SENIOR DOG

FOR THE SENIOR DOG

WALKING IS NO FUN WITHOUT TRACTION

Imagine you develop a chronic disease causing you to slip and fall while attempting to stand, you may fall causing trauma, inflammation, degeneration, pain and a reduced quality of life. You may become depressed and give up trying to get up and walk at all. Sadly this is a reality for many of our much-loved canine companions, including my own dog “Love”.

As a Veterinarian, being able to give back a quality of life to my patients and their loving families is an incredible feeling. I have had the privilege to work with my father Scott McHenry who worked with Mechanical Engineers to come up with a way to stop slipping and falling at home. The results and testimonials have been life changing for my patients, their owners and also for us, since we were able to use the product on “Love”.

The ultimate goal is to improve quality of life in our pets and patients, who we love dearly. It is important to remember that although slipping occurs more often in our senior dog, age itself is not a disease! This article will focus on the negative impact slipping and falling and the struggle has on our pets and patients. As well as critical importance of stopping this action as part of multi-modal treatment, and how Dog Toe Treads work.

Problem is lack of traction

There are many factors that contribute to chronic disease, causing our senior dog to slip, slide and fall. They occur over an entire lifetime and can create significant degeneration and weakness. Some factors include stress, inflammation, degeneration, even basic wear and tear takes a toll on our bodies. Keep in mind there are various causes of acute and chronic diseases causing slipping and sliding, and all pets with these symptoms should be carefully and fully evaluated by a veterinarian, to determine the underlying cause and proper treatment.

When we consider the weakness occurring in our senior dog and the fact that most of the flooring we have in our homes have a slippery surface, it’s no wonder they have trouble getting up from laying down and also walking around. When they feel a lack of traction situation, such as an encounter with hard flooring, they will extend their nails trying to get a grip. Unfortunately their nails against hard flooring has the opposite effect and they end up exerting a large amount of energy, struggling and falling.
The senior dog struggles with this problem especially when transitioning from laying down to standing up and vice versa. I have even seen patients legs splay out to the sides while standing to eat or drink. 

Treatments & Management

Treatment and management of diseases that cause slipping and sliding require a multi-modal approach. This means that a combination of different treatments are needed to provide a reduction in pain and suffering, in order to create a meaningful improvement in quality of life. Depending on what the underlying problem is there may be different types of treatments recommended by your veterinarian. Many pet owners are familiar with pain relievers, anti-inflammatories, supplements, physical therapy, laser therapy and even surgery. What we can’t forget is mobility support! We need to stop the endless cycle of trauma from slipping and falling. 

Many of my patients find some relief through medication and therapy. Unfortunately they also end up injuring themselves soon after just by slipping and falling doing normal activities at home. This causes them to take more medication and increase therapy sessions due to added trauma. They never seem to get a chance to catch up on their existing inflammation before adding additional trauma on top of it. This becomes part of a destructive cycle which is part of one of the leading causes of chronic pain and suffering in our canine companions, which is “degenerative joint disease”. Once you stop the trauma you can really start to see all of the other treatment modalities take effect. 

You will have to use less medication, your therapy sessions (laser/physical/acupuncture/etc ) will have a more lasting effect, and a chance to rebuild muscle and therefore strength simply by being able to use them. Providing mobility support is therefore critical  as part of a multimodal approach to treatment of disease that causes slipping, sliding and falling. Without stopping this action there will be continued inflammation, pain and degeneration leading to an accelerated reduction in quality of life. It is with great pleasure I introduce to you a game changing treatment called, “Dog Toe Treads”.

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Combined therapy effect

It has been observed by Veterinarians using the product that over time some strength is regained as dogs are more likely to be active with improved traction. The increase in activity can improve muscle tone. With less struggle and effort to stand and move, inflammation and therefore pain can naturally be reduced. Veterinarians using the device have noted that dogs receiving Laser treatments over time did better compared to only Laser treatments alone.

I was at the vet when Dr. McHenry saw my dog slipping on the tile and asked me if I wanted to try some dog toe grips called “Dog Toe Treads”. I said I do, and was I amazed! I had done a search for such an item but had not found these online. I tried booties but she wasn’t into it and chewed them off. Lucy is 16.  She is having hip issues and I have largely terrazzo and tile flooring.  Her hips were declining so rapidly and medication wasn’t helping much. I would find her splayed on the floor with no idea how long she’d been there. It was breaking my heart.  As soon as she had the toe treads on her posture changed and her hips were more aligned. She didn’t struggle so much to get up and was interested in taking walks again. I am able to give her less medicine now so she’s not so groggy. Her quality of life is much improved. Six months ago I was sure that her time was near as I couldn’t control this issue. I feel so blessed that this product gained me some extra time.  I wish I had found them sooner! They are easy to install and stay on really well. I am so happy with this product. Thanks for spotting us Doc! I’m so thankful you did, I love my dog so very much and I so appreciate this time with her.

Dog owner:  Anna Wiggers

For more information on how Dog Toe Treads work to improve mobility for the senior dog and special needs dog visit  www.dogtoetreads.com