Dogs have their own feelings and opinions about, well, everything! It’s what I love about them, and I’m sure it’s what you love too. When it comes to nail trimming, that means your dog might be a “Sure, why not?”, or they might be a “Mmmm, I’d rather not”, or they might be a “Heck no! Absolutely not!”. These different feelings are why I don’t have a one size fits all approach to nail trimming. So, what does that look like exactly?

When I arrive at your home I’ll start by meeting you and your dog and see how your dog responds to a new person in their space. While your dog gets used to my presence, I’ll ask you questions about your dog’s health and behavioral history, and get to know your dog’s lifestyle and individual needs. After that, if your dog is already comfortable with nail trimming, I will either clip or file their nails, depending on which they are most comfortable with. Sometimes I trim inside your home and other times inside my van is best. We can decide together what would be the best fit or try both.

If your dog is nervous about nail trimming, I’ll go over our options of scratchboard training, low stress handling, and longer term training plans that include desensitizing and counter conditioning. For some dogs, a low stress handling approach is enough, and for others who are more fearful, it may take many sessions to get them to the point where I can get them comfortable with the process. For these dogs, I develop a training plan for us to follow that includes homework between sessions and email support from me as needed. I also encourage talking to your veterinarian and incorporating pre-visit anti-anxiety medications if this is something you’re comfortable exploring. At the beginning of each session we’ll go over the progress made since our last session, I’ll do more training with your dog to build on that progress, and then give you homework for the next week.

Since nail trimming is a recurring experience that your dog will need for the rest of its life, it’s important to me to plan ahead for future nail trims and not just one visit. Your dog’s emotional health is just as important to me as their physical health, so as a fear free practitioner, I try to find a balance between the two. If I can accomplish trimming with a low level of stress that doesn’t start to escalate, I can trim nails this way in the short term while we work on long term goals. For low stress handling I use a variety of positions, tools, treats, breaks and your presence to lower stress levels. For dogs with a moderate to high level of fear, low stress handling techniques often aren’t enough to alleviate their stress and I’ll recommend training and/or the assistance of medication. For urgent trimming needs, I recommend sedated trims by a veterinarian to preserve our progress while training. Every dog has a different level of comfort with physical handling, restraint, tools and noise, and it’s important to me to meet them where they’re at, and then develop realistic goals and a plan for us to reach those goals together.

My initial consults and training sessions are 1 hour and I welcome all questions and feedback. I’m passionate about my work and want to educate and empower pet parents to be involved in their dogs’ care and be their dogs’ advocates. You’re also welcome to ask me questions about dog behavior in general, and if I have time I like to teach quick tricks to make myself extra fun for your dog. I love sharing information and being a resource for my clients so their dogs can keep living their best lives!