12/11/2023
Interesting reading, wrong footwear and slippery floors, now we know how our dogs are feeling
Today I wore my new Muckboots to walk the dogs. You might be thinking ‘who cares’, but hear me out!
I’ve been slipping and sliding around in my old Muckboots, the weather has changed, it’s rained here and all our walks are so muddy and slippery at the moment. This has resulted in my hips hurting. I know that what I’ve been doing is tensing up when I walk on muddy ground, I’m protecting myself from potential slips by holding myself differently, my glutes are in a constant state of hypertonicity and this impacts my hip flexors, resulting in my sore hips.
So why am I telling you this?
It made me think about those dogs who live their lives on slippery floors. Dogs are digitgrade animals, this means essentially that they walk on fingertips and toes rather than our flat feet, they are able to grab the ground as they walk allowing for speed and stability, have a look at slow-motion videos of greyhounds running, you can see them digging in and almost grabbing the ground as they run. I’m sure you will have noticed how well they manage on slippery ground, digging in with their claws.
Now imagine what would happen if you stepped onto a slippery surface whilst standing on your toes, you would be unable to grip, your toes would tense up, followed by your calves, then your hips, do you see where I’m going with this? My hips feel much better today after one walk with my new boots (they’re the ones on the top), I wasn’t slipping around and now my muscles are able to relax and their resting tone is soft, this means I’m far less likely to suffer from muscular injury as my muscles are not held in a permanent state of tension.
Dogs who live on slippery flooring suffer from far more muscular injuries than dogs who don’t. You can remedy this by putting down non-slip mats on hard floors, especially in areas where your dog is more likely to slip such as by the front and back door and by the sofa or bed. Or consider carpet if you’re redecorating. Your dog will thank you!
