Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Dr. Tobin,

You probably don't remember me & my dog, Roly. Your advice stopped his Lyme Disease in it's tracks, after a 2nd recurrence, back in 2000-2001. We have never forgotten.

Anyway, Roly's a very old friend, now (DOB 2/11/93), & his toe-pads aren't providing much traction on wood flooring -or some carpeting, for that matter. Our main concern is avoiding injury, but his hind-legs often slide forward, which causes him to land, behind-1st, on the floor, w/a thud, which I'm terrified may cause a fracture or break. We haven't used the "sit" command in years, because it became obviously uncomfortable -& I'm sure it would be painful, now.

Recently I came up w/the "bright" (or not) idea of dabbing a little rubber cement (yer basic Ross brand, acid free) onto as many of his toe pads as I can get to, while he's sleeping (hates having his feet touched). This works G-R-E-A-T, for a couple of hours -then it wears off.

I have 2 questions:
(1) Is the rubber cement harmful? (He's not eating it -can't reach bottoms of paws w/tongue, & shows no interest in doing so.)
(2) Can you recommend something that would work better? Last longer?

Thanks, in advance.

-Rhea & Roly

Basic info: Current weight 42-43lbs (65-70lbs in his prime) Daily feed: breakfast = 3/4cup raw ground beef mixture, lunch = 3/4 Wysong Synorgon kibble, dinner = 1/2cup raw ground venison mixture + 1/cup raw ground chickenW/small % cruciferous veggies mixed in. Plus, approx 1/2cup total, nutritious, real-food treats throughout the day. Daily meds: 25mg deramaxx 2x, 10mg of selegelin 1x, 100mg amantadine 1x, 75mg clindamycin 2xPerDay/1wkPerMth. Daily vits: 1000mg salmon oil 2x, 1200mg lecithin 1x, 500mg C e.o.d.

Roly's feet are slipping out not because there is a problem with his pads, but a problem with his hips; he is arthritic. I would suggest you give him one capsule of Longlife Pet Supplement twice a day. Also, unless you have a very specific reason for giving him clindamycin daily, I would suggest you stop it.

Two things: (1) Clindamycin, (2) Longlife.

(1) The clindamycin was prescribed (150mg 2x daily for 1wk each mth) to control dental problems.

Roly's had probably 8 teeth removed (2 dentistries: 1st around age 5, 2nd around age 11). Spring of '07, 2 teeth just fell out. I'd been advised, when he turned 14 that further dentistry could be really risky. Summer of '07 he had an enormous lypoma removed, which had begun to seriously impair the use of his right-front leg (pushing his "elbow" out, & causing him to trip). After we brought him home from that surgery it took him another 5-6hrs to be able to get up & walk around -and there were a few times when his breathing became so shallow that we were afraid we'd lost him. I fear he wouldn't survive another round of anesthesia.... The clindamycin regimen was prescribed as an alternative therapy to any further dental surgery.

A few months after starting the clindamycin, I noticed he would become unsteady, staggering around a bit. So, the dosage was reduced to 75mg 2x/daily for 1wk each month. It reduced the foul breath (so I knew it was having an impact). Anyway, if you can recommend a safer alternative, that would be great.

By the way, I've always brushed his teeth 1x daily: Tom's of Maine children's Silly Strawberry w/flouride, followed by "rinsing" w/equal parts hydrogen peroxide(3%) & warm water, which I apply w/a toothbrush in a gentle once-over on gums & teeth.

(2) I'm ordering a bottle of the Longlife, today. Once I've started him on it, how long is typical before we can "see" signs of improvement? I realize Roly's hips are the fundamental source of his feet slipping, but I'm still concerned about preventing injury due to any falls (if possible) -I think a fracture or break would be the end of it for him. He can't negotiate stairs, alone, so we have an 8ft carpeted ramp to get him down the 4 steps from the door to the yard-which we also don't allow him to negotiate alone anymore, but even the carpeting can be slippery for him. Do you think it would be harmful to continue dabbing a little rubber cement on his pads, regularly?

Again, thank you for your help.

There is no harm in continuing the rubber cement. There are booties for dog; these may give him better traction, if he will keep them on. Petco or a similar store might have some.

We spent a lot of time on the Appalachian trail, in the Berkshires, which sometimes rubbed his pads raw. So, I experimented w/booties, back then...have you ever seen the gate on a Tennessee Walking Horse? Imagine a dog doing precisely that! I have an idea for a bootie design, which would allow fuller extension of a dog's toes/claws. Just need enough spare time to construct a prototype.