On the dog who hates a nail trim

"You're going to do what now?!?"

Almost every dog hates getting their nails trimmed. I am not going to pretend otherwise. The clippers come out, the leg is braced, and somebody's fifty-five pound retriever turns into a hundred-and-twenty pounds of objection.

But we keep recommending them. Here's why.

Long nails are not a cosmetic issue - they cause problems.

When a dog's nails are too long, the nail hits the ground before the pad of the foot does. That changes the angle the dog stands at. Their toes splay. Their wrists rotate. Their shoulders compensate. Over months and years, that small geometric change becomes orthopedic — arthritic changes in the toes, wrists, shoulders, hips. The same is true for cats, and you will rarely see them complain about it because cats hide their pain.

And there is a more immediate version of the same problem: nails that grow long enough can curl into the pad of the foot itself. I have removed nails surgically that grew into the pad. Nobody wants that visit.

The thing you can do at home.

Touch their feet. That's the whole trick.

Sit on the floor with your dog. Hold a paw. Gently spread the toes. Touch each nail. Give them a treat. Do it five days a week for two weeks. You are not trimming anything yet — you are teaching your dog that feet are a part of the body that gets touched, calmly, and that nothing bad happens.

By the time the clippers come out (also with treat rewarded staging) there is one less unfamiliar thing for the dog to be afraid of. The whole nail trim gets shorter and easier. We have all met your dog before, wearing a different fur — and we are all very appreciative of the owner who has done the foot-touching homework.