When it comes to dog grooming, the task people often dread most is nail-trimming. A nail scratchboard allows your dog to trim his or her own nails, though, and there are instructions for making one available online.
Once you’ve built a size-appropriate nail scratchboard, it’s time to teach your dog how to drag her front nails across it. You’ll need a clicker, lots of yummy treats (about the size of a pea), scratchboard and a room with a door.
During the beginning stages, choose a small room with a door for dog training sessions. Before starting a dog training session, click and treat your dog for walking into the room and close the door behind you. By closing the door, you’re keeping your dog with you while minimizing distractions (e.g. movement around the house). Usually, I use our bathroom so my dogs associate it with fun instead of bath time. 🙂
This is not the torture room. This closed room means choice and fun, as your dog can decide to not participate. Remember, choice is a powerful reinforcer–sometimes even more so than food!
After a few trials and errors, I discovered maximum nail filing when placing the scratchboard at a 45-degree angle to the ground. At this angle, your dog files the bottom portion first and then the middle and top of nail, forming a nice rounded and smooth nail. When keeping the scratchboard flat on the ground, I noticed a blunter bottom portion instead of a rounded nail tip, which seemed to grow out faster.
Goal: Positively introduce your dog to scratchboard.
Gather needed supplies, bring your dog into your chosen room, close the door and have a seat on the floor. Place treats on the seat of a chair before beginning each session. Basically, treats are kept up high so you can easily reach while keeping your dog from self snacking. Next to your treats, place the scratchboard. Placing the board on the floor means “let’s scratch at the board” to your dog. Plus you don’t want to miss any nail drags.
Goal: Teach dog to touch paw to board.
This can happen. Think of it as a temperature check of your training session. If your dog walks away, there are a few things going on:
WATCH: Teaching Your Dog to Trim His Nails With a Scratchboard
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