The attempted nail trim

Arlo absolutely hates having his paws touched. I mean, to the extreme.

That being said, dogs need nail trims. So, I contacted my vet and she recommended starting with Benedryl to try to calm him during the trim. I didn’t think it would work, but was hopeful. I gave him the recommended dosage at 2:30p this past Saturday. I waited the hour as I was instructed. Arlo was laying in the hallway, calm and relaxed. I was even more hopeful to see that. I laid down beside him on the floor and stroked his back. He was loving it. I deliberately let me hand fall to his thigh. No problem. I then went down to his elbow. In an instant he jumped up and hugged the wall behind him. I tried to calm him back down but he was on high alert.

I gave him a treat and placed the clippers on the floor beside me. He smelled them and hugged the wall again.

He avoided me the rest of the day. :(

Someone must have really hurt him badly in the past. It’s so sad.

I texted the vet again and explained what happened. She advised that some dogs need to be mildly sedated for a nail trim and would have some meds ready for me to pick up.

This Saturday, I will try again with the stronger meds.