How to file your dog's nails with a Scratch Pad

Welcome to What A Great Dog! Training Center's KZbin Channel! If you struggle with trimming your dog’s nails for any reason, this is the video for you! In this video Maureen Patin, CPDT-KA will be teaching you how to train your dog to use a scratch board.
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[@GotAnUmbrella]

This is a genius way to introduce the game

[@sweetsoulstitches5517]

My Yorkie would not let anyone trim his front nails. They were getting way too long. I could tell he was getting very uncomfortable walking and it hurt to play. Well, this video saved us from sedating him at the vets office. He picked it up in one session. He is a pro and loves to scratch on the board. His nails no longer touch the floor when he is standing, in less than a week. What an easy fix this has been for us. Thank you so much for the knowledge!!

[@mpatin62]

The Scratch Pad has been a great tool for my Border Collie. He'll tolerate nail trims. But, he really doesn't like it. He loves playing this game. Of course he likes earning the treats. But, he also likes being more in control of the process. His tail startswagging the moment I get the board out. I've also been pleased with the results on his nails. Shortest they've been in a long time!

[@MaijaSequeira90]

We were struggling with the jump from scratching at the cloth to scratching the board so used a little sock to cover the treat (so that she inevitably scratched the board a bit) and that really helped! This is super helpful, thank you! 😊

[@tylerh1930]

Just started with my dog tonight and he's really good and knowing I want him to paw at the cloth to get the treat. Even at a angle he's understanding that but the second I take the washcloth away he doesn't seem to understand. What should I do?

[@prestoncox]

Just made a DIY board today for our very nail trim skiddish Dalmatian. She HATES nail trims but loves treats and games. So I’m hoping she takes this training.

[@lisagibson4134]

Hiya, just try it, make it super fun and JUST keep going... xxx any 4 legged bestie will do it if food oriented... if it's ballls, then use ya ball's...🤣 or sticks.. Just home in on their favourite thing. Best of luck.

[@DrBlazer50]

Did this work for her?

[@jcfef8152]

This is ingenious! Thank you for sharing!

[@AlssadaryaM]

This video was fantastic! I've been toying with the idea of a DIY board for my anxious Border Collie and honestly it all seemed a bit daunting but not now. This video made it super fun and I can't wait to introduce this to my dogs.

[@linh811]

Omg covering with washcloth is brilliant! I'm going to try this asap! Thank you so much!

[@maypearlflash]

Thank you so much for this training! I really love this because my lab does not like her nails touched! I taught this within a 30 minute to an hour time frame! I was so proud of her! She is dominantly left paw so trying to get her to use the right paw is a challenge...I used to have a Great Dane and she was ambidextrous so we didn't have a problem there but this lab is a challenge but such a rewarding dog! She is amazing and I am so excited that we are learning how to do these things together! I have never had a lab so I am learning right along with her!

[@marciemuller1520]

Ziva's been using a nail board for years. I can't get her to do her back paws so I'm waiting to see your next video. I LOVED your presentation. I've already passed the link on to others. Great job Maureen!!!! PS - Jax looks great.

[@SierraDonovan-kw6yh]

This was a great video. Thank you!

[@sharonperrybatterman5841]

Your voice is very easy to listen to, I appreciate that greatly. Very good instructional video that is eaßy to follow.

[@atwistedlime6090]

Thanks so much for this video and I’ve watched several that area great but I don’t see a video on the technique for back paws.

[@musicjungle8198]

I need this so badly my girl pulls her front paws but has tolerated her back paws getting trimmed with time It's so bad she will shake and go to the toilet on herself when I try to do her front paws so this could be my saving grace thanks so much

[@AttractionSpot]

I noticed though for some of the times they're just using the one paw to scratch at the board. At a certain point you stop giving them treats if they keep using the same paw or what's the best way to do it so that they use both paws?

[@jj..-]

Have taught Dog shake paws I would use the same command for shake paw I'd say right or left shakr or whatever command you use to differentiate or touch their paw

[@tacooflove6175]

What a great idea ❤ 🐕 thank you

[@lisagibson4134]

Hi there, I did try it and it worked..😀😀😀 I'm so proud of her my Lola... it was great from the start. I just followed what you did... Then it was like she know why we were doing this ... Thank you for this wonderful alternative to clipping ..

[@WhatAGreatDog]

We love to hear this. Great work!

[@lisagibson4134]

@@WhatAGreatDog hi there..thank you again for the wonderful alternative to clipping... we lost our Lola 5 weeks ago... but I will tell you ..she LOVED doing your method...no pressure, discomfort and no way of getting it wrong..😊 Thank you so much..🐾🐾

[@nunyabizness2477]

I'm gonna try this. Twice I cut the quick and caused bleeding. Luckily I had blood clotting gel for dogs, but very stressful and I really don't want to cut his nails. If I take him to the vet he'll have to be sedated because he's very reactive.

[@mattjones5162]

I've been doing this with my dog for awhile now and it works great! The only thing is it doesn't get his dewclaw. Any ideas on how to get those??

[@adamsbrd]

What about the back nails/paws??

[@DevSwe]

Ok, that’s great for the front paws, but what about the back

[@ilovecanines]

Good video! What video editing platform do you use?

[@mmck777]

What do you do for the back feet? The rag is a great idea

[@the.messy.cookie]

Our vet says if you walk your dog on pavement or the road, dogs are essentially “rear wheel drive” so they don’t need it as much as the front feed

[@lisagibson4134]

Fantastic clip, fortunately my client loves food/treats , so I'm going to give it a go... we normally have to have her sedated £££££ but it's the only way, so I'm hopeful this technique will work. Wish us luck.

[@jonathaneglin2325]

Have some success with it?

[@lisagibson4134]

I'm still going to use this...but my lovely Lola only has weeks , she's had a cancerous tumour removed... She loves doing this and thank you for making her claws more comfortable..xx

[@mpatin62]

@@lisagibson4134 I'm so sorry to hear this.

[@lisagibson4134]

@@mpatin62 it's devastating to say that we lost her 2 weeks ago... she's now running around and chasing butterflies, pain free ..xx

[@lenelie3051]

Any chance for a follow up on back paws? Thanks in advance!

[@atwistedlime6090]

I was wondering about back paws as well.

[@twinklefist1884]

Same!

[@jifinjosechiramal]

What about the side nail.????

[@washingtongumballs]

I’m having a hard time getting my dog to use her left paw

[@WR4SSE]

Back paws?

[@nataliekelly1464]

My dog is doing this and it’s great! She was turned away from vets and groomers. The only think I’m noticing is it’s not getting all her nails just the two in the middle. Any advise on how to get all the nails?

[@mpatin62]

I find that tilting the board at a bit of sideways angle for some of the scratches helps with this. Turn it one way, then the other to get those inside and outside toes. I've also noticed that others are doing homemade scratch boards make from cutting a big (like 6 - 8") PVC pipe in half vertically. Then lining the inside part with the sandpaper. That will naturally cause those side nails to get more action.

[@mpatin62]

Cock the board at a bit of an angle away from her (i.e. it's not directly squared up with her). That will help get the outside nail, then cock it the other way. You can also create a DIY board that is made from a big PVC pipe cut in half so the file board is concave. But I find the angle thing to work.

[@noellenoli7129]

Many requests here for info on back claws but I see no answer…. Is there an answer please?

[@pkindoodle_m]

Is there a way to get them to arch their back inward so they get more body weight on the nails as they go down it? My dog is pawing it well and goes down the board with her paws but then sort of skips the last half of the board.

[@mpatin62]

Yes, reward the harder scratches more. Also, play around with the angle of the board to see what gives her the best scratch.

[@pkindoodle_m]

@@mpatin62 thank you!

[@techdave05]

What about the back feet?

[@jeanette555]

what about back paws?

[@AttractionSpot]

I was wondering this to. I wonder if you can make a longer board or they can actually get and cannot climb up I'm all for Paws on there but then again that might be give me actual Nails in Chester paws itself. You could I don't know if they would like this is take their back Paws and kind of scratch it on there yourself and just do it little by little each time you do it if they don't like jump away or anything give them a treat and reward them.

[@andreawachholtz5989]

What about the back paws????

[@tiffanywyatt951]

There is a separate video for back paws apparently.

[@WhatAGreatDog]

While we have not created that video just yet, the makers of the Scratch Pad has a video on their channel for the back paws. Hope this helps!

[@shellyreiten4958]

just tried this scratch pad with my German Shepherd and she uses her nose and teeth to move the washcloth - how do I encourage her to use her paw?

[@rayofbri]

i have this issue too

[@WhatAGreatDog]

Put some yummy, smelly treats in your hand. Make a fist. Use that fist to play with your dog. Make it move back and forth on the ground in an enticing way. Your dog will try to use her nose or teeth, but just keep moving your hand without opening it. The moment she uses a paw (even just a little bit), open your hand and let her have the treats. Play this game over and over until she readily uses her paw. Then try the game again with the washcloth.

[@DaveSpen]

How often to do this? How long in time, and how many days a week/month? Why hide the pad, couldn't that become a habit for the dog to truly do it himself?

[@skyegagnon7818]

back feet?

[@Mrhofer]

Does the back feet training video not exist because it simple doesn’t work?

[@WhatAGreatDog]

While we have not made a video on training the back feet, others have. Reach out to Scratch Pad or go to their KZbin channel for more info!

[@michaelbryson5191]

The back paws are really challenging to teach them 😢

[@Johnnyjjohnboy]

Doesn't this scratch their foot pads?

[@AttractionSpot]

It can that's why you want to find precise Angela wear when they scratch have it it's mainly using their nails and said that the paws.

[@Seth_S-G]

This might not work for everyone, but this is what I found worked well. My family's dog hated her nails being cut she would start wailing and crying, she made it sound like you were cutting her paws off. So we avoided cutting her nails and even started filling them (which is super slow). We went to a dog training session with her (the guy doing the training session is a very well-known breeder and trainer, he breeds GSPs and working Malinois) his advice was to just cut her nails normally and ignore all the fuss and even if she carries on and on finish cutting her nails. He said dogs will carry on making a big fuss about things like this because they know you will give in and stop, so don't stop when your dog makes a big fuss, and if they try to pull their paw away don't let go until you finish cutting the nails. You aren't hurting them, and you need to be able to cut their nails and touch their paws whether they like it or not. At first, it was tough and we would only cut one paw at a time, but once we started doing it regularly she realized that getting her nails cut doesn't hurt and making a big fuss isn't going to do anything because we weren't backing down like before. Fast forward, she still doesn't like having her nails cut, but she doesn't make a big fuss wailing, she doesn't try and pull her paws away, and it only takes about 2 minutes to do all her nails rather than 30+ minutes filling them. So to sum it up, methods like those in the video above might work but they are kind of dumb, just take the time to train your dog to let you touch their paws and cut their nails, it can be a pain at first and you might feel bad because your dog is putting on a big show wailing and whimpering but they are perfectly fine and simply putting on a show (like a toddler having a tantrum) you shouldn't give in because your dog will remember "oh, last time my human tried to cut my nails and I made a big fuss they stopped, I'll do that if they try to cut my nails again". Plus you are in big trouble if your dog won't let you touch their paws and then they hurt themselves!

[@rhondacain6297]

I got this from a Facebook post.. Don't take the fella anywhere get you a large TJ Maxx bag and measure between his legs and cut holes in that bag just large enough for his legs to go through and then you hoist him up to a railing or something at somebody's house that has a second story and you just gently lift him up to where he can't interfere or bite you let him relax for a minute give him treats while he's there in that position and continue to give him like baked chicken while you're doing it and have somebody or maybe even two people cut the nails while you're giving him big chicken while he's in his Hamic

[@danielleraso5419]

Lol what if my dog is way dumber than yours and spends 5 minutes looking for the treat everytime i throw it right in front of her and totally forgets what we were doing