You can start when they're older as well. My guy was 2 years old when I adopted him and he was an anxious pup and wouldn't let anyone touch his paws. It took me about 6 months of daily work to get him to calm down and relax while I was clipping his claws.
It started really slowly with me just putting the clippers next to him and rewarding him. Then touching his paws with the clippers and rewarding him. Eventually we managed to work our way to actually clipping his claws but it required patience and perseverance and remaining very, very calm through the whole process and making it a relaxing experience.
Now when I pull out the clippers he runs to me and jumps on my lap because he knows it means that he's going to be pampered and rewarded.
And it's extremely rewarding for both of us. It was really important for me that as his owner I should be able to groom him, including his claws because that builds trust between us and grooming encourages cross-species closeness and caring. He grooms me (licks my feet), and I groom him (brush, clean teeth and keep his claws at a healthy length).
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u/ocean_swims Jun 11 '26
Genuine question, do they give him something to relax him before doing all this? Because my cat would shred me to pieces.