Let’s teach the ‘nail trim’
This is a somewhat complex, risky behavior – lots of things can go wrong, there can be pain and blood involved.
However, it’s necessary, and your animal’s feet will suffer if you don’t keep up on nail trims.
I am working on a series of nail trim videos to share.
One of my first nail trims went very well, with very little training. However, at the end of the trim, we see the behavioral cost of not preparing a dog sufficiently. She did great through the trim, but when it was done, she got a bit hyperaroused and did not want to do any more training trials on this.
This often happens to pet owners. So how to prevent the problem?
Commit to giving your animal a good foundation in the skills required for nail trims to go well.
Let’s talk about what those are:
1) Conditioned relaxation
2) Duration
3) Steady leg
4) Touching feet
5) Touching toes
6) Pulling toes
7) Torquing toes
8) Duration
9) Varying pressures
10) Count of 5
11) The tool
12) Introducing the tool
13) Practicing aligning the tool
14) Practicing the cut
15) Mixing it up
Now for some detail:
1) Conditioned relaxation: I want a dog that is truly relaxed, with head and ears down and relaxed, soft breathing, and soft eyes, if they are open. It’s a process to get to this point.
2) Duration: I want at least 5 minutes of solid Conditioned Relaxation, where the dog lies peacefully and doesn’t repeatedly pop up to see if “we’re done yet?’
3) Steady leg: I want the animal to keep the leg quietly in place, when I touch it. I want the animal to accept my touch on the lets, an later the feet and toes.
4) Touching feet: Animal should quietly accept my touch and a bit of pressure, on the foot/feet.
5) Touching toes: As above.
6) Pulling toes: As above.
7) Torquing toes: I want to be able to twist the toe from side to side, without it being scary or disruptive to the animal.
8) Duration: It can take a good 5 minutes to trim nails, so I want to have at least 6 minutes of duration of the animal allowing me to manipulate feet, legs and toes.
9) Varying pressures: I want the animal to be comfortable with changing pressures and pressures at multiple points on the foot or feet.
10) Count of 5: If I need 5 minutes of duration, the animal needs to understand the numbers involved. This is pretty easy to teach.
11) The tool: I use miller’s forge dog nail clippers, on sale at Chewy’s this week. Use the tool you prefer, but get proficient at using it, the alignment is important before making the cut.
12) Introducing the tool: The animal needs a chance to see, smell, feel and hear the tool, as it is operating.
13) Practicing aligning the tool: Many nail trimmers have an eliptical opening for the nail to be cut. The nail needs to be oriented so this is verticle, not sideways, on the nail.
14) Practicing the cut: I get well aligned, make sure of the quick, then make a firm, clear cut.
15) Mixing it up: When initially teaching the animal to get nails trimmed, I only do one or two nails the first time. Next time, maybe 3-5. Next time, may 1-2 on the back feet, and maybe a whole front foot, etc, etc. Mix it up. Do not try to do too many nails too early in the learning process. The suspense on the dog can be terrific.
My second video I had much better conditioned relaxation, but not perfect. Problem, I really need to trim those nails, even if she is not completely ready yet. So, I’ll do my best, train as I go, and coach her through things using Name & Explain and the IB. It went pretty well, but I could see the chance for mishap, because she is not yet solid enough for this behavior.
I plan to show the videos soon, but for this session, I want to talk about all the steps involved, (I count 15) and how to teach them. I’d like to hear your ideas and experiences on nail trims. Please share back in the comments.
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