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NAIL TRIMS – Start with the End in Mind – How Does Your Dog FEEL About It?
We’ve had a few great discussions started about teaching our dogs to be comfortable with ????nail dremeling. @krishc and I are working on a step-by-step series to share with you very soon, right here in this channel!
Meanwhile, I think it’s important to have a vision in mind or what we are teaching… and so I want to begin by showing you a fairly typical session with my 10yo Joy.
(I say “fairly typical” because she’s a bit more “revved up” than relaxed. Normally nails aren’t quite this exciting. ???? On the day of filming I think she was MORE excited to have her turn because I actually filmed the sequences with Bliss, first. Joy heard all that and was pretty stoked to finally be getting her turn.)
If you listen closely, you’ll hear Bliss crying ????in the background – registering her disappointment that she had to wait a turn. Ah, “siblings”. That’s a whole, ‘nuther series…
Meanwhile, here’s Joy and what I’m thinking while working on her nails. Let me know what you find helpful, if anything, or what you’d like to see more of!
Thanks! ????
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1 Reply
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It is so heartening to watch a dog being an actively engaged, willing participant in their own care. So often owners, myself included in the past, have the mindset that we do things to our dogs – we take them for a way, we cut their nails…the list goes on!
Last winter, my Gusto started shying away when I went to clip his leash on. I dismissed it a few times before stopping to assess. I slowed down. Instead of reaching out and clipping his leash on his harness, I paused and showed the leash to him, waiting to clip it on until he approached me.
Simple shifts, like offering the leash to ask a dog if they are ready to “get dressed” to take a walk, can make a change in how both people and dogs think about these interactions.
While the leash doesn’t have the complexity and nuance of the nail care you are showing*, I think it does speak to the change in mindset many clients have when they just want to get it done.
*I am very excited to watch the training videos you are putting together and read what others have to offer as insights, experiences, and suggestions.
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