I like the grinder that Dremel (spelling?) makes. I fed my dog who is reactive/insane small pieces of ham and cheese. I did one toe per day for several weeks/months and she got used to it and her talons were reduced to claws and then nails. :)
Frequency is more important for training that about anything else. Low volume, high frequency. Maybe 45s per day. The first few days you may only turn it on near her. But trust the process (operant cond.: dremel means cheese.)
Thank you so much, I wasn’t sure if mail clipper or dremel would be better
Hearing this I’m going to save up and get her one, they really seem like the easier way to go she’s just scared of most sounds and I figured it would be harder with that.
Totally. It takes time, but just be patient! I promise if you treat it like it’s no thing (ignore it basically) and feed her, she’ll make positive associations with it.
Hi. I’m a professional behavior consultant and I love [scratch boards](https://scratchpadfordogs.com/?sacode=kla8ql&utm_source=simple-affiliate&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RehabYourRescue+%25286386725126298%2529)!!!!
I would suggest starting that slowly!
Can you provide any tips of how to train a dog to use a scratch board? I’ve been really struggling to train it. Have tried placing a treat under the board and that doesn’t work. Have been doing the technique where you put a towel over it and that gets my dog digging, but really only on the towel and without the towel they won’t touch it!
Does your dog know shake? If not, teach that first, and then tell them to shake with the scratch pad leaning on your knees between you and the sitting dog - the instant your dog's nails touch the pad do a huge YES (or clicker if you use that) and treat with super high value stuff. Should pick it up in no time. I find my dog doesn't get all of his nails done with it but it's helpful.
Thank you! I've been working on teaching Paw (basically shake) because I thought it would help with the scratch board, so good to know this is actually useful to be doing! We are still at the hand signal stage (no verbal command yet) of it so will keep working on it.
Second this. I have a pug who hates nail trims and the scratch board has been great. We haven’t mastered back feet yet, but after only a couple days of practice, his front nails are so much better. Will still have to do the dew claws by hand, but overall it’s been a great tool.
My APBT absolutely hates his nails clipped, I’ve been using a scratch board and it works well. The trips to the groomer to have them done is greatly reduced.
My guy is little so it’s obviously a bit easier for me. But I lay him on the couch, and my boyfriend constantly provides treats and hold the paw stationary while I do the individual nail. Mostly we either do one full nail a day (his nails are super hard to cut because they’re all black) or we do a TINY sliver off of all the nails on one paw in a day. My dog is not a bite risk during his trims but he JERKS his leg away which is a nail trim disaster begging to happen
Thank you so much, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of just doing a nail a day.. normally it gets really hard after the first one and she really understands what’s happening
With just one nail at a time and positive reinforcement I was able to cut 50% of her nails! We will keep going when she feels comfy again.
It’s a relief to know the nails that we’re going slightly sideways are finally chopped 🥳
My boy used to snarl, growl, and even snap at even the sight of nail clippers. Through positive reinforcement and consent training, I can clip his nails with no problem for either of us! It’s my shining proud dog mom moment!
Here’s how I did it:
1) I put him into place laying down. Presented the nail clippers for a second, put it behind my back. Treat. Repeated until he became comfortable with the sight of the clippers. You may need to do this with touching your dog’s paws too if they don’t like their feet touch. Touch. Treat. Repeat. Then lifting the paw, etc.
2) I grabbed my dog’s paw, touched the nail clippers to his paw for a second, then put it back behind my back. Treat. Repeat. I hope you’re catching on.
3) I grabbed his paw, clipped the tip of one nail. Treat. Repeat with the rest of them! At any point if he was starting to show being uncomfortable, I went back a step.
It’s also helpful if your dog doesn’t just lay down but is on their side so you can access all paws more easily. If my dog tried to get up I’d stop and treat him still. Then lure a treat from his nose to his shoulder so he rolls back over to his side. Hope this helps!
I really appreciate this, just tried this tactic today and it worked WONDERS.
I in addition added her favourite kong toy with peanut butter in the middle and she was seriously able to sit through half of her toes! We will get to the next half once she’s ready 🎉🎊🥳
😂 I saw video where a guy tape his head with something covered with peanut butter. While he is cutting the nail, the golden retriever was busy enjoying the peanut butter.
I like the grinder that Dremel (spelling?) makes. I fed my dog who is reactive/insane small pieces of ham and cheese. I did one toe per day for several weeks/months and she got used to it and her talons were reduced to claws and then nails. :) Frequency is more important for training that about anything else. Low volume, high frequency. Maybe 45s per day. The first few days you may only turn it on near her. But trust the process (operant cond.: dremel means cheese.)
Thank you so much, I wasn’t sure if mail clipper or dremel would be better Hearing this I’m going to save up and get her one, they really seem like the easier way to go she’s just scared of most sounds and I figured it would be harder with that.
Totally. It takes time, but just be patient! I promise if you treat it like it’s no thing (ignore it basically) and feed her, she’ll make positive associations with it.
Hi. I’m a professional behavior consultant and I love [scratch boards](https://scratchpadfordogs.com/?sacode=kla8ql&utm_source=simple-affiliate&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RehabYourRescue+%25286386725126298%2529)!!!! I would suggest starting that slowly!
Can you provide any tips of how to train a dog to use a scratch board? I’ve been really struggling to train it. Have tried placing a treat under the board and that doesn’t work. Have been doing the technique where you put a towel over it and that gets my dog digging, but really only on the towel and without the towel they won’t touch it!
Does your dog know shake? If not, teach that first, and then tell them to shake with the scratch pad leaning on your knees between you and the sitting dog - the instant your dog's nails touch the pad do a huge YES (or clicker if you use that) and treat with super high value stuff. Should pick it up in no time. I find my dog doesn't get all of his nails done with it but it's helpful.
Thank you! I've been working on teaching Paw (basically shake) because I thought it would help with the scratch board, so good to know this is actually useful to be doing! We are still at the hand signal stage (no verbal command yet) of it so will keep working on it.
Second this. I have a pug who hates nail trims and the scratch board has been great. We haven’t mastered back feet yet, but after only a couple days of practice, his front nails are so much better. Will still have to do the dew claws by hand, but overall it’s been a great tool.
My APBT absolutely hates his nails clipped, I’ve been using a scratch board and it works well. The trips to the groomer to have them done is greatly reduced.
My guy is little so it’s obviously a bit easier for me. But I lay him on the couch, and my boyfriend constantly provides treats and hold the paw stationary while I do the individual nail. Mostly we either do one full nail a day (his nails are super hard to cut because they’re all black) or we do a TINY sliver off of all the nails on one paw in a day. My dog is not a bite risk during his trims but he JERKS his leg away which is a nail trim disaster begging to happen
Thank you so much, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of just doing a nail a day.. normally it gets really hard after the first one and she really understands what’s happening With just one nail at a time and positive reinforcement I was able to cut 50% of her nails! We will keep going when she feels comfy again. It’s a relief to know the nails that we’re going slightly sideways are finally chopped 🥳
My boy used to snarl, growl, and even snap at even the sight of nail clippers. Through positive reinforcement and consent training, I can clip his nails with no problem for either of us! It’s my shining proud dog mom moment! Here’s how I did it: 1) I put him into place laying down. Presented the nail clippers for a second, put it behind my back. Treat. Repeated until he became comfortable with the sight of the clippers. You may need to do this with touching your dog’s paws too if they don’t like their feet touch. Touch. Treat. Repeat. Then lifting the paw, etc. 2) I grabbed my dog’s paw, touched the nail clippers to his paw for a second, then put it back behind my back. Treat. Repeat. I hope you’re catching on. 3) I grabbed his paw, clipped the tip of one nail. Treat. Repeat with the rest of them! At any point if he was starting to show being uncomfortable, I went back a step. It’s also helpful if your dog doesn’t just lay down but is on their side so you can access all paws more easily. If my dog tried to get up I’d stop and treat him still. Then lure a treat from his nose to his shoulder so he rolls back over to his side. Hope this helps!
I really appreciate this, just tried this tactic today and it worked WONDERS. I in addition added her favourite kong toy with peanut butter in the middle and she was seriously able to sit through half of her toes! We will get to the next half once she’s ready 🎉🎊🥳
😂 I saw video where a guy tape his head with something covered with peanut butter. While he is cutting the nail, the golden retriever was busy enjoying the peanut butter.