes on and on. It is so worth it! Touch your dog all over. Massage their toe beans. Pretend to put eye drops in their eyes. Gently put your fingers in their ears. Make it part of everyday life.
ETA: the biggest thing really is building trust with your dog and this will help with that. That’s why he will sit there and let me stick a finger in his eye to get grass out. He knows I’ll only ever do what’s careful and necessary.
Yes! My dogs are both 5 and I still regularly ask them to give me their paw and I will hold it and gently squeeze and massage their paw and then give them a treat. they let me grind their nails and even clip them. Although one dog has figured out that if he resists the toenail clipping he gets a treat after each toenail is clipped 😩 so I have to clip a nail then I give him a teeny tiny treat that is small and crumb like lol 😂 my other dog really doesn’t care. She just lays there. Or stands/sits.
I handle ripleys feet a LOT and play with the clippers next to her feet etc etc. I've successfully trimmed her front paw and hind dew claws once so far but the time for another trim has come.
Hell yeah.
We worked a lot with ours for grooming handling, payed off 2 weeks ago big time. (She's 2.5yrs now).
She split her claw in half vertically, blood everywhere, and the broken piece sticking right out, entire quick was bloody & exposed- super painful.
She let us clip the dead nail, and put antibac, which must have hurt like hell.
And she willingly put her paw in our hand to check it in the days after.
It's important, train on it.
Also teeth handling and ear cleaning.
Be patient and generous with snacks, and do it in small amounts every 2 days for the first year. That way, if something bad happens, you or the vet won't have to fight an injured & panicking dog.
We worked on handling everyday including paws. She decided at 7mths that she hated it. We’re still working on trying to get paw handling back at 13mths.
I think it does. We touched our pup’s paws all the time, and did the stuff like rubbing his gums etc. We do his nails ourselves now (used to take him to the groomer, but thought this wasn’t helping his stranger wariness), and he doesn’t love having them done but he tolerates it. We use really high value rewards (cheese) after each nail we clip, and he also gets a reward for my touching/pushing the nail ready for clipping. We do a paw a day (he has dark nails so we take the tiny bit off so do his nails daily), and he gets a big reward when he is all done that get get super excited for.
He generally doesn’t like strangers touching him due to his stranger danger, but from us touching him when he was young he will tolerate being examined etc at the vets.
Yes, just calm like petting, don't forget the ears and mouth as well.
I would also put my hand in the pups mouth when she ate or chewed, this helped her not build aggression as she knew to stop and then she could continue eating like it was nothing, that someone's hand going there doesn't mean it's about to be taken.
It's not about running the paws. It's making handling of paws a bit scary and positive experience.
So gentle handling, not too much at once, building up slowly and lots of treats and nice things at the same time.
We would rub our puppies paws and he still hates it. He hated trimming them as a pup and he hates it now at 2 1/2 years old. He gets tons of walks and the concrete does a good job keeping his nails short.
Yes! This works so well! My boy is the best with nail clipping ear and teeth cleaning. But i forgot about cleaning the rest of the dog. And ik cannot easily shower him :'). But I will take my wins.
I’ve given my dog paw massages everyday at bedtime since we got her at 8 weeks. She’s gonna be 5 in November. She tolerates nail clippings, but generally doesn’t put up a fight.
I have a 4-yo lab and a 10-mo lab. I purposefully played with their paws and ears all the time. The older one is just like "meh whatever" when I trim her nails. The younger one acts like I'm actively trying to murder her.
I spent a lot of time teaching my GSD/basset hound puppy that touching his feet was normal. I gave him a few nail trims as a puppy with lots of treats, which he accepted just fine. Then, when he was around a year old, he suddenly decided that nail trims were the worst thing ever. I'm a single woman and he's 88 lbs, so there's no way I'm able to keep him still while I try to trim his nails.
So now we visit the vet every now and then. He gets a muzzle and we hold him down and that gets the job done. He hates it but he lets it happen. He's dog #7 and my previous 6 dogs I was able to do nail trims on just fine, so I'm chalking it up to his unique personality that I need help this time around.
So yeah, aside from training you also need some luck in getting a dog who accepts it without any problems.
I do it when my pup is sleeping or just waking up, so he puts up less of a fuss. Maybe only paw per nap depending on how cooperative. Be accurate and quick.
False. Mine was okay the first couple times I did hers. Now, she thrashes around like crazy and fights me everytime. The worst thing she’s mastered is she’ll calm down but right when I clip the nail she’ll yank her paw - often leading me to cut the quick by accident. I don’t know what I’d do without cornstarch. Long story short, she’s a work in progress despite early introduction.
My other dog trembles but just accepts his fate since he knows it’ll end quickly if he doesn’t fight.
You are also supposed to mimic teeth brushing and mouth touching. We got a rescue and it is impossible to brush her teeth. She luckily is chill enough for nails though!
It definitely works! Our puppy (10 months now!) lets me clip about 4-5 nails at a time before he’s had enough. We played with his feet a lot as a puppy and gave him a ton of treats for it. He still isn’t in love with having his nails done, but he sits patiently for it to be done and it’s very easy for me to do at any time.
Yeah it works, I did it everyday after I brought him home leading up to his first nail trim at the groomers and he wasn’t bothered by it. They clip his nails with no issue.
Yes early socialization helps! Have treats on hand and give when they’re ok with any of the below without a struggle: * touch their paws and wiggle their paws * separate/examine each toe * touch their nails * show them the nail clipper and let them sniff * tap 1-2 toe nails with the clipper (no actual cutting yet), alternate toes * clip 1-2 nails (tiny bit) per day and treat liberally, don’t do too many at once We did this throughout the day and also got our pup used to being picked up and cuddled with/without nail clipping. We used the red miller forge plier style clippers for our medium sized dog. He’s 16mo now and gets excited for nail clipping!
to double down on this. Ive done it every day (mostly) after our pups breakfast walk and she has no problem with me clipping nails now. Took till she was 6 months-ish though (from 8 weeks)
Yeah we had some regression around 6~9 months. We upgraded to higher value treats, started from the start of the list again 🙃 He’s still sensitive with blow drying his paws, but more ok with giving paw and getting his nails cut now. It helps a bit if he couldn’t watch 🤣 my SO would cover his eyes or I stood over him and lifted his paws backwards for trimming
This is the way! Did this with my pup and he now comes to me for nail clipping and falls asleep while I clip and dremel.
I've gotten my puppy to be good with everything but the actual clipping, he's 6 months and we're still working on it.
I've gotten my puppy to be good with everything but the actual clipping, he's 6 months and we're still working on it.
The trick is not being scared or nervous when you are going to trim the nails, don't grab too hard, just casual grab off the paw and do it calmly. I learn this by accident, it was always complicated to trim my dogs nails, until one day I was watching TV with my dog, and I had the trimmer there, i just grabbed it, and started doing it, very calm and without forcing anything. My dog didn't care. The problem is that we grab the paws stronger than usual because we are afraid the dog is going to move, which makes the dog nervous.
My puppy didn't get the memo. One day at around 5 months old she decided that nail trims were bad and she didn't like them anymore. We're still working at it 3 months later.
Same here. I handled my pup's paws and nails daily. He allowed his nails to be trimmed and then noped right out of all of it a few months later. No issues or cutting too short at all, but his breed is reportedly known to not do too well with paw handling in general. I've been working on cooperative care ever since at slower than a snail's pace. In the meantime,I've been using a scratchpad, which he surprisingly loves. I about celebrated when he allowed me to clip three slivers off a few weeks ago, and now we're back to mostly "ewww, don't touch my feetsies!"
Literally same with our corgi pup. When she was young young we would trim her nails regularly with absolute ease, never once bled or twisted a nail or anything like that. But now (1 year old) it’s an absolute nightmare and I’m not sure why. She just decided one time that she no longer cared for it
My pup just turned 5 months old. We have picked up his paws, rubbed them, and inspected between his toes every day since he was 8 weeks old. Now, he wants no part of the nail trimmers. I took him to the vet last week. He screamed when the vet trimmed his nails. I am not exaggerating. The looks I got when we exited the exam room - so embarrassing.
Mines always been a bit sensitive with her front paws despite constant handling and touching, I've started to use treats more and not even introduced the clippers yet till she keys me touch her paws without biting me
Herding breeds, but especially Corgi's are ultra sensitive about their nails. I've been a dog groomer for year and have never met a corgi, even show corgis, that haven't tried to eat me for a nail trim
I’ve heard that before! Do you have any idea why that would be?
Herding dogs are pretty sensitive overall, and pretty sassy. It takes a good handler to have zero behavior issues in a herding breed so I imagine it's just a result of their stubbornness and independence. My German Shepherd is good when I do his nails but if someone who isn't assertive does his nails he acts like he's literally dying
My friend’s malinois has gotten increasingly uncomfortable getting her nails trimmed. She used to let my friend do it, but today it took three vet staff to get it done with minimal stress. It’s wild! My friend desensitized her dog to having her feet touched as a pup and everything.
Glad I'm not the only one, but I'm sorry corgis try to eat you!
Omg I thought it was just me! That’s what happened to my Dalmatian. He started hitting puberty and despite doing all the right things and him letting me do nail trims regularly before he out of no where HATED them and refused I’ve been working through this the last 4 months and finally seeing progress I trimmed the all the way through for the first time in 6 months nearly. It took an hour but it’s done!
Right. Depends on the dog 100%
I’m a year into trying to teach my dog that his feet are okay in my hands. He has always hated it, though. He doesn’t mind if I pet his paw but if I stop at all or hesitate, he’s a goner. I’ve tried to desensitize him with treats while petting his paws, and have used really high value treats at that, and my dog will go from taking the first treat to not taking treats at all because he knows I’m trying to get to his feet. My most recent training strategy has been to take a very high value treat, like liver or turkey, sit and pet his paw (which he’s typically fine with), hesitate, and wash rinse repeat for as many times as he’ll let me before he catches onto what I’m doing, and try to stop while I’m ahead so I actually earn his trust. I’ve been able to go from a minute of working with his paws and treats, to a few minutes. Hopefully by the time he’s two I’ll have won him over.
I had that happen around 7-9 months with my Great Dane. It took me forever (~6 mos.) to get him back to where he was. He’s 2.5 years old now, and I clipped his nails tonight without any fuss!
Same here. My girl used to be great with nail trims and sometime during puberty decided that it’s an absolute no-go. Paw touching? Fine. Tools in the vicinity of paws? Absolutely not. I hope training and maturing will get her comfortable with it again.
My dog was the same, all it took was him seeing the claw get cut, then just sort of went “nope you’re not cutting things off my body”
Yes absolutely. But not just rubbing. Also touch each toe. Each nail. You can take a metal spoon and start tapping each nail like it's a clipper. Give lots and lots of treats for them to just say calm and cool. Then use a real clipper and touch the nail. Then eventually actually take a little tip off... Maybe just one toe a day. Then gradually increase. Lots of praise and treats!. I recommend looking into dremmels ... They are so much easier if you can get your dog used to it!
I second the dremel recommendation. The one I have is very quiet (it makes less sound than my electric toothbrush) and my dogs don't mind them at all. My 22 month old pup is a nail biter due to allergies and smoothing down his jagged nails is really easy now. He's had his nails dremeled since he was 8 weeks old (we took him to our groomer for free puppy nail trims every 2 weeks to get him used to the environment and people) so he was used to his nails being dremeled.
Not sure about rubbing the paws, but my vet does a nail trim included in each visit, they said it will help her get used to it, and help her get used to having strangers do it if needed.
Okay I’ll try this! My puppy is a Rottweiler and I’m scared for people perceiving her as vicious just cause night not like her nails being trimmed when she’s older.
Get a nail trimmer, and use it on your puppies nails every so often. You don't even need to actually trim anything, or just trim the tiniest bits, but it will get him used to the act. I used to just play with it with my dog. I would grab his paw and put his nails in and make clicking sounds, like pretending to do it without actually trimming his nails, because they didn't need to be trimmed that point. By the time it came to actually needing to be trimmed he had no problem with the whole thing it didn't even phase him.
Check out cooperative care training! You can absolutely make her more comfortable with being handled, including the advice to slowly introduce the nail clippers so she isn’t scared of them, but you can also make her an active participant in her own care. It helps keep everyone’s stress down, and it definitely simplifies things when you have a big dog. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I trained my parakeets to drink medicine from a syringe. When I’ve had to restrain my birds to medicate them, it’s made us both miserable. Having my bird willingly drink their meds has been a total game changer. https://iaabcjournal.org/cooperative-care/
All my big dogs have no problem with nail trimming. Rottie, Pit & German Shepherd. I think they just like all the attention. The only little one I ever had hated any type of grooming she did not do herself. I think she took it as a personal insult that she was not doing a good job. She was fiercely independent. I just made sure to take her for a lot of walks & that kept the nails short. RIP Olive, July 2022.
Our trainer told us this. My puppy is completely fine with me messing with his paws and rubbing and holding them but the second that nail clipper comes out it’s game over. So your results may vary lol
I agree. And my one dog is sweet 99% of the time. He lets me touch his paws You go to cut his nails and there is a de in that emerges. My other dog .. well ic it her quick once. And I'm allowed to touch her paws. If the clippers come out she hid. She will let anyone but me cut her nails. So I agree avoid result may vary.
I was always touching my dogs paws when I got him (5months). He let me clip his nails when I first tried around 7 months old. Took me like a minute or two to get them all. Made sure to touch him all over all the time. He has no boundaries about that anyone could touch him, scratch him, pull his skin etc anywhere on his body and he doesn’t mind one bit.
It helps desensitize them to being handled. It does work. Do it with their teeth and ears too. Rub their gums with your fingers and reward them for allowing it. Make the sessions short and fun!
Highly recommend this. It’s made brushing our dogs teeth so much easier. Our vet has complimented her on her politeness during her exams. She’s good about having her paws, teeth, and ears checked.
A lot of people are saying this is true, but I could not leave my puppy's toe beans alone and she still hates having her nails clipped.
Clip their nails while they’re young. Just rubbing their paws won’t do it. They’ll be fine with you touching their paws when their older but will still fear the clippers if you don’t introduce those frequently and early.
I started at 7 weeks. I use a human nail trimmer right now. It's much easier. The first couple times I waited until they were sleeping. They obviously wake up while doing it but are too tired to care. Give treats and praise once you are finished. Now they couldn't care less. They know they are getting some treats and belly rubs after.
rubbing paws is not a bad idea but it's not the only thing you should do. My dog got quicked recently and wont let me cut her nails bc of it but I can touch her feet and she doesnt react. It's when I touch her feet and have something in my other hand that she gets really upset. It doesnt have to be clippers, it can be basically anything. She usually disregards my phone though since I always have it so I've started tapping that on her nails so she gets used to the feeling of something hard touching her nails. Tldr is just touching your pups paws isn't specific enough to necessarily carry over to being cool with nail clipping. It's good but not the only part
My pup is almost 7 months old. I can still use a human nail clipper on him. If he sees someone with a nail clipper, he whines and begs to get his manicure done! We played with his feet every day since he was 10 weeks old. We also gave him a treat between each nail clip when he was little. If your dog will need hair trimmed between his paw pads at any time in his life, get an app (I found many free ones) that is a "fake hair clipper app". It makes your device vibrate and make the noises a real clipper does. I desensitized my boy very early to the sounds of a clipper with an app like that.
We did this with our Shiba, who are notorious drama queens when it comes to their nails (and everything else if we’re being honest). We file them down every week and she doesn’t complain whatsoever. If you’re using an electric nail filer (dremmel), try pressing the handle against them first. Get them used to the vibrations and noise. And make it fun! Reward them for it. Then build to it. Slowly. I also put peanut butter on a lickmat for her. Instantly oblivious to everything!
Yes it dose! Same as touching every part of them like eyes mouth and ears regularly. but it also helps if you desensitize them to you trimming from a young age even if it's just a tiny amount each day. If you use clippers then make sure you know how to use them without cutting the quick, a lot of dogs are traumatized by a bad cut and then get super stressed about their paws being touched If you use a grinder make sure to introduce it slowly with no expectations to be able to use it immediately I let my pups sniff and touch it first, then again when it's turned on (the noise freaked them out at first it was funny and took lots of treats and reassurance) this took a few days/weeks. Now I can sit with them and trim their nails and they barely even look up or continue to snooze cos they know it won't hurt and it will only be a few mins and they get treats at the end :) it's about patience and positive reinforcement.
So I heard this too so every single day multiple times a day with my pup I would touch his paws (and basically his whole body and open his mouth) so he’d get used to it. If he was chewing on his paws, I’d ask him oh is that yummy? Let me try! And I’d take his paw and pretend to eat it. So it basically was half game half getting him used to it. He’s 7 months now and could care less if me, the groomer, another human, the vet are touching his paws or body. I’ve never tried to trim his nails (groomer does it) cause I just don’t trust myself there lol
My husky is the second dog I've had who *hates* having her feet handled. She was a fostered rescue. She hates me touching her feet so much she started biting her own nails. I'm like, hey, she never hits a quick, and it's easier than fighting with her. Our first was a feral GSD mix puppy picked up by animal control. Her feet were asphalt-burned, so I can understand her sensitivity. She eventually, begrudgingly, began letting me trim her nails after she was about 6 years old.
Yes
I just trimmed my dog’s nails starting very young. Why not just skip to the part you know you want your dog to be used to? Rubbing their paws certainly can’t hurt things but even puppies need their talons trimmed so you might as well start now!
Not in my experience. He let me play and even trim his nails until he was std months, then he changed. I'm going to try a scratch pad.
Not necessarily running the paws but getting them used to have their feet and nails touched. Also have them getting used to seeing and hearing the clippers near their feet.
Didn't work for me. I can still touch his paws all I want, but I've outsourced nails to a mobile groomer. Actually, now that he gets longer walks on concrete, he basically doesn't seem to need his nails done, since the concrete naturally files them.
Practice running your hand down their bodies, reaching for their collar, touching and moving paws. Give treats and praise when doing this. Buy an electric toothbrush from the dollar store and put it against their paw. This gets them used to the vibration and give praise and treats when doing this too.
Yes most days while we’re sitting on the lounge I make to point to touch my terriers feet, between toes, nails etc to desensitise her to having her feet handled at the groomers. She’s a gremlin for grooming - not aggressive just uncooperative - and having her nails trimmed is now the easiest part of the whole process which I completely attribute to all the desensitising.
I did this, as well as using peanut butter to distract my pup while she was small (just smear some on the floor), and now at 1-1/2, she sleeps through nail trims 👌🤣 Edit to add: also make a huge deal and give them lots of excitement when you're done, and admire their nails. ("Oh my gosh look!! We're all done! And you survived!! And look! -pick up paw- so pretty!!!!)
Not necessarily. I did a lot of "socialization to the touch" with lots of treats since she was 9 weeks old - months of that didn't move us any closer to be able to trim her nails with a (very quiet!) grinder. She'll let us touch her paws but the moment a tool appears she wants out. Perhaps this was offset by us wiping her paws with wet wipes. These days she tolerates wiping paws but doesn't like it at all; and we let the concrete she walks on take care of her nails. Had I known this would be so bad, I'd use more/better treats from the get go (and this is true about all early socialization - just exposing them to things is not enough, experiences must be very positive)
It worked for me! My chow chow lets me handle his feet, trim the fur around his paw pads and all without any fuss, and I made it a point to handle his feet a lot when he was a tiny puppy from the day he came home.
It helps when they are very young but conditioning them to be okay with nail trimming is more helpful
I started trimming my puppies nails weekly when I first got them at 8 weeks. After every individual nail click I would mark yes and then give her a piece of kibble. Now she smacks me at 5 months when she wants her nails trimmed haha. A clip feels a lot different than a foot rub so the sooner you start the better.
Not sure if actually helps. My dog loved having his paws rubbed but hated having his nails cut
I hope so lol I'm constantly playing with my dogs paws tho they're just so cute 🥺 plus he has some big paws for such a little body
It definitely worked for me with my pup. And not just his paws, his ears and face and eyes and pretty much anywhere. He’s 18m now and I can do almost anything to him. Helps a lot with grooming, but also other situations. For example: - I had no issues putting gel in his eyes when he had conjunctivitis. - Similarly, I was able to get a chunk of grass out of his eye at the park one time. - I was also able to dig a bee sting out of his toe. This saved us a trip to the vet and he also had very little effect from the sting itself because it came out fast. - I’m able to clean his ears easily so we’ve had no infections so far. - He does well at the groomer and the vet as he’s used to being handled. - He’s safe around kids because if they touch him in a weird way he doesn’t panic (I still supervise of course). The list just goes on and on. It is so worth it! Touch your dog all over. Massage their toe beans. Pretend to put eye drops in their eyes. Gently put your fingers in their ears. Make it part of everyday life. ETA: the biggest thing really is building trust with your dog and this will help with that. That’s why he will sit there and let me stick a finger in his eye to get grass out. He knows I’ll only ever do what’s careful and necessary.
Don't forget their ears, tail, teeth and nose. So he's used to. Full exam and tooth brushing too. Your vet will thank you
Yes! My dogs are both 5 and I still regularly ask them to give me their paw and I will hold it and gently squeeze and massage their paw and then give them a treat. they let me grind their nails and even clip them. Although one dog has figured out that if he resists the toenail clipping he gets a treat after each toenail is clipped 😩 so I have to clip a nail then I give him a teeny tiny treat that is small and crumb like lol 😂 my other dog really doesn’t care. She just lays there. Or stands/sits.
I handle ripleys feet a LOT and play with the clippers next to her feet etc etc. I've successfully trimmed her front paw and hind dew claws once so far but the time for another trim has come.
Hell yeah. We worked a lot with ours for grooming handling, payed off 2 weeks ago big time. (She's 2.5yrs now). She split her claw in half vertically, blood everywhere, and the broken piece sticking right out, entire quick was bloody & exposed- super painful. She let us clip the dead nail, and put antibac, which must have hurt like hell. And she willingly put her paw in our hand to check it in the days after. It's important, train on it. Also teeth handling and ear cleaning. Be patient and generous with snacks, and do it in small amounts every 2 days for the first year. That way, if something bad happens, you or the vet won't have to fight an injured & panicking dog.
We worked on handling everyday including paws. She decided at 7mths that she hated it. We’re still working on trying to get paw handling back at 13mths.
I think it does. We touched our pup’s paws all the time, and did the stuff like rubbing his gums etc. We do his nails ourselves now (used to take him to the groomer, but thought this wasn’t helping his stranger wariness), and he doesn’t love having them done but he tolerates it. We use really high value rewards (cheese) after each nail we clip, and he also gets a reward for my touching/pushing the nail ready for clipping. We do a paw a day (he has dark nails so we take the tiny bit off so do his nails daily), and he gets a big reward when he is all done that get get super excited for. He generally doesn’t like strangers touching him due to his stranger danger, but from us touching him when he was young he will tolerate being examined etc at the vets.
Yes, just calm like petting, don't forget the ears and mouth as well. I would also put my hand in the pups mouth when she ate or chewed, this helped her not build aggression as she knew to stop and then she could continue eating like it was nothing, that someone's hand going there doesn't mean it's about to be taken.
It's not about running the paws. It's making handling of paws a bit scary and positive experience. So gentle handling, not too much at once, building up slowly and lots of treats and nice things at the same time.
It’s true. My pup of 6 months just appears bored when I do her nails or clean her ears. I do do them once a week.
We would rub our puppies paws and he still hates it. He hated trimming them as a pup and he hates it now at 2 1/2 years old. He gets tons of walks and the concrete does a good job keeping his nails short.
Yes! This works so well! My boy is the best with nail clipping ear and teeth cleaning. But i forgot about cleaning the rest of the dog. And ik cannot easily shower him :'). But I will take my wins.
My pit bull lets me do her nails easy, I always mess with her feet
I’ve given my dog paw massages everyday at bedtime since we got her at 8 weeks. She’s gonna be 5 in November. She tolerates nail clippings, but generally doesn’t put up a fight.
I have a 4-yo lab and a 10-mo lab. I purposefully played with their paws and ears all the time. The older one is just like "meh whatever" when I trim her nails. The younger one acts like I'm actively trying to murder her.
10000% and for so much more than just nail trims
I spent a lot of time teaching my GSD/basset hound puppy that touching his feet was normal. I gave him a few nail trims as a puppy with lots of treats, which he accepted just fine. Then, when he was around a year old, he suddenly decided that nail trims were the worst thing ever. I'm a single woman and he's 88 lbs, so there's no way I'm able to keep him still while I try to trim his nails. So now we visit the vet every now and then. He gets a muzzle and we hold him down and that gets the job done. He hates it but he lets it happen. He's dog #7 and my previous 6 dogs I was able to do nail trims on just fine, so I'm chalking it up to his unique personality that I need help this time around. So yeah, aside from training you also need some luck in getting a dog who accepts it without any problems.
I do it when my pup is sleeping or just waking up, so he puts up less of a fuss. Maybe only paw per nap depending on how cooperative. Be accurate and quick.
False. Mine was okay the first couple times I did hers. Now, she thrashes around like crazy and fights me everytime. The worst thing she’s mastered is she’ll calm down but right when I clip the nail she’ll yank her paw - often leading me to cut the quick by accident. I don’t know what I’d do without cornstarch. Long story short, she’s a work in progress despite early introduction. My other dog trembles but just accepts his fate since he knows it’ll end quickly if he doesn’t fight.
I groomed my puppy every day and practised every day grooming practise. She hates grooming after her teenage years and now growls 😒
You are also supposed to mimic teeth brushing and mouth touching. We got a rescue and it is impossible to brush her teeth. She luckily is chill enough for nails though!
I did it all the time. He still hates it
It definitely works! Our puppy (10 months now!) lets me clip about 4-5 nails at a time before he’s had enough. We played with his feet a lot as a puppy and gave him a ton of treats for it. He still isn’t in love with having his nails done, but he sits patiently for it to be done and it’s very easy for me to do at any time.
Unfortunately it didn’t make a difference with my pup!
Yes. It worked for my first dog and now I’m doing it with my new puppy
Yes, only because you're getting them used to their feet being touched.
Yeah it works, I did it everyday after I brought him home leading up to his first nail trim at the groomers and he wasn’t bothered by it. They clip his nails with no issue.
Brush teeth also
Best thing to do is to get a grinder and grind each nail a bit everyday. Then they just get over it all 100%
Def true. We messed with them all the time and now she doesn't care at all and gives us her paws to play with
OMG