Nails Without the Fight

4 cards · about a minute

1. 01

   You should not hear them

   If the nails click on a hard floor as your dog walks, they are already long enough to push the toes out of position and change how the dog stands.

2. 02

   Small and often

   Take a sliver every week rather than a lot each month; frequent trims let the quick recede, and a short quick is what makes short nails possible.

3. 03

   If you cut too far

   Press styptic powder, or cornflour, firmly against the nail for a couple of minutes. It looks dramatic, it stops, and your dog reads your reaction more than the cut.

4. 04

   Make the clippers boring

   For a fortnight, touch a paw and pay, hold the clippers and pay, and cut nothing at all: you are training the dread out before you train the trim in.