Small Animal Rotating Intern University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri
The Evaluation of Two Commercially Available Paw Traction Products for Dogs. Fox EA, Fox DB, Hutcheson KD, Torres BT. University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbia, MO.
Paw traction is critical for dogs, as they perform a wide range of activities on a variety of surfaces. However, little research is available on traction enhancing products (TEP) in dogs. The objective of this study was to evaluate two TEP on both different floor surfaces and at different simulated body weights. Our hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference in the coefficient of traction (CoT) between the products on various surfaces and between weights. A dog paw analog (DPA) and phantom limb (PL) were constructed. CoT measurements occurred with the DPA alone, the DPA with a rubberized membrane (pA), and the DPA with rubberized granules (pB). Testing occurred on five surfaces (tile, hardwood, granule-epoxy, cement, and carpet) using three simulated limb weights. Normalized values were used for comparison (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between the CoT of DPA+pA and DPA+pB on all surfaces for each weight. Weight changes affected the CoT of DPA+pA to a greater degree than DPA+pB. The results of this study support our hypothesis that CoT would differ between products on various surfaces and with different weights. The main limitation is that only translational traction was evaluated. Investigation into rotational traction is warranted. Overall, the report here illustrates the importance of product-surface interaction and suggests that clinical performance may vary by flooring. These findings highlight deficiencies in our understanding of TEP. Further investigation into the clinical impact of commercially available TEP that may result in increased or decreased paw traction is warranted.