How To Trim Your Dog’s Nails Without Any Drama

Trimming your dog’s nails is an important part of pet care that helps prevent discomfort and health issues. Did you know overgrown nails can lead to joint pain and infections? With the right tools and techniques, you can make this essential task drama-free for both you and your dog.

Nail Trimming Can Be Scary

Many dogs feel nervous about having their nails trimmed. Their paws are very sensitive, and even the calmest dogs can be timid about them being touched. Desensitizing your pet to having his paws touched is helpful, not just for routine nail maintenance but checking for things like foxtails, too!

Nail Trimming Tools of the Trade

There are a few different methods for trimming nails which can be used depending on your dogs’ preferences. Most commonly, a guillotine style nail clipper is used. A Dremel grinder can also be
used in combination or alone to grind the nails down. Lastly, it can be advantageous for some very nervous dogs to learn how to use a scratch board in the comfort of their own home.

If your pet is hypersensitive to their paws being touched, they may benefit from calming or sedating medications in combination with training and desensitization. Ask your veterinarian for help with this.

How to Get Started with Nail Trims

These steps are broken down based on where your dog is in the nail trimming process. If you are unsure where to start, start at step one and watch your dog’s body language to see how they feel.

Remember to practice on all four paws at each step, and only move on to the next step when your dog seems to be calm and happy with the step you’re on.

Reward your dog with a small but extra tasty treat for each repetition – this is how we change their perception from a negative to a positive one!

Step 1 – Reaching for your Dog

Begin by reaching toward your dog. Do not touch them at this point; simply retract your hand, then reward with a treat.
Reach for and touch your dog’s shoulder. With an open hand, gently pet down the leg. Remove your hand when you get near the paw and reward.
Repeat the above step, but this time loosely wrap your hand around your dog’s leg. Remove your hand when you get near the paw and reward.

Step 2 – Holding Your Dog’s Paws

Always starting at the shoulder, use one hand to pet down the leg while loosely wrapping your hand around the leg. “Scoop” the paw up but do not hold the paw yet! Simply scoop, drop/ release, then reward.
Next, hold the paw at the end of the scoop and let your dog remove their paw from your hand. Keep your hand open to allow them to retract the paw when they make the choice. Once they retract the paw, reward.
Once your dog will let you hold the paw for a few seconds on your hand, then you may gently squeeze the top of the paw before you release and reward.
Always starting at the shoulder, work your way down to each toe, give a gentle squeeze, release and reward.

Step 3 – Introduce the Nail-Trimming Tools

Whichever tool you decide to use, begin with having it on the ground and letting your dog smell/look at it. When they look at it, reward them.
Next, pick up the tool and reward if they look at it or move towards it. If you are using a Dremel, turn the Dremel on briefly. Make sure to immediately reward so your dog begins to learn the sound of the Dremel = treat!
If your dog seems calm, you can begin to reach towards your dog with the tool in your hand. Just like in the first step, pause, retract your hand, then reward.
Next, tap the tool to your dog’s paw, then reward. If using a Dremel, turn the Dremel on and tap with the base of the Dremel so they can feel the vibration (be careful to not tangle their hair if you have a long-haired dog).

Step 4 – Putting it All Together

When putting it together, return to step one (reaching for your dog) while you have the tool in your hand.
Finally, trim one nail per training session. Slowly add more nails per session based on your pet’s comfort, until you can complete the nail trim on all four paws. Alternatively, you can get into the habit of doing one or two nails, but more frequently – a few times per week.

A Note on Using the Dremel for Nail Trimming

A reminder when using the Dremel – nails can heat up quickly from the friction! Do not Dremel a single nail for more than 3 seconds at a time otherwise it will cause discomfort. Do a short amount on each nail and repeat as needed to get to desired length.

A Note on Using a Scratch Board for Nail Trimming

A scratch board is quite simple to build. It consists of a flat piece of wood covered with sandpaper. There are also many options online to buy.

To use the scratch board, teach your dog to shake hands/paws while the board is resting at an angle in front of them. When you drop the paw, it should drag across the board to file the nails.

Think a scratch board is the right solution for you and your dog? Check out this detailed tutorial on scratch board use.

Thank you to Jasmine Bingham for the generous use of her work!