Feeling calm yet? Mila’s about to show us how it’s done
The simple fact is—Mila does not want her nails trimmed. So, now what?
She greets me at the door wearing hot-pink, tail-waggingly excited to see me.
With boundless enthusiasm and friendly energy, Mila is a lovely black Labrador (Lab), and like many of this breed, she lives to make humans happy.
She is thrilled to see me, until the moment she remembers I am that person who trims her nails and that—actually—she “declines.”
In true Lab fashion, not wanting to offend, she does not directly say no but, instead, begins her campaign of polite avoidance, which humans call “running away,” as she completes laps around the house. She is a blur of activity, all hot-pink and black, and stays just out of my reach.
Why do some dogs detest nail trims?
What a great question. If only they could tell us. Each animal may have unique underlying reasons from a list of potential ones that exist, and their ability to communicate is clear: the question is, will the humans understand?
Mila has almost always not enjoyed a nail trim, no matter the location or by whom. And while she is one of the nicest, sweetest dogs I know, her method of polite avoidance and running away makes it challenging to trim her nails. Obviously, it is not possible to trim the nails of an animal that is constantly moving, and certainly it will not reduce stress or anxiety for them to be chased around the house and forced to do something, as seemingly straightforward as a nail trim, when they have already said no.
What did Mila’s humans do to resolve this?
Mila is food motivated, so we first attempted distracting her with treats (she eats treats with great focus while also continuously “dancing” and keeping her feet in too much motion to have her nails trimmed). We tried having her stand, or lie down on her side for belly rubs (and sneaky nail trimming). We have encouraged gentle restraint; we have tried less restraint. We have interspersed the above with more treats, reward-based motivators and timeout breaks. The simple fact is—Mila does not want her nails trimmed. So, now what?
Finding solutions for Mila
A number of solutions are available to help comfort an animal during procedures they may find stressful. Used individually or in combination, these solutions can be tailored to each animal’s unique needs and tolerance levels. Examples of solutions range from behavioural training, including fear-free, specific exposure, at a young age (or re-training at an older age), to potentially worrying procedures; giving oral prescription medications that reduce stress and anxiety … all the way to full anesthetic procedures, when recommended by a veterinarian.
Thinking outside the box
After several appointments, Mila’s humans wondered if wearing her ThunderShirt would be a helpful solution, as she was already benefiting from its use.* As the ThunderShirt is marketed to help soothe anxiety related to thunderstorm-associated stress, we agreed it was worth trying. On our first attempt, I was already in Mila’s home and it seemed that not much had changed. I recommended that Mila don her ThunderShirt at least one to two hours before future appointments.
What a difference! While it is doubtful that Mila will ever enjoy nail trims, wearing her ThunderShirt, before I arrive (not after), takes enough of the edge off her anxiety that we can get her nail trim completed, and in a location of her choosing. We still ask her to burn off her energy: she does laps, indoors and outdoors, before we start, and we still take breaks and offer treats (as a Lab, she rarely says no to treats). I am pleased that the calming effect of the ThunderShirt provides Mila with so much assistance—in combination with patience, treats, breaks and rewards.
Finding a solution that works for Mila
This has been a process filled with trial and error, along with intention to listen to what she is telling us. An animal may not be comfortable with nail trimming, for a variety of reasons, and we may feel frustrated or defeated when what we try does not work as we had imagined. It is possible that it may even feel like failure to a task-completion-oriented species such as us humans.
Of course, ThunderShirts and treats may not be the right fit for every situation; yet, with time, patience, persistence and an exploration of available solution options, success may be found for each unique animal and their different needs.
Finally, I must say that, in addition to its utility, Mila looks striking with her hot-pink ThunderShirt offsetting her black coat and freshly trimmed nails.
Vet Tech Note: All stories are told with client consent, and all names have been changed to protect privacy.
*A ThunderShirt is a calming solution that helps to reduce anxiety in dogs. Like swaddling an infant, the anxiety vest applies gentle, constant pressure to calm many types of anxiety and fear issues in dogs.
