Dog Dad Invents Grooming Pouch For Pup Who Can’t Stand Getting Nails Trimmed

Mar 28, 2023 by apost team

Trips to the vet and groomer would be sure to score high on the list of dislikes for most dogs. While a quick makeover is not as intimidating as a medical checkup, many dog parents can sense their fur babies feeling that pinch of anxiety when faced with scissors and shavers. 

One of the worst experiences possible for most dogs when visiting the groomer is having their nails trimmed. Most dogs – if they could talk – would probably tell you they despise the clipping of their nails. And if you took a few moments to think about it, why would they not hate this practice?

The nail beds of dogs are especially sensitive, and having someone pull at them with what looks like pliers has to be uncomfortable. It is also likely that all the promises and comforting words – like telling the pups everything will be all right – will likely fall on deaf ears.

One dog mother, 18-year-old Kendal Peifer from Minnesota, knows this struggle all too well. Despite describing Oliver as “the perfect dog,” Kendal told Buzzfeed News grooming was not his favorite experience. Time and again, she found clipping the nails of her family dog, a rescue pup named Oliver, to be a battle of wills. 

"It's very difficult to keep him still while clipping nails," Kendal told the outlet.

However, in February 2018, her father, Patrick Peifer, came up with quite an ingenious trick to make the process a little easier for her – and her dog. One clip showed Patrick getting the job done with ease and little pushback after he came up with a strapping and inventive hack.

Patrick told The Dodo while the family is “happy to have” Oliver and that “he's been a wonderful addition to our family,” trimming the pooch’s nails was always a fraught undertaking.

“It required one person to hold him still, and one person to do the clipping. Oliver really does not like being physically held against his will, so it was not that easy,” Patrick explained.

One day, a lightbulb went off in Patrick’s head, and he scrambled to ask his wife for recommendations on women’s handbags. Steering him away from the contents of her own closet, she suggested he try a Goodwill store. Once he found the perfect bag for $8, Patrick got to work.

“Using some of my wife’s sewing equipment, I removed some stitching and then cut four holes for the legs, and one for his head with an X-Acto knife. I realized it would be easier to get him in the purse if I cut it down each side so that it could lay flat on the floor. I just stood him up on top of the flat, opened up the purse with his feet in the holes, and then grabbed the handles and lifted him up,” Patrick detailed. 

Once Patrick hung his new invention up and placed Oliver carefully into the bag, clipping his nails was a breeze. Patrick said:

“He handled it well. He was very calm while hanging there. No fuss from him as I clipped his nails. I made sure to give him nibbles of his favorite treat (string cheese) for every nail I finished.” 

apost.com

What do you think about Patrick’s creative invention? Would you consider using something like this for your own dog? Let us know, and be sure to pass this hack along to your friends and family to give them some good ideas.