Exercise 3-5: Feet / Nails
Hold foot, isolate nail, shorten one nail on at least one front foot and one back foot.
The foot is held. One nail on the foot is isolated. With clippers, grinder, or a file, the handler will shorten that nail. This must be completed for one front foot and one back foot.
Exercise 3-5: Feet / Nails
Hold foot, isolate nail, shorten one nail on at least one front foot and one back foot.
The foot is held. One nail on the foot is isolated. With clippers, grinder, or a file, the handler will shorten that nail. This must be completed for one front foot and one back foot.
Purpose: Nail and foot care is going to be an ongoing need for all dogs. It is also one of the most challenging issues for many. The ability to handle the dog and successfully shorten the nails is crucial to good grooming and care.
Equipment: Treats. Clippers, grinder, or file.
Exercise set-up: Your dog can be in any comfortable position and in any orientation to you that works best for both of you. Positioning should allow you to lift and hold each foot easily. You can encourage your dog to shift his weight or move in order to make the exercise easier.
Have your chosen nail shortening tool close by and easy to reach.
Scoring: In order to pass this exercise your dog must willingly allow you to lift and hold one back foot and one front foot, to apply slight pressure in order to isolate one nail on each foot, and to shorten that nail with either clippers, a grinder, or a file.
Non-qualifiers: If the dog repeatedly pulls his foot away while being handled. The handler needs to use heavy pressure or physical restraint to keep the dog in position during the process. The trainer fails to handle at least one front and one back foot or fails to clearly shorten the nail with a tool on each of those feet.
Tips: Moving from adding tools to your foot/nail training to actually shortening nails should be a systematic and steady process. Remember to always start small with first simply touching the nail with the tool, then tapping the nail, then clipping/filing/grinding a teeny tiny bit, and so on.
Video example: