Ideas for old dog slipping on floor boards

[fiveplusone]

Hugo has been wearing alternate booties for a while now (on one back leg at a time, then take it off and put on the other back leg) to give him traction on our timber floor boards. I've used them on and off for a few years without problems but now he's developed an open sore when I took it off last night.  I'm about to order a load of carpet runners to put around our very large house, but just wondering if anyone has any other ideas. Socks dont stay on his feet, and I've seen different sticky pad things, and wax you put on their paws which is supposed to help, but Im thinking they would probably all be useless?   Its going to cost a lot to get the rugs, but I figure it will be cheaper then him really hurting himself and needing multiple vet treatments, and its about his safety first anyway not money. 

 

Any ideas??

[Rebanne]

No ideas here sorry. I have mats down in the kitchen on the lino and they do work well

[BDJ]

I have a dog who thinks my floors are lava - watching a rough coat collie walk backwards navigating corners, chairs, tables and everything else is somewhere between hilarious and 'seriously - what the hell are you doing?'.  If she is within a few feet of a rug/mat she will go backwards.  Otherwise she is 'stuck'.  She will only go forward on the floor if  the doorbell rings (then she runs barking without any issues until she remembers where she is in which case she is 'stuck'.)  And by stuck, I mean she will just stand totally stationary just moving her eyes - I left her there one day to see if she would work it out for herself (either backwards or forwards) - nope 30 mins later I gave her a carpet tile path (and now have one to the front door )

 

My solution is to have a couple of large rugs in the family room so she can lie down/play etc , and then use a series of carpet tiles to create 'pathways' throughout the house.   The cheapest V nicest option I found was at Bunnings.    They have squares and rectangles (both work, but I tend to use the rectangles).  They are 1m x 25cm and have enough weight and a solid backing (thick rubber) that they don't move, but can easily be picked up and moved for floor washing and vacuuming.   I have paths throughout the kitchen/dining/family room and up the 2 hallways.   She is confident enough happily walks/trot around on them.   

 

Picture for example (please excuse grotty floor and the 'needs to be groomed' dog - we went to the beach this morning so didnt bother to do the floors until I bath one and brush the sand out of the other )

 

 

[Loving my Oldies]

I’ve gone through this for the past few years with Sooty and it is getting worse.  I bought runners through AU Rugs on line.  They have to be cotton so I can put them in the washing machine - there is not a lot of choice.  Long ago, I did try one of those polypropolene runners (for looks mainly),but they eventually start getting smelly permanently no matter how many times you hose them down and expose them to the sun.  
 

I even tried those toe grips (which extraordinarily I had forgotten about until I saw your topic) and will see if I still have them.  They come off, of course, and are not cheap.  
 

Some time ago, I started a thread regarding the growing weakness in Sooty’s legs and in that @tdierikxsuggested Robert Jones Splint Bandaging.  I tried various things with Sooty without success, sadly.  
 

I do hope you can find something that works for Hugo.  

[fiveplusone]

Thanks everyone.  why do our dogs have to get old. 

I've ordered a load from Ikea (Hubby will pick up tomorrow).  The jute hall runners for the front hallways will look nice anyway, and will tie in with the jute rug in the next room, but I got grey non slip runners for our kitchen and lounge, middle room and miss24s room. We have lovely jarrah floor boards...which I hate because they show every speck of dirt, smudge or mark, so while they won't look aesthetically pleasing, they will disguise all the smudges lol.  At the end of the day, I dont give a rip what it looks like, as long as Hugo is safe and comfortable.  

[Boronia]

I saw this stuff ages back @fiveplusone maybe worth a go https://silverglide.com.au/product/paw-friction/

also these  https://toegrips.com/   https://shop.toegrips.com/products/toegrips  <--- oh-ho the shipping is $70+ so let's just forget about the toe grips

I just has another search and they are available in Australia with free postage https://www.holisticanimalphysio.com.au/product/toe-grips-sizes-xs-xxl/

 

here's the sizing chart

How to measure your dog’s nails for ToeGrips:

 

Step 1: Wrap a piece of dental floss around the midshaft of the toenail.

Step 2:Hold the floss, wrapped around the nail circumference, with one hand.

Step 3: Use a Sharpie® to mark across both pieces of floss. This will generate two points.

Step 4: Stretch the floss and measure the distance between the two points in millimeters.

 

Step 5: Repeat for all weight-bearing nails on one front and one back paw.

Step 6: Based on the range of measurements obtained (not the average), use the chart to select the proper size. Occasionally, a dog may require a combination of two sizes.

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Boronia

[Papillon Kisses]

This website https://caninearthritis.co.uk may help you as well as their accompanying Facebook page and groups. Sending love to Hugo!

[Gretel]

I’ve used rubber backed vet bed around the house to help.