Ears

Gently handle his ears, rubbing the outside edges of the ear. Reward as you do this. Rub inside of ear with dry cotton ball, every few days. Reward when you do this. Check with vet as to frequency of using an appropriate cleansing lotion to clean the ears. Using the dry cotton ball increases your dog’s tolerance to having his ears cleaned and preventing ear infections.

Feet

Slip palm of hand underneath your dog’s front paw. Let it rest on your palm as you reward him. Allow him to remove the paw if he wishes. Repeat.

When he lets his paw remain in your hand, gently stroke it with your thumb and reward. You can use your voice in a soothing manner as a reward. Repeat until he lets you continue stroking his paw and he is relaxed. Close hand over paw and hold as you reward. Increase time you hold before rewarding.

Nails

Gently squeeze the toe between your thumb and forefinger. This extends the nail from the toe pad making it visible. Reward each time you squeeze the toe pad. This is an introduction to nail clipping.

As above, and clip the tip of the nail and reward. Repeat for each nail. As your dog becomes more comfortable with having his nails clipped, increase the number of nails clipped before rewarding. Finally, clip all nails before rewarding.

Mouth

Daily, insert thumb and forefinger into the top and bottom of the jaw and open his mouth. Reward as you do this. Repeat one or two times. Make it fun!

Insert finger into side of his mouth and rub over his gums and around his teeth. Finger brushes and appropriate toothpaste are available at your vet. Clean teeth and healthy gums can help prevent heart disease later in your dog’s life.