By Ashley Stephenson- 5/12/2026

Have you ever experienced your dog get a nail trim at a vet clinic and you leave, positive that your dog is in fact a demon because of the scream resembling that of a banshee that just rang out of your sweet little Fluffy’s tiny little belly? Dogs inherently don’t like having their feet touched. I mean, does anybody? I really don’t blame them for objecting, especially after being dragged into this weird building where all other dogs are also giving off stressed vibes and noises. They are poked and prodded with thermometers and fecal loops. I’d be screaming like a banshee too. I mean the nail trim would be the last straw for sure.

It feels hopeless, I know. It makes your time before the actual vet visit stressful and all you do is worry about how your visit will go. It feels hopeless and you feel bad for making your fur baby have to endure what they deem as torture. 

As a vet tech, I always have to insert that in my experience at multiple clinics, restraining a dog, especially a big dog, can look like torture. However, we, as techs, love our job so much. We love animals, and restraint is required to ensure the tech, doctor, and your fur baby’s safety. If your dog bites, in certain states 10 days rabies quarantine is required. That is 10 days of your baby being stressed out and terrified, sleeping on a concrete floor with no blankets, water, and food, and only going out to use the bathroom twice a day. Most of us try our best to use as little restraint as possible, and in some clinics, they will accommodate your pup in whatever makes them feel safe. 

The last clinic we worked in had this huge dog that was like 95 pounds. He was a sweet boy when he came in but as soon as we tried to trim his nails, he would use his 95 pounds to his advantage. Our clinic found him a rhythm. He had one tech there that he liked, so she would stand by his head while he was muzzled for his safety and ours, one tech would lay over his front half and a third tech would lay over his second half. The favorite tech was there for moral support and she would love him, and tell him he was the goodest boy and scratch his ears and chin and sing to him, while the first tech clipped the front two feet nails and the second tech clipped the back two feet nails. And he was perfect. No sedation needed. He didn’t fight, or try to bite. But his behavior was from a previous experience and a lack of the owner understanding the importance of desensitization on her big boy when he wasn’t such a big boy. 

I use nails as an example because this is the most common trigger for dogs who are not desensitized, but it is also important to get your dog used to touching all over, by multiple people. I also should mention that in all honesty, vet clinics are not the best places for nail trims for a few reasons. 

1. Without any offense, we don’t have the time. We are sent into the room with a list of things to cover, get done so we can get out and get our doctor in the room to see the patient. This may sound like an assembly line. It’s not. We just have a job to do and only so much time to do it. 
2. The vet is already a stressful environment for your dog to get poked for a temp, stool sample, possibly blood, vaccines, etc. nail trims pile on to this
3. Groomers have tools to do this safely and also in a better environment. Have you seen some of these groomers on Instagram that post about their clients they work on? They can suspend them. Or take things a bit slower. This is what they are paid to do, so they aren’t trying to get a nail trim on top of the 15 other things techs have to get done before the nail trim. A lot of them make their facilities where the dogs just roam and play before their groom. The dogs get to know the groomer because, unlike the vet clinic they most likely are going to the groomer every 6 – 8 weeks vs every 6 months, if that at the vet. They are so good at finding ways to calm your dogs down and can take the time to focus on them, without sedation! 

So how do we approach desensitization, you may be asking? I have a few tips that have worked well for me with my girls. They still don’t like having their nails trimmed, and yes, my lab hides under the table as soon as she sees the ear cleaner, but if I just take my time and give her kisses and treats, she will sit and take it without biting, growling, or wiggling around. I have included a video below to show the process of their nail trims. I have shown them how to go from a sit, down, side command, but ideally, you should just be able to go straight to a side command. I just show the process of how I go about it when they are puppies.

If possible, start them when they are young, the day you bring them home. Any chance you get just touch all the sensitive places. I would sit with my girls on my lap or on the floor and love on them. I would give them tummy rubs and grab their feet just briefly. I then poke my fingers in between each cute little toe bean and rub, again, briefly. Then give them a good girl or boy, lots of kisses and move on with more affection. I then scratch under their chin and behind their ears and then stick my fingers in the canal, Positive reinforcement and move on. Last but not least, I give more head scratches and then rub my finger along their gumline on each side of their mouth. I will try and open their mouth to be able to look down their throat. Move on with lots of hugs and kisses, praise and maybe even some treats. Continue this multiple times a day. 

I taught my girls the “side” command. This is different from lay down, but I start with them in a laying down position and then lure them into a side position to train this. This way I can easily see nails, ears and teeth. I can also do a full tummy rub to check for any lumps and bumps, ticks, rashes, etc. 

If your baby is not a puppy anymore, you can still train this. It may take more time and patience and treats. But it can be done. Lots of praise and patience goes a long way. The goal is to make it a happy experience, an unscary experience. You have to let your pup know they can trust you and that nail trims are nothing to be scared of. 

So, to close out, desensitization is one of the most important things you will teach your pup. It helps them feel less stressed when they have to go to the groomer or the vet. Your dog will be better for having this trained into them. They will have happier vet visits. So be your dog’s best friend and train them so they can feel safer, and so the people around them feel safer when working with them.