Dog Afraid of Nail Clippers: Yogi's Hilarious Random Fear

Is your dog afraid of something totally random? Mine is. Here's my dog, Yogi!

That sweet, adorable Bichon Frise is hilariously afraid of nail clippers. And, by the way, I don't mean the nail clippers that are meant for dogs. No! He's afraid of these.

MY nail clippers!! The one I use on my own paws - not his.

His fear of those nail clippers is so bad, he will flee the scene immediately if I go to the restroom to get them out of the drawer. Honestly, he's memorized the sound of the top left sink drawer opening in my downstairs bathroom. Somehow, he knows that's where those nail clippers are stored and he freaks the hell out if I exit the bathroom holding them. It's like I am Leatherface and just found my Texas chainsaw.

This happened - again - just a couple of days ago. Yogi was sprawled out on the couch taking a nap. He looked very peaceful. I'm guessing he was dreaming of getting a pup cup from Dairy Queen or he was somewhere in doggie la-la-land dry-humping something.

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At any rate, while he was off in peaceful slumber, I discovered a toenail on my left foot that needed some serious attention. I got up, walked to the other side of the house, and retrieved my clippers from the forbidden, devil drawer.

I walked back to the couch and sat down next to Yogi with the clippers. Now, remember! These are my clippers. They're not the ones I use on him.

When he saw them, he jumped up with this Jamie-Lee-Curtis-just-saw-Michael-Myers look of horror. Then, in about a millisecond, he darted up the stairs to the master bedroom. All because I was about to clip a tiny toenail that was snagging my new Tommy Hilfiger socks I bought on clearance at the Burlington.

But, like a good dog dad, I put the clippers away and went up to check on him. Yogi was hiding on the other side of my bed. In absolute terror. What the what? Why?

I'll confess. I have some random fears too (clowns, mustard, cottage cheese). But those are legitimate. Yogi has no reason to be afraid of my nail clippers because he's never had a single interaction with them. I suppose it's possible that the sound of mine does mimic the sound of the ones the groomer uses on his paws? That's the only explanation I can think of.

Maybe he doesn't like having his nails clipped. Maybe watching me clip mine is a trigger for him. Who knows?

What I do know is this. When my feet start to look like those of a wolverine, I can't address the problem in front of my dog. I have to sneak off to the other side of the house, shut the bathroom door, and clip my nails far removed from an overly dramatic Bichon Frise.

What about you? Do you have a dog that's afraid of something random and bizarre?