Clippers are commonly used on dogs when ever a coat needs to be shaved short. It’s not common (nor recommended) to shave chihuahuas, but they’re still likely to come into contact with them now and then.
Although the coat itself is usually not shaved, chihuahuas can get some surprisingly hairy paw pads. When paw pad hair grows so long it covers the pads of the feet, it makes walking on slick surfaces even more slippery.
A common symptom of this is refusing to walk on tile or wood floors. If your pup was fine on those surfaces and suddenly becomes hesitant, getting their paw pads shaved is worth a try.
Even if your pup isn’t ever going to be shaved, desensitizing them to the sound and presence of clippers is useful because they will likely see and hear these buzzy devices while at the groom shop. Other dogs who do get shaved will be there, and it’s likely they’ll be on a table next to a dog who is getting shaved.
Where to Source Clippers
We talked about this a little in our tool checklist, but here’s a brief refresher. If you want to have a pair of clippers around, or don’t mind shelling out $20 for a cheap set, you can get a pair of paw pad trimmers at a very low price.
Paw pad trimmers are perfect because they look, sound and feel like the real thing—because they are.
If you are trying to get this groom training done on a shoe string budget, no worries. You can desensitize to the most important parts of this lesson, the sound and feel of them, with just your cellphone.
We will assume you have a pair of clippers, but if you don’t, skip the visual steps and just do the sound and vibration parts. It will still go a long way to helping your dog!
Visual Inspection
Like we’ve done for every item we’ve used in the groom training process, we will start off by setting the clippers on the floor and letting the dog inspect them. Reward any positive engagement with the clippers. (Do not reward picking up, mouthing or biting the clippers. This is how dogs get their tongues cut at the grooming salon, so it’s best not to encourage this even if it’s playful.)
Watch your pup’s reaction to the clippers. Are they bold and confident, eager for those treats? Are they approaching it like it’s the boogie man and they’re expecting to be jump scared? Keep introducing the clippers, over several sessions, if necessary, until your dog is no longer visibly weary of them.
When your pup is boldly excited about seeing the clippers on the ground, repeat the process with your hand on the clippers but the clippers still on the floor, and then once again in your hand.
Sound Desensitization
Clippers make a buzzy sound that many dogs dislike. Even if your dog never has clippers touch them, they are likely to hear this buzzing a lot while they are at the groom shop, so it’s helpful to desensitize them to the noise.
Use this audio at first to get your dog used to the noise. Start with the audio as low as possible while still hearing it (think, is this level of noise appropriate for a library? If you need a starting point) and feed your dog a succession of treats. Make sure that the sound starts before the treats start and ends at the same time as the treats end. No buzzing sound, no treats.
You want the buzzing sound to predict treats, so your dog knows clearly what is causing you to be generous with those hotdog slices.
Watch your dog’s reaction. If they’re fine with the noise, maybe looking at your phone or other device but not fearful, you can continue. If they flee, make space, or act afraid of the sound, lower the level of sound or add some distance and keep repeating on these low levels until your dog is not afraid anymore.
When they perk up at the sound of the buzzing and are clearly anticipating treats, you can begin bumping the sound up, one little bit at a time, until it’s at a normal level of sound. (While some clippers are loud, most clippers range from quiet to moderate in how loud they are.)
We’ll talk about how to desensitize touch in a part two, but in the mean time, here’s a sample homework sheet to help you see how this might be trained.
Similar Posts:
- How to Shave Paw Pads
- Review of oneisall Paw Pad Clippers
- Desensitizing Your Dog to Tile Floors
- Touch Desensitization: Feet
- Desensitization to Water, Part 2
