Chihuahuas can be a little dramatic about nail trims. At best, a fearful dog screaming and crying as it’s carried off for a nail cut is embarrassing. At worst, the dog is banished from groom shops and must be sedated for nails.
This is a terrible thing. Dogs need to have their nails clipped at least once a month, and more often is better. When something they hate happens so often, it can fill their life–and yours–with dread.
It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to change your dog’s mind about nail trims using classical conditioning. Classical conditioning involves having your dog associate different parts of the nail trim with a positive experience, and it needs to be broken up into steps so small your dog doesn’t mind it. Even if you’re just showing him the clippers from across the room and tossing a treat.
We talked about how to help your dog overcome their fear of nail trims here, but wanted to show what this might look like. Below is a comic strip we made, “Alfie and the Clippers of Doom.”
Alfie is a chihuahua who hates having his nails cut, but after being banished from groom shops, his owner decides to try and fix it. This is his story, and I hope it shows what we tried to say in our earlier post.
Similar Posts:
- How to Trim Your Chihuahua’s Nails
- Best Nail Trimming Tools for Chihuahuas
- What is the Alternative Cut Line?
- How Often Should You Trim Your Dog’s Nails?
- Happy Second Anniversary!
