Best tips to de-stress your pet’s pedicures
If both you and your pet find nail trims to be nerve-racking and upsetting, then it’s time for a change of pace!
A few simple adjustments may be all you need to revamp your pet’s pedicure into a positive experience:
- Tire your pet out in advance. Cut down on the wrestling needed to keep your pet still by wearing them out beforehand with a rousing round of play.
- Give them a comfy place to rest. Bare floors can be painful for boney or arthritic pets, and standing nail trims are an invitation for your pet to run away.
- Offer an extra-special treat. Save a favorite toy, treat or activity for nail trims only, so your pet will look forward to this special time.
- Trim often. The more often you trim nails, the faster each trim is, keeping sessions short and sweet.
- Sharpen your nail clippers regularly. Dull clippers can be painful.
- Keep it fun! If either of you are getting frustrated or upset, call it quits and try again later.
- Ask for advice. Your VCA veterinary team can give you pointers to make your technique faster and more comfortable for your pet.
If your pet is really scared and these tips are just not cutting it, then it’s time for some training to gradually reduce your pet’s fear of the clippers.
Follow these training steps, repeating each step often, and only move to the next step once your pet is completely at ease with their current training goal. This may take a few weeks, but the reward of relaxed, pampered pedicures will be well worth the effort!
Caution: You know your pet best. If you think they might be frightened enough to bite, consult with your veterinarian first and protect yourself by using a muzzle.
- Get your pet used to seeing the nail clippers. Show your pet the clippers and immediately reward with a treat.
- Train your pet to allow paw handling. Gently touch your pet’s paws several times a day, followed by lots of verbal encouragement. Training your pet to shake or high five can really help too.
- Touch the clippers to your pet’s paws. Keep the touch light and brief, followed by a reward. As your pet gets used to this, you can even put the clippers around a nail without actually trimming it.
- Trim one nail. Then immediately celebrate with super yummy rewards and praise for this wonderful achievement! Repeat this day after day until it’s totally routine.
- Complete an entire pedicure in one sitting. Hooray! You did it!
Reward your best bud with yummy and veterinarian-approved treats. >>
