Ticklish Toes

Recently I was helping another dog owner with her dog's nail trim at the groomers. The groomer, Pam, who owns Shaggy Dog, here in Chardon, said that sometimes dogs' feet and toes can be ticklish. I hadn't thought of that?! Makes sense because we know that a lot of dogs have a "Sweet Spot" when we scratch them; why couldn't they be ticklish too?

I did read why dogs start to scratch when we hit that Sweet Spot. It is because of their Scratch Reflex. Dogs shake or kick their legs when you scratch them because of a completely involuntary reaction. When you scratch that Sweet Spot it activates nerves under the skin that are connected to the spinal cord which relays messages to leg muscles to kick in an attempt to relieve the itch. Since you are already scratching you are relieving the itch; therefore the dog only "Air" scratches. Ticklish toes must be the same way?

Dogs' feet are suppose to be sensitive to protect themselves. So it only makes sense that they have a lot of nerves down there. But with ticklish toes, a dog will more likely try to pull their foot out of your hand when you are touching them. They may be annoyed or irritated by the tickling feeling.

This is where things can get troublesome, especially when you are trying to trim your pup's nails. Now of course, your dog just might not like having their nails trimmed because they are afraid. Both are situations of sensitivity and with this practice that I will show you in the video clip, your dog can learn to at least tolerate paw handling and nail trims.




Start out slow. Do one paw and see how your dog reacts; be sure to squeeze and use gentle pressure on each toe nail. From there you can choose to do the next paw. By being deliberate and purposeful, not ticklish or silly, your dog will know and learn that you are trying to help them by doing what is best for them.

Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net
Contact Dru Therrian 440.286.9070