Nail care maintenance for our canine companions comes in a few flavors. My first choice, and the one around which I built my signature course, is the Dremel. If you do not have a sound-sensitive dog, this tool with a Diamagroove bit is the gold standard.

When owners and their dogs struggle with nail care, most veterinarians and dog trainers recommend using a scratchboard. This is a great tool to get your dog started, but this method has some issues you need to watch out for. Owners need to be careful the dog’s pads are not getting injured. You should be inspecting the feet and nails regularly if you are using this method. You may notice that the nails may be filed unevenly. Some toes may be near the quick; while others may not be filed enough. You need to especially be concerned with the middle two nails on the front feet. Those can be hard to get filed using a scratchboard.

In my program, Dremel Like a Boss, when we realize the Dremel is not an option for a dog, we...

The video in this article is an example of training you can do with your pup to make the Elizabethan collar a non event for you and your pup.

This discussion came up with my Dremel Like a Boss students and I thought the topic was excellent as an article for all of you!

The question asked was about using pet recovery collars (AKA Elizabethan collars, e-collars, cones, etc.) and ideas on how to get our dogs used to it before a surgery. This is the mindset we want in the membership is how do we prepare our dogs for any husbandry procedure before it happens, instead of fixing it after it happens. We want to prepare our dogs for the event in the best way we can.

There are now many devices to allow our dogs to heal after surgeries. I will list some of them below:

1. Recovery suits- great for many types of surgeries (especially spay/neuter surgery) as long as the suit covers the wound/incision and your dog won’t lick/chew through the suit. Make sure they are not too big. If your dog is...

This topic has been hitting home for me lately and I really want to make sure as many people as possible take this topic to .

I currently live with four dogs part time and two of those dogs had lovely comments from professionals this week. Let me start with Jibe, although I have spent many hours training her on husbandry skills, these results can be achieved with a smaller commitment as you will see with Beckett’s story in a bit.

Jibe is a heavy-coated Newfoundland with a full on spay coat and heavy furnishings. We have run into an orthopedic issue that will likely require surgery, conservative management, and underwater treadmill. When Jibe was young, she was not comfortable with strangers. Our handler and many of my dear friends worked with Jibe to get her used to people other than her mama taking the end of her leash.  As part of my Dremel Like a Boss program, we work on handling, chin rest, restraint and generalization of these behaviors for groomers and...

I have been traveling and I am sometimes away for a month at a time. This means I need to do some grooming on the road with my Newfoundland, Jibe. If you do not have a double coated breed, your list will be shorter than mine, but anyone traveling for a bit with a dog needs a few things just in case. I wanted to make sure I had things for regular maintenance, but also in case I ran into burrs or mud and couldn’t give her a bath. 

BTW I have run into burrs and needed quite a few things on this list.

Here is my list of must have grooming travel items for longer trips:

• Dremel - I use an actual Dremel with a DiamaGroove diamond bit from Whitman.
• Ear Cleaner- The Zymox line is one of my favorites. (Amazon Affiliate Link)
• Eye Wash - I just use sterile solution eye wash from the grocery store
• Hot Spot Treatment- Vetericyn is my favorite. (Amazon Affiliate Link)
• Rake/Comb- Livestock Comb. This is literally my favorite rake of all time. (Amazon Affiliate Link)
• Leave in...