A Force Free Trick If Your Dog Hates Having Nails Cut

For this West LA dog training session, we shared tips to help when a dog hates having nails cut to help 2 year-old mix breed Shadow.

We started off the session by discussing Shadow’s backstory, day-to-day routine and the issues the guardian wanted to help with. Once that was out-of-the-way we got down to some positive dog training fundamentals.

We introduced a marker word, Used hand targeting for the guardian to practice their timing, went over the easiest way to train any dog, shared some tips on dogs manners, introduction of scent games with cookie in the corner then covered some creative exercise tips like feeding out of a snuffle mat.

Next we went over dog consent and cut off signals. This is one of my favorite lessons to teach people because most humans have no idea that their dog tells them “no” as often as it does. This lesson always makes a huge quality of life improvement for the dog and the relationship between the dog and their human.

After walking the guardian through the Relaxation Protocol, we were ready to help with Shadow’s fear of having nails cut

Next, the guardian asked me to show them how to teach their dog the relaxation protocol. He had figured most of it out, but we spent a few minutes going over that too before I shared some dog nail cutting tips.

How to Help When a Dog Hates Having Nails Cut

Many people avoid trimming dog toenails because of a fear of cutting too much. But if your dog hates have nails cut and someoen else does the work, the problem remains. Its not unusual for a dop to have a fear of having nails cut because most people dont properly condition a dog for this routine maintence need. But trimming dog toenails doesnt have to be hard for you or scary for the dog if you follow these steos for trimming a dogs toe nails.

For dogs, things that immobilize their paws are cause for concern. So the first step in positive dog tail trimming is to identify, recognize and respect dog cut off signals. Fortunately the guardian picked up that lesson earlier in the session. When I asked what a cut off signal for nail trimming was, he said “pulling their paw back!” Such a smart human.

If your dog hates having nails cut, the free positve dog training video below details a step by step process to desensitize dogs to having their paws touched and nails trimmed. Even if you have a groomer who does the work, this exercise to help no matter how much a dog hates having nails cut.

The most important thing to keep in mind when practicing this positive dog nail trimming exercise is to go at the dog’s pace and not ask for more than the dog can give. Moving too quickly or too far too soon are the most common mistakes people make then trimming a dogs toe nails. In many cases, youl may need to practice the step with one paw only. Make sure the practice sessions are short (1 minuite each time) and successful (dog isnt pulling away).

You should expect to practice the steps individually and not worry about the actual nail trimming. One of the main reasons a dog hates having its nails cut is the human cuts them each time they practice. But the steps leading to the cutting need to be completed successfully first.

The guardian had asked me to provide a sort of roadmap on how to practice these positive dog training exercises including how often and how long to practice as well as when to transition to different levels.

Here is an outline of how to condition a dog to be comfortable having their nails trimmed.

Step one: Reaching for the paw while holding a treat to the dog’s nose
Tip: If the dog pulls its paw away, note how far your arm is extended when the dog pulls the paw back. Do not give a treat and on the next rep, reach your arm less (1/4, 1/3, 1/2 way) until you can find a reach length the dog doesnt pull away from. Practice that that distance, 3-5 times in a row, then try to reach slightly farther.
Progression: Stick with this step until you can reach all the way to touch the paw without the dog pulling it back for all 4 paws.

Note: In puppy class, we refer to holding the treat to the dog’s nose as “training wheels.” You can use that element at any time for any of these steps, but if you need to go to training wheels, thats often an indicator the dog is close to its limit and you should make things easier (reach less, touch lighter or shorter, etc).

Step two: Reaching for the paw then giving the treat after your touch  the paw (without holding the treat to the dog’s nose).
Tip: If the dog pulls its paw away, note how far your arm is extended when the dog pulls the paw back. Do not give a treat and on the next rep, reach your arm less (1/4, 1/3, 1/2 way) until you can find a reach length the dog doesnt pull away from. Practice that that distance, 3-5 times in a row, then try to reach slightly farther.
Progression: Stick with this step until you can reach all the way to touch the paw without the dog pulling it back for all 4 paws.

Step three: Holding up the paw 3-8 inches off the floor for a second or two before giving the treat.
Tip: Don’t lift the paw higher than the dog’s chest level. Can help if you sit and the dog is laying down.
Try to avoid leaning over the dog as much as possible.
Progression: Stick with this step until you can slide your hand under the paw and lift it up a few inches without the dog pulling it back for all 4 paws.

Step four: Holding an individual digit of your dog’s paw.
Tip: Keep the hold short at first (half a second), then gradually start holding for slightly longer (up to 3-4 seconds of holding the toe).
Progression: Stick with this step until you can hold up all the digits of all 4 paws for 2-4 seconds without the dog pulling back.

Step five: Holding up an individual digit of your dog’s paw, then touch it with the trimmer (but do NOT cut anything)
Tip: When holding the digit up, touch the trimmers to the nail for a half second, let go amnd give your dog a treat.
The goal for this step is your dog sees the trimmer moving towards their paw without cutting anything.
Progression: Stick with this step until you can hold up and briefly touch the trimmer to the nail, for all the digits of all 4 paws without the dog pulling back.

Step six: Holding an individual digit of your dog’s paw, then touching with the nail trimmer
Tip: When you grasp the toenail with the timmers, dont cut or hold it there too long.
Progression: Stick with this step until you can hold up all the digits of all 4 paws and grasp the nail without the dog pulling back.

Step seven: Trimming the nail
Tip: Avoid cutting off too much in one cut. Start with 1/8 an inch or so.
Use a higher value treat for this step; warm chicken or meat is a good option
Its ok to only cut one nail per practice session at first. Dont get greedy if your dog is anxious. Slow and steady wins this race.
Progression: Stick with this step; cutting as many nails as your dog is comfortable with. Its normal to only be able to cut one or a few
nails per sessison at first. Eventually you will be able to add more nails, but dont move too fast.

This is a wonderful example of breaking things down and going at the dog’s pace. I usually reommend practicing 3, one-minute practice sessions a day; morning, mid day and evening. Just 3 minutes a day, but repeated regularily. Its FAR more effective to practice shorter sessions more frequently done daily.

When doing dog behavior modification, you need to plan to practice multiple times a day, every day until you reach the goal for that step. You need to do this for any dog training or behavior modification need; from teachinga dog to come to working with a dog with a fear of having nails cut. Remember, the goal is to finish the exercise successfully, not quickly. So go at your dog’s pace, watch for cut off signals and adjust or slow down. Going slow now sets you up to go fast later.

Toward the end of the session, the guardian asked me for some tips on loose leash walking.  This video shows how to condition your dog to walk at your side without using a leash.

Just like the nail trimming, the guardian should practice in short sessions, multiple times a day.

At first the guardian will click then give a treat for the look, then start waiting for the dog to take a step towards them before clicking and treating (what we call “mark and reward,” or M/R).

Once the dog is walking with you and not wandering off after you give the treat, you can start adding in additonal steps. Adding more steps needs to be done gradually and consistently. At first you will M/R for each step, then when is easily following along with you instead of wandering off, walk 2 steps before you M/R. Keep adding in an additional step this way until your dog can walk in that position next to you as you walk around the whole room.

The next step is to do the same process for each room in your house, going at the dog’s pace. Once your dog is practiced walking next to you for all the rooms wiht only 1 treat at the end, you can start adding in a second room. When you add in additional rooms, you may need to back up and add an extra treat or two. Gradually you should be able to give less treats and eventually work up to walking in both rooms with one treat at the end.

Keep adding in an additonal room this way until you can walk around all the rooms in your home and give one treat at the end of the tour. This will likely take several days or possibly a few weeks. It all depends on how frequently you practice and the quality of the practice sessions. Remember, shorter, more successful practice is more important than cramming longer sessions together.

The next step is to repeat the process, but in the back yard in a smaller circle. When you start outside, you. may need to go back to giving treats more frequently at first. The key is to recognize when the dog waners off, then the next repetition, give the treat sooner. If the dog will walk with you for 8 steps then wander off, the next practice, try treating at 6 or 7 steps.

Eventually you can make the circle bigger, then you need to practice these smae steps until you can walk the whole circle with the dog following aside you until you treat at the end. Its a process that takes time, patience and lots of short, successful practice sessions.

Many people rush things or skip days and their dog’s progress halts or stalls. So make this a part of your daily routine, ideally 1-2 minutes in the AM, a few minutes in the mid day and a few in the evening.

By the time we finished the session, Shadow was pooped and I was worried the guardian may not remember everything. To help him remember all the posiitve dog training tips we covered in this LA dog training session, we filmed a roadmap to success summary video that you can watch below.

Need help with your dog’s behavior ?