Partnership responsibilities, nails!

Yesterday I got an email from Zipper's breeder. "Can you come over tonight and help me do nails?" She's getting ready to head to a National then the Louisville cluster and the kennel needed nails done. And since Zipper's also needed doing, I carted him along too.

Zipper tends to think of his breeder's house as a cool day-camp, where he gets to romp around and play with all his Min Pin friends. Poor guy, if only he'd known! We did him first, then two Poms, two Norfolks, and six more Min Pins. For the most part the dogs tolerated it as a less pleasant but survivable part of life. A couple were less happy but we all escaped with fingers and toes intact.

As I was reading Ginger's excellent blog about partnership responsibilities today, it occurred to me that nails are another really important partnership responsibility; and one that is too often ignored by owners.

Yes, teaching a dog to tolerate nail trimming can be a bit of work. Yes, you can take the dog to the vet or groomer. But I prefer to do nails at home. It's not only cheaper, but if I do them myself it happens more often. Further, if I have taught my dog to tolerate nail trimming then it's not such a huge hassle. I think we all know dogs that have a screaming hysterical fit at nail time, mostly because they have been terrified and hurt in the past. And they've been terrified and hurt because some vet or vet tech or groomer is having to deal with dragon nails and is intent on getting it done as fast as possible, regardless of the trauma to the dog.

The trick to getting a dog to tolerate nail trimming has several facets.

1. Start young if possible. A young dog will not be able to struggle as hard (and they all do struggle right at first) and you can get the upper hand more easily.

2. Use food. I do not reward AS I am clipping a nail, but I do bring out the food (good food treats!) before I start, show it to the dog along with the clippers, then give a small, soft treat AFTER each and every nail done. Tolerate a nail being trimmed, get a treat.

3. Regularly touch and grip your dog's feet even when not doing a trim. I am constantly "fiddling" with my dogs as they're on the couch or bed. I pet them, I look in ears, I open mouths, rub muzzles, and grip feet. I also gently pull toes apart. You should handle feet firmly without squeezing too tight. Feet are ticklish, so don't lightly brush. Just grip.

4. Be calm. Do not make a huge production of it. It's best if you catch the dog when sleeping or tired, and I think it's best to clip nails alone. Two people ganging up just makes it worse.

I like to trim nails on my couch. It's soft, the back helps prevent the dog from being able to escape, it's more comfortable for me AND the dog.

I use a combination of clipping (I use a Resco gillotine clipper) and a dremel for rounding. I clip first, then buzz the edges smooth with the dremel. With a puppy, I may start out just doing one foot per session or if it seems horribly traumatic, just a single toe. If you're rehabbing a dog that's been hurt before, you may spend weeks just getting the dog to let you handle their feet. Do not do nails yourself until you can handle your dog's feet without them levitating to the ceiling. Do not do nails if you're convinced your dog will bite you. You can use a muzzle, and/or work longer on the foot part. Handling feet, then handling feet with the clipper on the table, then handling feet with the clipper 6" away, then handling feet and touching with clipper, etc.

There's a lot of great information on doing nails at DoberDawn's website.

Optimally, nails should be done every couple of weeks or so. Because especially for agility, we want nails short. Long nails are not only uncomfortable for the dog (they force the bones of the foot backwards) but they're also dangerous. Dogs can rip them out on slats and it makes doing the dogwalk and aframe painful to say the least. As a general rule of thumb, if your dog's nails click on the floor, they're too long!

Good luck and happy trimming. Tonight it's Viva and Cala's turn. Neither of them love nail clipping time but they run to the couch when I get the clippers out because the treats are worth it!