Any ideas how to cut the fur around a dogs pads?

My wife trims the fur from our border collie this way: she grabs the scissors and he notices it. she tells him, “Michael, paw-paws”. he comes running and rolls over on his back. here is the trick: we place a box of milkbone dog biscuits beside him. he sees the box and knows a treat is coming for being good. hope this works for you. keep telling him “want a treat’?

@john65pennington That sounds superb! They always respond to treats don’t they? I will put her biscuit pot next to her, many thanks.

You are welcome. good luck.

Why do you want to cut the fur around your dog’s pads? It is meant to be there. It helps cushion her when she walks.

Well for my part, the reason I cut around the pads is because if it was left to grow, it would become longer and eventually become matted. When it reaches this stage she begins slipping and sliding on our wooden floors, and she almost fell down the stairs once.
The dog breeder advised me to do this on a regular basis. I suppose he knows better than I do.
I don’t know why @john65pennington does it for his dog.

I always do the back feet first. I sit on the edge of a table and put the dog on the table too . Turn him around so his head is under my elbow and his 2 hind feet over my knee. This gives you control, if he starts to struggle stop trimming and just restrain him until he stops, then tell him good dog. Keep doing this and eventually he will learn. Never end when the dog is winning, always stop when you are in control. After you do the back feet, stand up, have the dog face you on the table, again his head under your elbow and pick up the feet like a blacksmith would a horse hoof. Takes practice but will work eventually.

Instead of scissors go buy an electric trimmer, the kind that looks like a thick pen. They’re advertised for women to shave around their eyebrows and have a tiny vibrating comb over the blade. Like @john65pennington, I started my dog with treats, just a few pieces of his regular kibble. He was a puppy so he was awfully squirmy and hyper then but anymore he’s like a horse, I can tap a leg and he’ll let me extend it out and trim away, cut nails, what not.

@rooeytoo Thanks for the advice. So do you cut his fur around his pads on a regular basis? I am not sure whether I should be doing it at all after reading @marinelife answer.
@Neizvestnaya I never thought of using an electric trimmer, many thanks
@john65pennington Well I tried her with her treat pot and she just sat upright and started doing her high five to me – that is her way of saying please!!! I will have to try some other way, but thanks anyway

@partyparty – I have been grooming dogs for a lot of years and always trim feet, I don’t remember ever seeing a dog get sore feet from having the hair trimmed. I guess it could happen if they walked on melting asphalt on a really hot day but if that were the case I don’t think a little fur would help. Poodles get their feet shaved, other breeds just trimmed to prevent matts and keep them from dragging so much dirt into the house.

I trim my dog’s feet (Pomeranian) otherwise they look like banty rooster feet and turn into little dust mops and also catch stickers and tiny bits of twigs and leaves. It’s been near 10yrs since trimming his feet and he’s never complained or gone limpy. I show him all tools I plan to use, let him sniff them and then bump them on his body so he knows they won’t hurt him. After that, a little treat makes him compliant.

@Neizvestnaya Yes that’s a perfect description especially the banty rooster feet LOLL
I have Lhasa apsos and their pads go exactly as you have described. Thanks