The Power of Cheese

My Tag is a sensitive guy.

Heartworm tests, mat removal and some girls make him cry. So, too, does nail trimming.

And so nail trimming became one of those dreaded tasks where the spouse held him while he howled and cried and carried on as I trimmed.

Things changed last summer when a friend introduced me to the power of canned cheese.

She put Tag on the picnic table, offered him cheese and told him he was a good dog as he licked it off her finger. His tail wagged in delight.

She held his paw and offered him cheese. He was in love--with her, with cheese, with the entire game.

A few minutes later, she handed the can of cheese to me and told me to squirt some on my finger. He licked cheese and wagged his tail as she trimmed his nails.

And so now the husband's job is to squirt cheese on his finger; Tag licks; and I trim. The task is completed in a few minutes and everyone is happy.

The wiggly puppy is on the cheese routine for now too. I'm hoping that she'll learn to eventually hold still while I trim, but in the meantime she's learning that nail trimming is a good thing.