Hey, guys.
Today we're going to do how to trim your dogs nails.
This is Molly.
She's a beagle, and she's going to be our helper today, showing off how to trim those
nails.
A lot of people get really nervous about it because they're worried about that quick that
they're going to get — that they're going to accidentally clip.
And the way that you're going to avoid that is by doing routine trimmings, and, if you
look at their paw and those nails, those nails should never go past the pad of their foot.
So you just want to make sure... and you can see hers are pretty short.
So the nail clipper has to be rounded like that.
Do not use a regular human nail or toenail clippers.
It's going to be flat, it's going to push down on their nail, and it's going to splinter
their nail.
It's not going to feel good for them, and they'll never want to do it again.
So you want to get this rounded one, so it kind of wraps around their nail and it puts
pressure on all the angles.
So it's going to collapse in and do a nice, neat trim.
Now, the next thing you want to have on hand is this little product here.
It's a quick stop.
You can use any styptic powder and you can actually use corn starch if you're in a pickle.
But, um, this styptic powder is going to clot if you accidentally do nick their quick.
So what you'll do is you'll just tap some right into the lid there, grab an healthy
pinch of it, take their nail and pinch around that nail and hold on to it for 10 seconds.
And it's going to clot up and you can just let it go, and the nail will be perfectly
fine.
You don't need to panic about it; they will be okay.
So that's what you need: rounded nail clippers, styptic powder, and you're good to go.
What you're going to do, is you're not going to force them, you're not going, like, to
hold them down and grab their foot and try and force them to trim their nail.
That's going to cause a sensitivity and a lot of anxiety around it.
So what the first thing you want to do is grab some food, some treats for your dog that
they're interested in.
And you want to get a very small piece, make them very small, and let them know what they're
up for, you know, "Ooh, this is gonna be really fun, yes, we got treats going on."
So she knows the treat is what's at stake right here.
So she wants that treat, and so- [to Molly] stay...
Show her the clipper, say, "Oh, nothing's wrong with the clipper, you'll actually get
treats when you smell that clipper."
Now come over here, and, give a nice massage, get them relaxed.
Just start touching her, just start touching your dog all over, get them used to, "Oh,
this is gonna be a fun session here."
Work your way down towards her legs, pick up a paw, and then let it go...
Pick up the paw again, and let it go.
Give a treat.
What we're working towards is desensitization here.
So, we're not going to just go right for the paw and go, "Okay, this is what we're doing."
It's just part of everything else, part of the interaction.
So, paw again, a little bit more manipulation with that paw, and give a treat again.
Again, this is all supposed to be very positive with them.
Alright, so we're gonna get this paw again -- [to Molly] good girl- and we're going to
pair it with this, and give a treat.
[to Molly] And come closer.
C'mere.
Good girl.
Okay, paw again, clippers, treat.
You can see her behavior: she knows what the two together means.
So you can she her face moving away, she's kind of avoiding.
So I'm just going to continue to make it a positive experience for her by lots of treats,
lots of massages, and now we're going to go in for the actual clip.
[To Molly] You're looking for more treats?
Alright, so here's the clipper, I know, touch touch.
Tap a little bit.
Make some noise.
Again with the treats- here.
Good girl.
One more little tap.
And I'm not gonna actually clip her nail because it's very short, it's good, but you would
do a little bit of pressure right there.
Tiny bit.
Give them a jackpot which is a lot of treats, kind of a little handful.
And look at that she offered me her paw back cuz she knows the paw means more treats.
Yes?
Oh it does mean clipper, too, though.
No, you won't give me your paw again?
She's like maybe I changed my mind there.
Now, you don't need to force, again, we talked about we're not going to force this behavior
on her.
It's not essential that you clip their nails every single day.
So work towards it.
Make it a positive experience.
Right now we're just going to do a full body massage after to really reinforce that this
little session we just had was really fun.
And she'll start associating it and looking forward to it the next time.
What do you think, Molly?
You a good girl?
I have some more treats for you.
What do you think?
You can get them.
All right, guys.
I hope you learned something today.
If you have any questions or comments or concerns you can put them in the comments below.
You can also find me on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.
And I hope you enjoyed our how to session for this week.