January 12, 2012
Posted in Pet Training

Some pet owners may go to rub or massage their dog's paws after a long walk, only to have them quickly pull them away. Although some dogs may give into the command "paw" to receive a treat like Greenies for Dogs, other times, dogs don't enjoy having their feet touched by their owners.

Even though the bottom of dogs' feet are known to be tough and hard from years of walking, some canines are still quite sensitive to people touching them.

A main reason dogs may be uncomfortable with people touching their paws is because many times paw touching leads to toenail trimming. Although dogs need their toes trimmed to avoid getting ingrown toenails or them getting too long for the canines to comfortably walk, the fear of the unknown can sometimes be overwhelming to them.

If your dog had a bad experience with clippers in the past – either you trimmed too close to the quick or the dog was just too frightened by the process – it may retain those feelings every time you go to touch its paws. You know how painful cutting your own finger or toenails too short can be, so it's understandable that they would feel this way.

Dogs being sensitive to their paws getting touched seems to be an inherent trait, however because dogs do need their toenails trimmed for their own safety, you may want to try new techniques to get your pooch prepared better next time.

Start to show your dog pet supplies like the Resco Pro-Series Scissor Trimmers about a week before you are going to actually do the trimming. Let your pooch sniff, lick and look at the product and offer it rewards such as PureBites or Sweet Potato Rawhide to reinforce that the tool is a positive thing. Each day thereafter, continue to keep the product present and try to put it near the dog's paws to help it get used to it and to decrease its anxiety. When it comes time to actually do the trimming, try to make the atmosphere as calming as possible. Using a plug-in relaxer like Comfort Zone for Cats or Dogs might help it stay calm. Make sure to reward your pooch when the grooming is over to let it know it did a good job.

Related posts:

1. Introducing your puppy to grooming