Like most tripods, my dog has some trouble with bare wood floors and I've been looking for ways to help him feel confident about keeping his balance. We've mostly just been making do with a patchwork of rugs, but that isn't the ideal solution for me because of my allergies. So I bought two different brands of “paw pads” to try them out.

The first kind was Puppy Love Paw Pads, a circle of thin, textured neoprene with a medical grade adhesive backing that you stick on the bottom of the foot. It cost about $25 for a package of 32. They worked great! He was zooming around on the wood floors with no trouble at all and didn't even seem to notice them. Unfortunately, the ones on his back feet both fell off by the same evening–one almost immediately, and the other by the end of our evening walk (the package said they should stay on for 3-4 days or more). Not exactly cost effective.

So I tried another brand, Paw Pads Self Adhesive Traction Pads. These are smaller individual stickers–one for each of the metatarsal/-carpal and digital pads, $8 plus shipping for a package of 40 (enough to do 8 paws). They seemed to be a lot stickier than the other brand and when I put them on yesterday afternoon I was cautiously optimistic that they might stay on a little longer. They worked just as well, but this morning all that's left of them is one measly sticker that's barely hanging on.

The ones I put on his one front paw stay on a little better, but it's the back end that needs help. Perhaps an older, less active dog that's just suffering from joint issues might get keep them on for longer, but my dog is just too active, especially with his hopping gait. I would probably worry about microbial growth and irritation if they did stay on that long, anyway, but hey–it was worth a shot, right?

I do wish I'd had them for right after his amputation, however–not for home, but for trips to the vet. The floors at the vet school are pretty slick, and while he does fine with them now (actually, he's been dragging the techs all over at top speed–I swear, he really does know better!) he had trouble with them for the first month or two post-op. They'd have been perfect for chemo/bloodwork days.