WHAT’S THE SCORES ON THE FLOORS FOR PAWS?

If you’re thinking about getting a dog or you are already the proud owner of a furry four-legged friend, you may be forgiven for thinking that laying tiled,

laminate, or wooden flooring is the best way to keep your home clean and tidy. Let’s face it, we don’t want our pooches traipsing a whole lot of mud into the house and walking it into the beige carpets now do we? But have you ever considered the harm that these hard slippery surfaces might be doing to your dog’s musculoskeletal health?

There are so many things to think about if you’re considering buying a dog. For example, what kind of food should you feed them? How long should you walk them? Which is the best harness or lead to use or which training method should you adopt? Ensuring that you have pooch friendly flooring fitted at home is probably not the first thing on your mind when choosing your new dog, but here’s why it should be.

CANINE ANATOMY

Dogs are digitigrade animals which means that they literally walk on their toes.

Digitigrade animals have longer tarsal and carpal bones (these are the long bones which you find in the back of your hand and on the top of your feet). Their ankle bone, which is called the hock, is set higher than ours. This conformation gives them extra leverage when propelling themselves forward, which makes them faster. Because digitigrades walk on their toes, they have less surface area touching the floor, which makes them lighter and quieter on their feet; very handy when you’re creeping up on your prey. Humans are plantigrade animals which means that we walk on the soles of our feet. We have more surface area touching the ground, making it easier for us to grip, which gives us a more stable stance. Because dog’s feet have less surface area touching the floor, it makes them less stable, although having four legs helps to offset the deficit. You may have also noticed that dogs aren’t too good at climbing, although I’m sure there are always exceptions to the rule!

Your dog’s claws also play an important part when it comes to walking and running. They provide them with extra grip, a bit like the spikes you might find on the bottom of your golf shoes, or the studs on the bottom of your football boots. However, if you’ve ever tried walking on a shiny hard surface with your football boots on, you’ll know how hazardous it can be!  So, it’s little wonder that our dogs find navigating slippery flooring somewhat tricky.

While we’re on the subject of claws, let’s talk about dew claws.  There is a widely accepted belief that these serve no purpose other than to cause inconvenience and injury to dogs.  This is not the case! Dew claws, especially the front ones, (not all dogs have dew claws on their hind legs), help to stabilise the carpal joint when the dog is running and are used to provide extra grip on the ground when turning at speed, so unless there is a legitimate medical reason, dew claws shouldn’t be removed.

Did you know that a dog’s front paws are slightly larger than their back paws? Go and check your pooch if you don’t believe me. There are a couple of theories as to why this is the case. One theory is that they need a larger surface area at the front to be able to support the additional weight of their head and shoulders. Another theory is that they use the front paws to burrow in the ground so that they can catch burrowing prey such as rabbits.

So now that we know a little bit more about the anatomy of our dog’s paws, we can understand why walking on hard, slippery surfaces is so difficult for them. Watching a dog static running on a slippery surface like Scooby Doo might appear at first to be comical, but if you knew what damage could be done to your beloved pet, you won’t be laughing long. Dogs simply can’t get a grip on hard slippery flooring and falling on slippery surfaces can cause back injuries, cruciate ligament injuries, sprains, and strains as well as aggravating orthopaedic issues such as arthritis and hip and elbow dysplasia. All of which cause pain and misery to your dog and pain and misery to your bank balance. Some dogs can also develop a phobia of walking on hard slippery surfaces because they associate it with hurting themselves. Once bitten, twice shy as the phrase goes!

SOLUTIONS

If you already have laminate, wooden, or tiled flooring in your home, there are a lot of options which can transform your home from a canine health and safety nightmare into a safe haven. Runners or rugs can be put down in the areas where your dog walks, and they can be a stylish addition to your home décor. Please remember to ensure that they have non-slip backing, otherwise your pooch will continue to slip and slide. There are even options to purchase machine washable rugs and runners. If you do decide to put runners down, don’t forget to pay attention to areas like the bottom of the stairs where a lot of houses change from carpet to laminate flooring. This area is particularly hazardous, as most dogs run down the stairs at a rate of knots before making a sharp turn to the left or the right. A good canine massage therapist can often tell which side your dog’s turn at the bottom of the stairs if you go from carpet to laminate flooring in your home.

Alternatively, you may also consider replacing your floors with special textured flooring, specially designed with your pooches safety in mind. This type of flooring is often found in veterinary surgeries.

You can even purchase dog socks which have non-slip grips on the bottom so stop them from slipping but be mindful that many dogs don’t like having their paws covered. Dogs also have sweat glands on their paw pads which help them to keep cool, so covering them up may interfere with this process.

Other things you should consider is keeping your dog’s claws trimmed to a suitable length. Always get a professional to do this unless you know exactly what you are doing. You also need to ensure that the fur between their paws is kept trimmed, so that it doesn’t cover their paw pad, as they will have even less grip.

Summary

I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to consider what flooring you have in your home if you have a dog. Hard slippery surfaces are not a ‘potential’ hazard for your four-legged friends, they are an ‘absolute’ hazard. Keep your dog healthy and safe in the home and I mean no offence when I say this…. But get a grip!    

Author Tracey McElroy-Baker Owner Of The Clinical Canine Massage Company

Case Study - Putting the Bounce Back in Benson’s Step

Benson, the beloved pet of Catherine and Terry, is a 7 year old Flat Coat Retriever. Aged 3 and a half, he developed bilateral lameness in his fore legs and limped constantly. In addition to his lameness, he had other symptoms that concerned his owners, including:

- Lack of enjoyment on walks

- Stopped playing with his friends when out

- Limping exacerbated when out for more than 15 minutes

- Stiffness after rest

- Struggling to rise after rest

- Becoming old before his time and withdrawn

Benson had various tests including x-rays and scans to try to identify the issue. Unfortunately these all came back inconclusive and Benson was diagnosed with suspected bilateral elbow dysplasia. His vet advised against invasive treatment and offered lifelong NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). His owners also tried hydrotherapy, laser therapy and physiotherapy. Sadly nothing seemed to really help and they watched Benson become progressively worse over time.

Benson Discovers Clinical Canine Massage Therapy

I met Benson when he was around 5 years old. His owners contacted me regarding the possibility of helping him and came to my clinic for a free muscular health check. Upon palpation, I found Benson had various areas of muscular dysfunction including myofascial pain, strains and extreme hypertonicity. These areas of dysfunction were consistent with injuries from slippery floors. When querying this with his owners, they confirmed that they had wooden floors throughout their house. I explained that these floors would have a significant impact on Benson limping as he was constantly slipping with every step. This is due to dogs walking digitigrade (on their toes). For dogs to gain purchase to move they push out very slightly with every step. When faced with a slippery floor whether it be laminate, tiled or in Benson’s case wood, this natural movement is exacerbated and they repeatedly put their muscles and joints under strain by pushing them further than their normal range of movement would allow. Over time this can cause repetitive injuries increasing risks of strains, sprains and muscular dysfunction which in turn can cause lameness and limping in your dog. 

I suggested they purchase some non-slip runners and rugs to enable Benson to have an access path throughout his house that eliminated him walking directly on the wooden floors. Catherine and Terry seemed sceptical at the time but said they would give it a go if it meant helping their beloved boy.

Whilst waiting for Benson’s veterinary consent form to be signed, allowing me to treat Benson with Clinical Canine Massage, I received a call from Terry to say that they had purchased the runners and were amazed to see that they had already had an effect on Benson’s limping. He was excited to see how Benson would respond to his massage sessions and to see if they had finally found a treatment plan that was going to help him.

As a member of the Canine Massage Guild our ethos is that we will refer the dog back to their vet if no improvement is seen within 1-3 treatments. This was not the case though for Benson as results and improvement were seen by his second treatment. During his sessions I used specific myofascial release techniques to release painful, bound muscles and fascia promoting correct movement and reducing pain. It is important to remember that every session of Clinical Canine Massage is bespoke and specific to the individual dog. There are no routines that we follow, we just treat what we find and work with the dog so they get the most out of their session. Like many dogs I treat, Benson will now present me with his area of discomfort at the beginning of the session. I always honour this and treat that area first before continuing with the rest of the session.

The Results 

After just three sessions Benson was:

-        No longer limping

-        Enjoying his walks again

-        Playing with his friends when out

-        No longer stiff after exercise

-        No longer struggling to get up

-        Happy again and no longer depressed

Catherine and Terry are overjoyed with the results they have seen in Benson. The combination of runners and massage therapy helped to address Benson’s areas of repetitive muscular dysfunction and give him his spark back. Benson’s owners see regular sessions of Clinical Canine Massage are vital for his ongoing health and wellness routine. He no longer needs pain relief and his vet is really pleased with his progress.

The Owner’s View

Catherine recalls "Benson developed an increasing bilateral front leg limp from the age of 3. After X-rays and a CT scan, we were advised against invasive treatment and offered lifelong painkillers. We were very disappointed for him and afraid we would lose him as he deteriorated. By chance we met Louise and she fully assessed him using her holistic approach. She explained that our wooden floors were exacerbating his problems and we should put runners down to stop him slipping alongside regular massage therapy. To be honest, whilst impressed with the effect of massage, we were sceptical about runners so brought budget ones to test out. Within three days Benson stopped limping, we were truly amazed and totally convinced. We immediately brought a large rug for the lounge and matching runners for the walkways. With these and ongoing massage therapy we now have our happy, lively boy back and couldn't be more thrilled for him and us. We would recommend every owner encompassing canine massage into their dog's health and wellbeing routine"

Author - Louise Skelton Owner Home Counties Canine Massage Clinic