Some context to start. I love my dog. My landlord loves her too (or has come to think she's very very cute) but before meeting my dog, she had requested that we do something to protect her hard wood floors from scratching caused by nails. This got me very worried, and so having turned to Mr Google for solutions, came across Soft Paws, among many other things to do to prevent your dog from scratching.
Developed by a veterinarian, Soft Paws are vinyl nail caps that glue on to your dogs nails. This amazing product effectively blunts your dog’s nails to protect against problem scratching; protecting against:
- Damage to Household Surfaces: Floors, Doors, Screens, Walls and Furniture
- Canine Skin Conditions Aggravated by Scratching
- Protects You from Scratches from Your Dog
- Dogs and Their Owners LOVE Them!
I bought a pack. It comes with 40 nail caps and 2 tubes of Soft Paws branded super glue that you use to stick the Soft Paws to your dog's nails. And so I did.
It worked a charm, for a while. Until I realised that the Soft Paws which were supposed to fall off naturally didn't. The glue that comes with Soft Paws really is super glue. Over time, the nails grow as they do, and the Soft Paws formed a thick, acrylic layer over the nails, changing the way Beanie walked.
Imagine artificial nails stuck on your toenails for months without coming off. That's probably what my uncomplaining dog had to put up with. I reckon when her nails started to curl, she probably just walked much less.
Dog lovers probably won't read this blog. But over time, I've found alternatives:
- Skilled nail clipping - it's not something only the groomer does
- Dremelling - A sanding tool which files your dog's nails down straight
- A nail file - God bless Manicure, it smoothes not just your nails
Any one of these options were far less painful for Beanie, more natural, and she's still not scratching the floor.
A sharp reminder to me not to opt for the lazy way out and do the right thing for the one living thing who always looks happy when I come home.
5 comments:
I'm a huge dog lover and I was actually GLAD to read your blog entry.
I am in fact looking for something that will NOT come off the back toe nails on my dog that had back surgery! Two of her toe nails on her back paws get worn down dangerously close to the quick from her 'dragging' her back foot.
I won't have to use the caps on all her toenails, but I will be using them for her back paws.
THANKS for the feedback on this product!
Hi Angela, thanks for coming across my blog and reading my blog entry! I'm glad that inadvertently, this blog post has resulted in you finding something that works for your dog!
As it turns out, after some number of years of walking on harder asphalt (the Soft Paws fiasco was a couple years' back), my dog's back paw nails wear down naturally by themselves and most of her nails hardly need trimming anymore.
Speaking with the groomer, I've also learnt that dog's nails are like humans in the sense that if left uncut for too long, the quick tends to grow out, resulting in even the smallest nail growth poking out from the paw. If this is happening with your dog that has a very exposed quick, ironically, the long term solution would be to keep the nails short by filing regularly (3x/week) to encourage the quick to recede, or stay the same at best.
Hi Mellow Yellow,
Have stumbled upon your blog and like it very much!
Thought I'd send you a note regarding the Soft Paws nail caps for dogs.
I've got a little pug and live in an apartment with wood floors. My new landlord, like yours, was concerned they would become scratched by my dog.
I found the Soft Paws website and ordered them in 2004.
They were easy to put on and worked great.
Most of them fell off in time, but like you....I found that a couple were stuck.
I got my cuticle scissors and cut the caps from the top just alongside the nail (parallel to) and they peeled right off.
I didn't even cut all the way through....I was a little worried I'd nick her nails and she hates having them cut.
Anyway, since then if I have a cap that's stuck I use my cuticle scissors or my dog's nail trimmers.
It's easy and fast, my floors stay nice, and the evil landlord is happy!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
I had same issues. These first of all do not come off. I had to take a grinder and grind the plastic just to get them off. My dog started limping as it irratated her toes it was awful. Spent $15 at the vet luckily it was cheap just to get them off.
SO glad to read this!
We just spent 2 hours getting 2 soft paws off 2 of my dog's toes. The glue had leaked & glued his skin & hair to the actual plastic cap - they were infected :( I am heartbroken that I did this to him :(
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