June 6th 2012 5:27 pm
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Today I dubbed nail trim day. I hadn't tried to trim Angie's nails yet since she came and a month of nail growth is a bit much in my house (yes, I'm obsessive about nail trimming). I started by trimming Claire and Yuki's nails, as they are reasonably good about getting their nails trimmed and I thought this might reinforce the idea that getting your nails trimmed is not a horribly painful way to die. I worked long and hard with Claire to convince her of this idea, though Yuki was always rather strangely fond of getting his pedicure (he also likes baths and being groomed, so he's just weird).

For Angie's first nail trim, I prepped by gathering together her favorite toys, some treats, the leash and the martingale collar. I got all this together before trimming the other dogs' nails and was reasonably pleased that she watched the proceedings by flopping down on the ground right next to me. When I turned to start her nails, I prepped myself for her to fight, to jump, to react negatively in a variety of ways. What I was not prepared for was the behavior Angie actually gave me: she simply laid there while I trimmed a nail. I treated immediately and she rolled the treat around in her mouth while I trimmed 3 more nails. I treated her again and got absolutely no resistance while I trimmed another 4 nails.

I have never exerted myself so little to trim a dog's nails! On the plus side, too, all but one of her nails is clear, and they cut like butter. I hope her forever family appreciates how wonderful she is for nail trims!