Nail Caps for Dogs?

[mamax2]

Just wondering if anyone has tried these:

http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20051110154946/www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/larger/lg_9579_8050.jpg
Soft Claws Nail Caps for Dogs

* Protect your furniture, floors, doors, and people from scratches
* Last up to 3 months
* Help end destructive scratching
* Available in clear or black

They aren't cheap (~ $22 for 40 caps), so I don't want to get them if it's a gimmick BUT, my dog's nails are destroying my hard wood floors. We've only been in the house 2 weeks and she has scratches everywhere (the groomer trimmed her nails the day we moved too) :( Please tell me if these work or if it's just wishful thinking!

[jajacobsen]

We use these on our cats as an alternative to having them declawed. They do work. We have to re-apply then every two weeks or so. It is important taht you follow the instructions carfully in the application process, because the adhesive setting properly is important for them to stay on.

You can have them applied at a groomer's, but locally they charge about $30 each visit, so learning how to do them yourself is definitely cost beneficial!

Good luck!

[NotDesperate]

Those would never stay on my dog, assuming I could actually get them on him first! He would never sit through all of that, and then if he did, the strange feeling would cause him to chew them off. But that is just my dog.

I would think they would not last 3 months.

I don't have hardwood floors, but can they be protected with a wax or something?

[jajacobsen]

Like I said, on our cats they last two weeks. At first teh cats did not like them too much and would try to chew them off but now they are quite used to them.

For application you have to trim the dogs nails first. How is your dog about having its feet handled? I ask this because 1) our dogs are terrible and it owuld be such a struggle to trim them every 2 weeks and 2) depending on how well your dogs lets you handle its feet for nail trimming willl give you an idea of how well the will handle the application process.

Does the dog go outside much? Becuae I am not certain that the caps will stay on if the dogs are very active outside. Especially not with digging!

Could you just try trimming the dog's nails as an alternative? We have all hardwoods and out dogs nails do not scratch them, but your wood may be softer.

[boilermaker]

We tried them on our dog for exactly the same reason...he was scratching our hardwood floors like crazy.

Unfortunately, they ended up being a waste of money for us. OUr dog is very active and they just didn't stay on, no matter how much glue we used. He's go outside and play and off one would come. This happened pretty regularly.

On the plus side, he should just be making surface scatches in your floor that will come out with a good buffing. So at least it's not permanent damage.

[mamax2]

Our dog isn't terribly active - she goes on 3 walks/day and she's never left outside unattended so she doesn't really dig. She is, however, a neurotic mess, so I'm sure if she started obsessing over the caps, she'd chew them off in a heartbeat :( She also has a run built into the garage (concrete floor), so not sure if that would affect the longevity of the caps either.

As for the wood, we live in a coastal area and as a result selected engineered wood floors (not as subject to issues w/humidity, etc) so I'm not sure the whole buffing thing will work. We are pretty disappointed with the finish on the floors thus far so we're going to have a rep over to look at them. We own a flooring store so we CANNOT have crappy looking floors, kwim? Hopefully we'll figure something out.

Thanks for the input so far!

[NotDesperate]

As far as the dog being neurotic, you should try reading the new Cesar Millan book, he has helped hundreds of neurotic dogs and he may be able to help you. Good luck with the floors!