A video of a dog owner using her pup’s favorite toy to help make the grooming experience less frightening for her pet has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Briza (@brizajz) and has had 3.4 million views since it was shared on February 14.
A caption shared with the post says: “Me pretending Oliver’s favorite toy likes getting his nails trim, so he can see his toys not scared like him.”
The sound of what appears to be a nail filing device is in the clip, as a woman is shown placing it against the paws of an animal doll toy.
A dog is staring at the doll and the device while sitting in a corner, and a voice is heard saying “Good boy” throughout the clip as the woman pretends to trim the doll’s nails. The pup is later seen approaching the woman’s hand, occasionally pointing his nose near the device and staring back at the doll.
The 2023-2024 National Pet Owners Survey by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) found that 66 percent of U.S. households (86.9 million households) own a pet, including 65.1 million who own a dog.
According to a survey by the APPA, in 2020, at-home grooming was the most prevalent form of grooming (41 percent), while 30 percent reported taking dogs to a full-service salon, as noted in a February 2022 study in Frontiers in Veterinary Medicine. On average, dogs were groomed professionally about four times in the year before the study.
According to the APPA, pet owners in the U.S. were projected to spend a total of $143.6 billion on their pets in 2023. This total includes $11.8 billion on services such as grooming, training, boarding, insurance, pet sitting/walking and all services outside of veterinary care.
‘Brilliant’?
As clever as the pet owner’s solution may have seemed, it unfortunately did not do the trick.
In a later comment, the original poster said: “It in fact did NOT WORK he still refused to get his nails clipped, he grabbed his toy after and went to bed.”
Users on TikTok praised the pet owner’s efforts, with many not surprised that it didn’t work, while others were amused by the pup’s reaction.
Holly Funk said: “Oh the things we do as dog parents…this is so real.”
GoldenGirlsRanch wrote: “This is actually Brilliant.”
Sarah noted: “I don’t think he’s buying it.”
OnyxSapphire said: “He’s like what the hell…”
E wrote: “I love how your doggo is like ‘you’re not just letting her do that right?!’ To the toy.”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.