I haven't posted about Summit in awhile! It's hard to find much exciting to write about Summit recently, which sounds bad but in many ways is good. With an older dog that isn't doing much in the performance world anymore... quiet means nothing bad is going on healthwise! So although Summit doesn't do a whole lot of training these days, he's been healthy and his arthritis has been the best that it's been in a couple of years. I can't help but wonder if that's due to better management or less use now that he's not doing any agility.
I found this great little product that I wanted to try with him. As with many senior dogs and many greyhounds (of any age!), Summit has this little thing with hardwood floors. For the most part he has no trouble with them, but if ever he is a little unsure of something, suddenly the floors become an issue. For example, he is afraid of things falling. It can be anything, from something big and heavy, to a piece of paper. If he sees something falling, or if he even thinks something MIGHT fall, he gets nervous and he has trouble with the floors. For example, our baby gate isn't permanently attached to the wall and we often move it from one doorway to another. One time it was leaning up against a wall not being used, and for some reason it fell when Summit was near it, which freaked him out and caused him to scrabble on the floors. Now any time the gate isn't in use (like if I'm holding it and ushering the dogs into the room I want to gate off) he gets nervous and doesn't want to go by, and when he does he walks super duper fast with his feet all splayed out and nervous about the floor. This new product is called Dr. Buzby's Toe Grips, and they are used to provide traction on slippery floors for older dogs or dogs with mobility concerns.
These are great! I am loving them so far! Summit wears the XL (purple) size. He doesn't seem to mind them at all, hasn't lost any yet (it's only been a couple days though) and they really do seem to help him on the hardwood floors.
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing, will keep them in mind. How old is the fella anyhow? Hope he has many more happy and healthy years ahead.
He's doing well, thanks for asking Janette! He's been a pretty healthy dog overall (knock on wood). I am loving these Toe Grips for him though. He's really a lot more confident on the hardwood now.
Hi I am interested in your long term experience with toe grips. Have you continued to use them?
Yes, I have continued to use them on and off with Summit. I like them. I'm not super diligent about replacing them as they fall off, but he still has a few on right now from a set I put on him during the summer, so they do stay on reasonably well. My boyfriend suggested next time that we dip his nails in rubber, so I might try that just to see... but seems like it might be a bit of a messy proposition... and I think it'll wear off pretty quickly on the pavement when I walk him.
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