Are Toe Grips OK for healthy dogs?

[Kelly & Zoe]

This may not be a medical issue per se, but we recently changed most of the carpeting in our house to hardwood and tile, and Zoe is slipping like crazy.  We use Musher's secret often as well as keep her nails and hair between her pads trimmed, but she's still losing traction when running around the house.  I recently was looking at these: http://www.toegrips.com, but it states "Designed for senior, arthritic, and special needs dogs",  and I read a comment somewhere that they shouldn't be used for 'healthy' dogs (?) which seemed odd to me.  I don't think I can get Zoe to wear booties, and I don't really want to cover up the new beautiful floors with a bunch of mats and throw rugs, so I was wondering it anyone had experience with these, or any other suggestions?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I knownothing about toe grips but maybe you could contact the company to see why they say it is not for healthy dogs. I wonder if Musher's Secret, which I think is waxy, might make Zoe slip more.

[Kelly & Zoe]

Good point, I will contact the manufacturer about that.

[Stella]

I don't see why you shouldn't use toe-grips on healthy dogs. I have recommended them to clients whose dogs slip on hardwood floors. However, if you are trimming her nails correctly and they are short enough to not touch the floor, the toe grips won't work. They only work on nails that are long enough to contact the floor - which is longer than they should be! Most people end up buying carpet runners and rugs, it is the only way to guarantee your dog won't slip. Many dogs injure themselves slipping on hardwood or laminate flooring :(

[Kelly & Zoe]

Truth be told, we leave the nail trimming to the groomer who does it every 8 weeks.  She was just groomed, so her nails *should* be trimmed - but, what is the recommended 'length' for nails and how do I properly measure that?  Probably more of a grooming discussion now than a medical one -

[Stella]

Nails should be trimmed pretty much every two weeks. When they are standing, the nails should not be touching the floor, and when walking you shouldn't be able to hear the nails clicking on the floor. Most groomers will do 'nails only' for $5-10, so it might be worth taking her in more regularly just for nails if you aren't brave enough to do it yourself!

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

I don't see why they wouldn't be fine for healthy dogs, but they look like an absolute nightmare to put on and I think that not many dogs would want something sitting on their nail like that. Also, in a young and healthy dog I would imagine most of their slipping and sliding usually comes from the hair being too long in between and around their pads. 

On my big 12-year old, Mel, we use these. They are fantastic. His back legs are weak and these have been fantastic at preventing him from slipping on the floor. I also use them for Tenley who recently tore both back paw pads-- they are good at protecting feet from hot pavement.

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&...

[Kelly & Zoe]

Yeah, her hair is cropped pretty close in the pads right now.  The Toe Grips weren't that expensive so I thought I'd just give them a try - thanks!

[Kelly & Zoe]

FWIW, this is the response I received back from Customer Support "

 You are exactly right that we do not recommend ToeGrips for young, healthy, active dogs.  This is for 3 reasons:

1. ToeGrips don't stay on well in active dogs and are more likely to shift because of her nails digging in to the ground when she is playing outside.

2. Inherently, we don't want to interfere with the normal gait of a healthy dog, in any way.

3. Dr. Buzby is concerned that ToeGrips could actually provide "too much" traction, particularly outdoors.  This may even predispose to toe injuries.  We've never seen this happen, but if your dog plays outside, we don't want to add anything to the nail which could "snag" in the turf/earth.

We have had an occasional customer use ToeGrips for very specific situations where they actually put them on and take them off as needed, multiple times a day.  However, I suspect this would get frustrating fast.  In your situation, strategically placed throw rugs are probably your best bet.  I'm sorry I can't be of more help!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Very informative response.

[Stella]

What a great response from the company.