Body Handling Issues - Nail Trimming

With many behavioral issues, we go back to the basic desensitization and counter conditioning "rules."  The "rules" can be found at the link below.

http://ellaherdingcats.blogspot.com/2011/11/fear-based-behaviors-overview.html

When working with a dog that dislikes having his nails trimmed, we start very slowly and use a very high value treat. Some dogs have learned to snap when a hand comes close to their feet, so we start at a safer spot, such as the shoulder area. If your dog has back-end handling issues, you can do the same steps as below, but start at the shoulder area and work very slowly to the hip area and then down the back leg. If, at any time, you feel unsafe, consult with a professional dog trainer!

Make your dog and yourself comfortable for this, since this should be enjoyable for both of you. A grooming table can be very useful or have the dog lie quietly on the couch while you sit beside him. If you already use a clicker or a marker word, it can be used during desensitization and counter conditioning. Or, you can just give the treat. Each session should be about 5 minutes long and you can do multiple sessions per day, but do not take the next step until the dog is completely comfortable during the current step.

Some dogs have become afraid of the clippers, so having them where the dog can see them can be helpful, but we will not pick them up at first.

Assuming the dog does not mind being touched at the shoulder, start by gently touching and patting the shoulder area. At the same time, click, if using the clicker, then give a treat. Repeat this: touch the shoulder area, click, and then give a treat.

When the dog is happily anticipating your touch at the shoulder area, move your hand to the elbow area. Touch, click and treat.

Here are the next areas: upper leg, ankle, foot. Remember to practice at each area until the dog becomes completely comfortable.

Signs that the dog is not comfortable: panting, lip flicking, tucked tail, shaking, looking away, snapping, or growling. Some other signs include pulling the paw away or running away during the training session. If any of these happen, then you need to back up at least one, if not two steps.

Signs that your dog is comfortable: tail wagging, looking for the treat, offering the paw, begging.

Once your hand is on or near the dog’s foot, try holding the foot gently in your hand for the count of one. Remember that we are still clicking and treating! Slowly build up duration (time) that the dog’s foot is in your hand by working on one second hold, then two second hold, then one second hold, then three second hold and so on.

We are not quite to the clipping stage yet! We still need to part the toes, touch the foot with the clipper, clip the clipper, and then clip the nails. For the first two steps, still click and treat as you do them.

The “clip the clipper” step is an important one. During this step, we will use an old set of clippers and some toothpicks. Every time you clip a toothpick, your dog will get a treat. Do this over and over until he becomes comfortable with the noise. Once comfortable with the noise, clip the toothpick while holding or touching the dog’s foot with your hand (this takes a little practice).

Once the dog is comfortable with the noise, it is time to pair the holding of the paw with the clipping of the clipper. If your dog is easygoing, you could try to clip one nail at this point. When first starting to clip, I give a treat before and after the clip. Two treats for each nail. Once the dog is completely comfortable with being clipped, then I phase out the beginning treats and give one after each nail.

To review the steps: shoulder, elbow, upper leg, ankle, foot, holding foot, parting toes, touch the foot with the clipper, clip the clipper, clip the nails.

To review the rules: do not proceed to the next step until your dog is completely comfortable with the step that you are working on. Some dogs can fly through all of the steps in one session, but this in the exception. Taking a week or more per step is not uncommon.

Nail Trimming - Part 1

For the past two weeks, I have been concentrating on getting all of the dogs to accept having their nails trimmed. This is going to take awhile, since I was relying on groomers to do this and I think that the clippers are now a very aversive signal for the dogs. This is my own fault, but I am absolutely positive that I can fix this.

I will admit that it is a pain in the butt to get the grooming table out and train on this every night or so! But, it will be worth it in the long run.

Since nails that are too long can change the way a dog walks, I want to make sure that my dogs have very short nails. A good rule of thumb is that the nail should be short enough so that you do not hear the dog click on a hard floor when it walks.

The equipment that I gather before each training session:

1. Grooming table with arm and leash.
2. Treats - I like to use 1x1 squares of freeze dried chicken liver treats that I purchased at Green Acres Kennel in Bangor. They are a lot bigger than the "pea sized" treats that clicker training suggests, but I can not do this training with a clicker, since I am not coordinated enough. And, the treats are large enough that the dog takes a few seconds to chew it (or, for it to melt in their mouth, since it is mostly air and disintegrates when wet). I'll explain more below on why I like this.
3. Nail trimmers. I bought a new set, since my old ones were looking pretty dull. I do not use the guillotine type clippers, since those can actually crush hard nails like Maggie's and she doesn't cry out when I use the scissor type ones.
4. Styptic pads, just in case.

What I do:

1. Place dog on grooming table and give treat.
2. While dog is eating the treat, slip the leash over their head. Then give another treat.
3. Show dog the clippers and give a treat. After this, I give the treat first and work very fast.
4. Hold paw, give treat and manipulate the hair on the feet. Do not squeeze the paw. And, be ready to give another treat when they relax the paw a little. This will help them to realize that they need to hold the paw still and relaxed, not pull it back from you.
5. Hold paw, give treat and clip a nail. Since I am doing nails every three nights or so, I am only taking off a very tiny bit - like, a couple of millimeters. Tiny tiny! This is so I can clip a little each night and not hit the dog's quick.
6. Repeat step 5 until all the nails on one paw are clipped. Then, give a jackpot of a couple of treats.
7. Repeat steps 5-6 on the next paw.
8. Do no more than 2 paws a session.

Other notes:

• I repeated step 4 above for a week of sessions before I clipped any nails.
• I do not push the dog. Some nights, I can only clip one or two nails. Other nights, I can clip a few paws. Just like any training session.
• Keep the paws in line with their bodies in their natural range of motion. In other words, don't yank the dogs leg out sideways and expect them to like it. They have to adjust their balance when you pick up a paw, so they are getting used to that, too, while you are doing this.
• Sometimes, I just put them on the table, give them a treat and them put them down.
• Sometimes, they are on the table for a brushing, too, so I do not do nails when I am brushing, since I want the nail sessions to be short. Later, when nail trimming is easy, I will combine it with a grooming session.

Report on the dog's progress:

• Each dog has been having his/her nails clipped every 3-4 days. But, I am only taking the tiniest sliver off!
• I mark on the calendar when I have trimmed someone's nails. This helps me keep track of who is next for a session and to measure my progress.
• Ella is getting much better. I can hold her paw and either trim the hair or the nail for a few seconds before she starts to pull. That means that she lets me take her foot, comb the hair and trim a few cuts before she starts pulling. Her nails are getting shorter each day and she no longer makes click noises when she walks. While her nails were never really long, I am sure that her feet feel better! I also continue to give Ella one treat for each nail to reinforce the training. It is still aversive for her to have her nails done, so she will get lots of treats until this becomes so routine that I do not see any calming signals while I cut.
• Robbie has never liked his nails done. He will actually cry and get really scared. In just doing this for the past 2 weeks, he will now allow me to cut one nail for one treat. We have not tried trimming his hair with scissors yet (he is terrified of those).
• Maggie's nails are very difficult to cut, because they are hard and black, and she used to grab my arm (gently) when I tried to trim her nails. It was a mojor to-do when I got her on the table. Now, she will let me do one nail for one treat and I can do two paws in one session. This alone is an awesome, since her nails are like swords when they get too long.
• I use peanut butter with Bear. I attach a spoon to the grooming arm with tape and spread peanut butter on it. He licks it while I clip his nails and feet. This works better because he usually tried to turn around on the table looking for treats and this keeps him distracted and in one place.
• Possum uses the peanut butter spoon, too.
• The peanut butter spoon does not work for Ella, Robbie and Maggie because their nails are harder and not clear. They also need a lot more incentive to allow the nail trimming to happen. In fact, they will ignore the peanut butter in favor of not letting me trim! So, I have to use the barter method with them.
• Grace sits on the couch while I trim her nails and she lets me do all of them at once. Hers are soft and clear like Possum's and Bear's. Trimming the hair is a one-paw per session affair.
• Chummy also sits on the couch while I trim his nails. He doesn't really like it, but will allow me to do it and not move. He will also offer his left paw the entire time I am clipping his nails - it is a submissive gesture for him - he wants me to shake his paw.

I'll do an update in a week or two to see how things are going.