How to Teach Your Dog to File Her Nails

Once your dog will drag her nails along the scratch board, it’s time to ask for multiple scratches before clicking and treating. Grab a clicker and treats, and let’s get started.

Two Nail Drags

Goal: Two nail drags in a row.

• Place nail scratch board in place.
• Wait for two nails drags before clicking.
  • About 50 percent of dogs will drag once, stop and look at you (or the clicker), waiting for the click sound. If they don’t hear the click sound, they’ll usually drag their nails again. Click and treat. The other 50 percent will remove their paws from the board, think for a moment, then offer two quick nail drags. Click and treat!
  • Tip: Wait for second nail drag. If your dog becomes frustrated and leaves, then she is confused. Go back to single nail drags for a couple of training sessions and slowly wait for two nail drags.
• Practice five times. Pick up board and end training session.

RELATED: Dog Nail Trimming Tools

Three Nail Drags

Goal: Three nail drags in a row

• Follow the  instructions for two nail drags.
• If your dog gets stuck and you’re seeing results, there is nothing wrong with two nail drags for one treat. 🙂

Other Paw

Goal: Other paw (non-dominant paw) scratches board.

By now, your dog is probably switching paws in between nail drags. If not, move the scratch board directly in front of the non-scratch front paw. This usually gets it moving. When she offers her non-scratch paw, click and give her two treats. Trust me, she will notice and start offering it again!

Both Paws

Goal: Both paws scratch one after the other (digging motion).

Depending on your dog’s personality, this may have happened already. Stella (my Bull Terrier) offered this behavior in the beginning so I clicked and treated. Some dogs need to experiment and practice more, and some dogs may never offer this behavior. Remember, the goal is filing down nails. 🙂

Read more:
Trimming Dog Nails: Reaching for Paw
Trimming Dog Nails: Restraining Your Dog’s Paw
Why Dogs Dislike Nail Trims
Dog Nail Trims: How Much to Trim Off?