We mentioned before about Miss M's enormous webbed feet. Being part American Bulldog, she was built to clench, grab, and essentially hang off the side of a bull. While she hasn't been hanging out with any bulls lately, she still has an extra firm grip with paws that feel like fingers when she's shaking hands. Just check out those "fingers":
Unfortunately for us, this extra-firm grip is doing a number on our wood floors. She actually enjoys getting "manicures" at PetSmart, but even these trims aren't enough to prevent scratches in the finish.When we knew the pooches were spending time in the "Chicago countryside" we wanted to make sure they didn't leave any tell-tale scratches behind, and we decided to try out Soft Paws. These are clear, rubber, nail-shaped caps created to prevent scratches. They are only available online, and you need to use their sizing chart to figure out the nail size. We estimated the pooches as having XX-large nails; a pack of 40 costs around $17. The caps are fairly easy to apply. You use a glue-adhesive and stick on the cap. The caps seemed way too long for Mr B's nails, so we actually cut them down.
And they seemed too short for Miss M's nails, so we just tried to put them on the tip. The pooches waited patiently while we put them all on, and it only took about 15 minutes per dog. The dogs were able to walk well, but Miss M's feet looked a bit more gnarled than normal.
While they seemed good in theory, they really didn't stay on the pooches nails. Within the first 10 minutes Miss M had already lost 4 soft claws. When we came back from our trip, 4 days later, they had lost about 1/2 of the caps.
And some of the caps stayed on too well. They still have a couple on their feet now that we can't get off, and we're worried their nails will start growing too long. Plus, the other day I found some of the "lost" caps...in Miss M's poo.Has anyone else had success with these? Or does anyone have any other ideas for saving your wood floors?
22 comments:
Have you ever tried a dremel in between nail trims? Its the same idea as the Pedi Paw that is advertised on TV - but I haven't heard great things about that product. It may help prevent scratching since the nails are more rounded. Your pups sound really laid back - they probably wouldn't mind the dremel much, especially if they get rewarded after :)
Man we know ALL to well about scratched wooden floors. We have brazilian cherry floors and they are for sure scratched up. I try my best to keep their nails trimmed, but that is about all I try. I figured it comes with the territory...
Wags and Woofs,
Momma to Mack and Mia
Hi pooches! this is Beau here from Breakfast with the Bennetts. I have soft paws on my nails at all times. Mom had a kitty before me that was declawed before she adopted her and now that she has me she does not want to declaw me. Isn't that nice of her? Anyway she has heard of these working well for kitties but not for doggies. If you are worried about them not coming off you can take the nail trimmers and cut the tip off. this will help them come off on their own. Oh and don't worry about swallowing them they are soft plastic so that if they are accidentally swallowed they will pass on through without any problems.
She has a friend that has their dog wear muttlucks (http://www.muttluks.com)in the house. It is crazy hard to walk at first but you get used to them. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the SoftClaws I think they are great! Come and check out our blog and see my SoftClaws. They look great with my furrs.
Kitty Love
Beau
My neighbors have an american bull and they just had their hardwood floors redone. They just keep their dogs nails trimmed. And also have area rugs. We also have hardwood floors all throughout our home, with area rugs. And just keep Josie's nails trimmed. I take her to the doggie shop and they use a drill to trim them really nice. Plus, I have too since we visit the Hospital. I have no experience with anything other then keeping them short and drilled. Much love, Woof! Josie
well we must shay that your gorgeous pooches are not only bewootiful but they are furry nice and patient too
we woulda drove our mommish cwazy from all the wiggling , we get furry excitables when they touch our feet
teehee
pibble sugars and wee wags
the pittie pack
I've used them successfully for anti-itching. But I would rec'd getting the right fit - that made a big difference for Celeste. I got too large of a size the first time and they happily sent me a smaller size at no cost.
A couple were chewed off by Celeste but most stayed on for about 3-weeks before they needed replacement.
Rugs, rugs and more rugs. :)
Thanks for sharing that - I wondered how they did, but I would have expected the dogs to chew them off (and probably their nails in the process) if I tried to put them on their feet. Unfortunately I have no advice on what else to try - but I'll be interested to hear what you end up doing. :-)
Lots of throw rugs. Mom was looking for plastic nails for one of my toes! Great
have a fun day despite having plastic toes
Benny & Lily
We haves those slidey floors, too, and well, to tell you the truth - mom has just decided that our nail skritches just add character. There are some peoples that pay big bucks to get that anteek-ey look. Well, that's what she tells herself anyway.
Wiggles & WAgs,
Mayzie
Hi pooches! My name is Sunny. I heard about you on Snowy and Crystal's blog. Visit mine at sunnyspaw.blogspot.com!
Luv,
Sunny
we used the soft paws/claws on booker and asa back during the christmas holiday for a week, and they worked pretty well. i would definitely use them again.
it's just a matter of getting the sizing right, which can be tricky the first time you order. we got the XL for asa and the XXL for booker.
the other thing is when you apply the adhesive into the nail cap, make sure you squish the nail cap together to distribute the adhesive. this makes a big difference!
the booker man's mama
Wow, I hadn't heard of those before - it does seem like a good idea. We gave up on trying to save our floors. We joke around by saying they are "antiqued" like we want them to be that way :)
Oh geez, we have never had problems with any of our dogs. Bailey (staffy bull) has really tiny feet and never seems to bother my parents wood floors.
Good luck!
xo martine & the kiddlets
I trim the nails whenever I hear "click, click, click" In the winter I trim them once a week so the quick is nice and short because they don't get filed down by the cement in the winter.
We use the dremel and Stella falls asleep while I'm doing it! It's amazing how fast those bully nails can grow.
we honestly never thought of trying them
Doesn't sound like such a good idea. Like so many things, while great in theory, not so great in reality. At least you tried...
We just got our floors refinished a couple of years ago. They looked great! Problem was that we could either endure scratches in the high traffic areas or put down scatter rugs which kind of defeats the purpose of the refinishing. We opted for the scratches.
Mango Momma
Thanks for an interesting post! I haven't heard of the product over here in Australia, but no doubt it will arrive. You've provoked some interesting comments and I read them all with interest.
Only 15 minutes to get them on! Wow, that sounds like a big pain. And I was wondering if they would try to eat them, either on purpose or accidentally, so thanks for reading my mind:) We have carpet (unfortunately), so we haven't had to contend with scratches yet. I can only imagine how pathetic Levi would act if we put those on him.
I'm going for the cottage look at our house so I don't mind that my hardwood floors get scratched up; it gives them character.
There are a lot of good products for hardwood to help fix scratches like those, but I try not to use chemicals in my house because of the babies.
These area rugs really look so beautiful and classic. And we must always consider on buying a good carpet because it can really make a room stand out and make it look more beautiful. Also, we must always clean our rugs. My rugs are regularly cleaned by a shop who does carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon. Carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon offers better cleaning services at very reasonable price.
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