Are nail trims a nightmare for your dog? It doesn’t have to be that way.  Dogs aren’t born hating to have their feet touched or their nails trimmed.

If you have a puppy or young dog, it’s never too late to start the acclimation procedures described in this tip. If your adult dog is a nail trim terror, get to work ASAP and be patient – his problem didn’t develop in one setting and it won’t be ‘fixed’ in just one either.  A training tool that will help you tremendously is the Thunder Cap® (formerly the Calming Cap®) This is a comfortable, spandex “hood” that will shield your dog’s vision.  When she doesn’t clearly see the clippers or you reaching for her paw, she’ll be MUCH calmer.  We’ve used them with our own dogs!

In the meantime, here’s your nail trim audio tip!  Turn up your speakers and listen up!  (We’ve moved our tips from Helping Fido to Animal Behavior Associates) which is why you hear the greeting from Helping Fido).

You can also  enroll your puppy in a class that includes nail trim exercises.  When our beloved Irish setter Coral was a puppy, we enrolled her in a class that included pairing having her nails trimmed with tasty tidbits.  Watch how Coral behaved when we trimmed her nails after she grew up.