Laurie's Blogs.
Jun 2015
ToeGrips Commentary
Dear Laurie,
Thank you so much for including ToeGrips in your training series! I loved hearing your take on ToeGrips vs booties and appreciate the opportunity to share some of my thoughts.
A client of mine came up with the idea for ToeGrips, and for me, it was love at first sight. Since dogs use their nails for traction, I was instantly attracted to the idea of working with the dog’s natural biomechanics.
I see the product as superior to booties in 5 areas:
1. Unlike booties, they don’t interfere with conscious proprioception.
2. Dogs sweat through their paw pads. ToeGrips rest only on the nails and don’t cover the paws.
3. Because ToeGrips don’t cover sensitive tissue, most dogs never seem to notice them. Even dogs who won’t tolerate boots/socks often tolerate ToeGrips.
4. Unlike booties, which much be taken on and off at frequent intervals, ToeGrips can be worn for 1-3 months (though we stress the importance of a daily visual inspection for positioning—detailed below).
5.ToeGrips aren’t bulky and don’t interfere with “break over” (to borrow a term from the the equine world).
I really liked your description of how to position ToeGrips, and in fact, it’s really the only way to do it. The bottom of the grip must be in contact with the ground to work. It’s illustrated in the directions inside each package. So if the ToeGrip is sitting on the nail shaft, and not resting on the caudodistal nail tip, it becomes a decoration (a nail ring) instead of an assistive device. I’m attaching a diagram to elaborate on this common placement error. And like you, I “angle back” the dorsal aspect of the ToeGrips.
As you said, sizing is key to success. We are in the process of improving our sizing process, Dental floss is accurate, but not the most user friendly. We do have a breed chart, but it’s not practical for mixed breed dogs, nor purebred dogs who are on the edges of the bell curve. But it’s a good general guideline. A ToeGrips sizing app is our ultimate goal.
You referenced your staff member’s dog’s nail that sloughed a couple years ago. I have now received a few reports of this occurring. In these cases, we have found 2 things:
1. the dog’s nails were long
2. the owners were not monitoring
My hypothesis is that the ToeGrip migrated toward the nail bed and affected blood flow to the nail. Also, the long nails were already prone to being snagged. To my knowledge, this has never occurred in a dog where the ToeGrips were being used as directed/in their proper position.
I take “Above all do no harm” very seriously. Here are the only two ways I know of for ToeGrips to cause harm:
1. I don’t worry about ToeGrips ingestion in a dog. The material is FDA rated non-toxic and passes through. However, in the 3 years we’ve been on the market, we’ve had 2 cats obstruct on ToeGrips. One was a small kitten who ate 6 size large ToeGrips and the other was an employee’s cat who is known foreign body eater. This petite cat obstructed on one XXL ToeGrip. In our packaging, we now advise keeping out of the reach of human children and cats.
2. It is important to instruct clients to daily monitor the dog’s nails/grips/toes. This can be accomplished in a quick visual inspection for positioning. We certainly hope that message is clear on our website and in our product packaging. This is why I sell ToeGrips through my colleagues, and not through PetSmart. I believe client education on the product is very important. Though it is not a common occurrence, if a ToeGrip migrates up into the nail bed/skin it can cause complications like ulcerative sores, infection, and nail removal.
I personally don’t trim nails with the ToeGrips in place, but I know of other practices who do. I think it’s harder to “pull” the ToeGrips into position over the nail tip, vs pushing it onto the nail, so I prefer to remove the grips, trim the nails, then reapply/reuse the grips. I find it challenging to pull the grips down over the lip of the nail tip after a pedicure.
I love that you pointed out that ToeGrips are not the solution for every dog. I agree! To that end, if someone purchases ToeGrips and they are not effective, we offer a money back guarantee. We stand behind our product 110%.
In the video, I was surprised that Tank was an XS. Typically, the XS size fits 3-8# dogs. XS are certainly the hardest size grip to work with from an application stand point for obvious reasons—tiny nails, tiny dogs, tiny grips!
I laughed when you suggested saliva for lubrication during application, because that was what the inventor also used. He is a former farrier and Western woodsman, and spat in the grips before applying each one. I elected to change that for marketing purposes. Little did I know, eventually a world-renowned rehab expert would also be recommending spit! :)
One little tip I’d share with your readers, which is probably common sense and preaching to the choir—It’s important to stabilize each toe when pressing on the ToeGrips so we don’t torque the (often arthritic) toes of these dogs. In my experience, dogs mind the ToeGrips application much less than a nail trim, especially if the dog and leg are appropriately “restrained.”
Generally, the hind nails of dogs are shorter than the front nails, and the hind limbs are more important with respect to engagement/propulsion. Even if the nails don’t contact the ground while standing (which I’d be happy about! I’m a huge advocate of short nails in dogs for posture and gait), if the dog engages his paws while gaiting, the ToeGrips can still work. This dog had short nails, but you can see her “flatten” her feet through flexion and use her grips:
Finally, though the classic application is to apply with rubbing alcohol and have the ToeGrips stay on simply through friction (aka a vacuum on the nail), I do super glue ToeGrips in extenuating circumstances, such as tripawd dogs and dogs with CP deficits who drag/scuff.
We are always available by phone, email, or social media for product support!
Thank you again, Laurie!
Sincerely,
Julie Buzby, DVM, CVA, CAVCA
