# Sandpaper - A bad idea?



## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Would it be a bad idea to duct tape sand paper to the ground and teach my dog to scratch at it, as a way of having him trim his own nails?

And for the record, I've never had a nail issue with him. They are not too long (by my standards) and he lets me cut or grind them. And I really only need to trim his hind dew claws every few weeks but I cut the others short while I'm at it. This is mainly for novelty's sake.


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

I'd be worried he'd wear down his paw pad, or scratch some other area and irratate the skin. hard to say for sure though if it'd really be an issue of not.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Yeah, the main downside I could think was paw pad if he scraped on there enough.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Nuclear_Glitter said:


> hard to say for sure though if it'd really be an issue of not.


Well if you put it that way it makes me want to try


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

ThoseWordsAtBest said:


> Yeah, the main downside I could think was paw pad if he scraped on there enough.


When I played fetch with him in a tennis court he friction-burned one of his toe pads. It was raw for a few days then scarred over. So I agree, my main concern would also be his pads. I trust he would regulate himself well enough not to crack a nail.... 
But that said, I've seen the way he scratches and there is very little pad contact; he scrunches up his paw in a way that makes all the nails like a 'hook.' Hmm.. we'll see!


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

Canyx said:


> When I played fetch with him in a tennis court he friction-burned one of his toe pads. It was raw for a few days then scarred over. So I agree, my main concern would also be his pads. I trust he would regulate himself well enough not to crack a nail....
> But that said, I've seen the way he scratches and there is very little pad contact; he scrunches up his paw in a way that makes all the nails like a 'hook.' Hmm.. we'll see!


I would think it's do able if he'd just target with his nails? Sham just smacks things with his whole foot, so targeting.. is interesting.


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## Rescued (Jan 8, 2012)

sock with tiny holes poked for each nail to go through? 

you make me want a dog that I'm allowed to teach fun arbitrary tricks to.


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## Nuclear_Glitter (Jun 20, 2012)

Rescued said:


> sock with tiny holes poked for each nail to go through?
> 
> you make me want a dog that I'm allowed to teach fun arbitrary tricks to.


I wish I was better at teaching tricks. I always over think stuff and just mess it up. I try to just stay focused on basic stuff because of it. Maybe one day my dogs will learn tricks.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Something like this? Scratch board starts at 1:40


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## NomoEdie (Jan 28, 2013)

I've been teaching Edie to do this. She hasn't hurt herself yet - she cups her paws when she scratches so it's just the tips of her nails that get worn down. The biggest problem is that she tends to scratch the board at an angle and has worn her nails down to points. Super-painful when she stretches against my leg! 

Training to do it is still a work in progress - sometimes she seems to get with the program, other times not so much - but it's a fun project.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

Sibe said:


> Something like this? Scratch board starts at 1:40


YES! Except Soro knows a 'dig' command that would be perfect for this.



NomoEdie said:


> I've been teaching Edie to do this. She hasn't hurt herself yet - she cups her paws when she scratches so it's just the tips of her nails that get worn down. The biggest problem is that she tends to scratch the board at an angle and has worn her nails down to points. Super-painful when she stretches against my leg!
> 
> Training to do it is still a work in progress - sometimes she seems to get with the program, other times not so much - but it's a fun project.


Ouch! I might have to do a bit of trimming with the dremel then.

But I think I'm sold on this idea! I'll try it out and see what happens!


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## Selah Cowgirl (Nov 14, 2009)

I think it is a great idea, if you are worried about pad injuries, only do it a few swipes a day, till he builds up the callous. My boy can run on ice all day and not have an issue because he is used to running through and around basalt fields on our trail rides.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

I've heard some dogs get hooked on the scratch board and will wear their claws down to bloody nubs. . .you'd think they'd stop when it hurt but who knows what a dog is thinking?  In those cases the owners supervise scratch board use, they don't just leave it down all the time. But if he doesn't tend to be obsessive in general he probably won't be like that.


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## Canyx (Jul 1, 2011)

NomoEdie said:


> The biggest problem is that she tends to scratch the board at an angle and has worn her nails down to points.


Soro picked this up immediately and was filing down his nails in no time. But I ran into the same problem NomoEdie has. So I had to grab the clipper and trim them down.
Might try with a larger piece and rougher grain, since the piece I had was very fine grain and thin. Maybe a wider piece will change the way he scratches at it. Still, fun trick! It would be great if I could one day make a fake giant emery board and shoot a clip of both of us filing our nails at the same time


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Willowy said:


> I've heard some dogs get hooked on the scratch board and will wear their claws down to bloody nubs. . .you'd think they'd stop when it hurt but who knows what a dog is thinking?  In those cases the owners supervise scratch board use, they don't just leave it down all the time. But if he doesn't tend to be obsessive in general he probably won't be like that.


If dogs had any sense about injury and pain, they wouldn't be dogs. "My dog isn't in any pain/doesn't seem to mind" are phrases that make me cringe a bit.


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## katelyn (Feb 3, 2013)

Canyx said:


> Would it be a bad idea to duct tape sand paper to the ground and teach my dog to scratch at it, as a way of having him trim his own nails?
> 
> And for the record, I've never had a nail issue with him. They are not too long (by my standards) and he lets me cut or grind them. And I really only need to trim his hind dew claws every few weeks but I cut the others short while I'm at it. This is mainly for novelty's sake.


I wouldn't duct tape sandpaper to the ground, but it is ok to rub the nail directly with sandpaper to keep them short and get rid of any sharp bits when they have just been cut.

P.S. I help out at a dog groomers and they taught me that this is ok and we do it often when the dogs have had their nails trimmed.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Our trainer suggested one of the applications of the "wipe your paws" trick was to have the dog scratch at some sandpaper on a board to file down their nails. (In our world, this command is "Dig dig dig!") We haven't tried it, though I really should. Ham wigs out when I try to trim his nails (and we've been working on it since the day we brought him home!)


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