Teaching Your Dog to File His Own Nails

I don't think any dog particularly likes having their nails trimmed, but a lot of them are squirmy and sometimes even bitey when you try, and taking them a groomer every few weeks gets expensive! So to keep their nails shorter in between trims, I taught my boys how to file their own nails using a scratchboard I made.

The scratchboard is really easy to make. All you need is some sand paper (I used 100 grit, but adjust it to your dog as necessary), something to attach it to (I had a small piece of board), and something to attach it with (masking tape). My boys already knew targeting, which is putting your paw somewhere specific to get the click and treat, and they usually figure out quickly that a new object and the clicker means they have to interact with the new object in some way. So I just sat and waited.

If your dog isn't used to training like this, you may need to "shape" the behavior. This is when you start with small behaviors and gradually build up to the behavior you're trying to get. So in this case, I would click and treat the dog if they looked even in the general direction of the scratchboard. When they're offering that readily, I would click and treat them for looking at the scratchboard, and then for moving towards the scratchboard, and eventually for touching the scratchboard with their paw or stepping on it. My boys flew past all these steps and went straight to stepping on it, which got them a click and a treat.

Then I stopping clicking and treating for just stepping on it - I wanted to hear the sound of nails on sandpaper. They both tried various things but when nothing got them a click, they did eventually try scratching or digging at it. I clicked, they got a treat, they repeated the behavior because they wanted another click and treat.

Note: Be watchful of their paw pads here. Check every few minutes to make sure they're not hurting themselves. Some dogs will get overexcited and not even notice they're rubbing their paws raw. You only want to click when you hear the sound of nails on the sandpaper. You also want to make sure they're not scratching their nails too enthusiastically or getting too close to the quick.

When they've got the game and are digging like a pro, have them switch paws. This may be tricky! Most dogs are either left- or right-paw dominate just like we're left- or right-handed. So make sure you get both front paws evenly.

Teaching the back paws is a little trickier, and unfortunately I don't have video of this one. What I did was lean the scratchboard up against the base of the couch so it was at about a 45 degree angle, and then lured the boys up onto the couch. They're small so they climbed the scratchboard to get up onto the couch and when their back paws his the scratchboard, I clicked and gave them the treat. After they caught on with the front paws, the back paws went a lot quicker - it's just the positioning that's tough.