A young girl took playing dress-up with her dog to a whole new level by giving her canine best friend a very professional-looking manicure.

When Wren's mom, Kay, from Ontario, Canada, walked in and saw Nova their dog sitting patiently on a table with one of her paws under a UV lamp, she didn't know what to think.

"Well, I came into the living room and saw the dog laying on the coffee table and I was about to get mad when I noticed the lamp," Kay told Newsweek. "So then I took the video."

Kay captured the resulting scene in a clip shared to TikTok under the handle @heeler.gang. In the video, Nova can be seen happily allowing Wren, aged 8, to give her a proper manicure.

Quite what inspired Wren to give Nova the makeover is unclear to her mom.

"This was the first time she's done her nails, but they often play dress-up," Kay said. "I thought it was super cute. I was surprised, although that dog does anything that kid asks and is well compensated with treats."

Wren enjoys a close relationship with her dog Nova, and that's very much a good thing.

Studies have highlighted the benefits of children having pets from an early age. In 2020, researchers from The University of Western Australia conducted a longitudinal study of 4,000 children at ages 5 and 7 to assess the impact of pet ownership.

The results, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, highlighted how pet ownership was associated with an increase in prosocial behavior and a decrease in problems with peers.

Wren has been exposed to animals from an early age. She lives with her mom on a hobby farm, and the family have four heelers, as well as a variety of other animals including a central Asian shepherd dog, five cats, a few horses and plenty of chickens.

However, since the day Nova came into the family's life in December 2021, Wren has only had eyes for one animal friend. In truth, her arrival was somewhat fortuitous.

"Nova is my brother-in-law's dog who ended up living with us," Kay said. "I didn't want her to like me more or steal her … but my daughter was home for school due to COVID so she was with her 24/7, so she kind of stole her."

Wren and Nova have been inseparable ever since. "They love going on pretend outdoor adventures," Kay said. "My daughter will pack a bag and then will adventure around the farm. They also love winter, playing in the snow, and we usually have a big sliding hill."

Nova's other big passion is swimming. "Wren likes to take her dock-diving since Nova also loves to chase the Frisbee," Kay said. "They do agility training together and play in her playhouse. Other than that, lots of snuggles and movie night together."

Little wonder then that Nova is happy to let Wren take the lead on all things beauty. Those nails do look rather fetching, too.