Being a pet parent isn't always easy.
It's extremely easy to go to a shelter, pick out a cute dog, bring it home, and supply it with the basic needs. It's everything else that's the hard part.
It's easy to sit behind our computers and post the latest pictures or videos of them doing adorable things that we just so happen to catch on our smartphones. However, what we don't do is post when they are having an off day, we are tired, and we don't do our very best to take care of them that day.
We see well behaved dogs in public places and secretly yearn for the day that our dogs act like that. We set such a high bar of what they should be doing that anything less is failure. We want them to be so much like family that we often forget their basic instincts. I've noticed that most people that have animals they are frustrated with are often not listening to them. Our animals are quite vocal, we just tend to tune them out and chalk it up to bad behavior so we don't have to take the time and energy to fix the issue.
People see chewed up furniture and get upset at the sudden expense that they have incurred. They shake they fingers, throw the dog in a crate, and drive to the furniture store. Not once do they simply ask, "Why? Why did my dog do this?" Since the problem isn't addressed, it continues until the owner is irate and the animal ends up at the shelter or on the streets. Most cases that I've heard would have been easily fixed if they just realized that the chewing is coming from boredom.
Everyone with a pet knows it's kinks. We learn them fairly quickly; what they will eat and what they won't, that one thing that they are terrified of and won't go near, that one person that is on the bottom of their favorite list. Some are more brave in some situations than others, just like people.
Toran is the first pet that I have taken one hundred percent responsibility for. I had a lot of growing up to do at the same time that he did. When he was frustrated, I was often frustrated. I was learning the balance between working full time, college full time, and the rest of life in between. Raising a puppy was more that I realized it would be but also more rewarding than I realized, now that I can look back on it. There have been a lot a fears along the way, all with reasons as to why he was hesitant.
And recently we took the first steps towards making his biggest fear not so scary anymore.
The biggest thing for Toran to overcome has been the clipping of his toenails. He had them clipped the day that we got him and they were clipped too short, causing him discomfort and to begin bleeding. Those puppy talons grow very quickly and it got to the point that the place we had them clipped added him to the "No Clip List."
Each time I tried to do them he relayed his fear in the form of jerking his paw from my hand, laying teeth (no pressure), and rolling all over the floor. He was trying to get my mind on play and as far away from trimming his pterodactyl claws as possible. My anxiety of having scratched arms and not getting him to do what I wanted paired with his fear was a disaster waiting to happen. However, he does shake hands and lets me play with him paws and toenails as much as I want without clippers.
I turned to the vet for help. Understandably, they wanted to evaluate him themselves to see if he needed further help. I knew that there were probably a lot of people that came in with "issues" that weren't really issues and wanted the easy way out. Luckily, Toran goes to a wonderful vet that explores more gentle routes before masking the issue even more. He did the same thing with the vet as he did with me. A "partyhat" (muzzle) was introduced as a safety precaution. Long story short, he made noises I didn't know an animal was capable of making, the blood vessels in his eyes popped, and his heart rate was up so high that we had a forced cuddle session for several minutes before letting him up. Sedation was suggested and I was sent home with a tube of pills to be used one hour before our next visit.
Honestly, he hasn't had them clipped since. He keeps them pretty dull with all of his outdoor play. However, his dewclaws are like needles. The last few weeks I have been having to think about taking him back to the vet to have them clipped. I haven't really wanted to, thinking that I could somehow come to an understanding with him about it, somehow making him feel comfortable enough for me to do it.
After a paw on the leg and a scratch to match, I decided that enough was enough. I had to stay calm and think up of a way that would allow him to not feel trapped. So, Operation Talon Trim began.
I allowed him into an area that he's usually banned from, my bathroom. I didn't try to hide the clippers from him, making sure that I didn't emit any nervous energy to him. He sniffed them and sat down in front of me on the floor. I rubbed on his paw and touched his nails without issue. As soon I had to have any grip to make sure I didn't slip, he started rolling. I withdrew, letting him have his moment until he could settle and feel comfortable again.
For several minutes we had an entire conversation in the floor. Slowly, the sense of calm stayed and with a quick clip the first talon was gone! Patience and calm energy had won out in the end, just like they had each time before. After the first clip I brought the energy up by talking in a high pitched voice, offering a snack, and letting him be for a minute. Then we went right back into the room and did the other one the same way, with the help of a special treat of canned food.
Those ten minutes were the slowest and fastest I have ever had with him. It's not a "cure" but it is a step forward. And what more can I ask of him?
At the end of the day it's a great reminder that our animals are talking to us all the time, we just have to listen. There aren't problems and cures, there are fears and sometimes long, time consuming paths that show them their fears aren't that bad.
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