Feet tightness - Page 1

Are concrete kennels bad for the tightness of a puppy's feet? Or is it more genetic?

All I can offer is my understanding, I understood that feet in pups would sprawl out a bit if the pups were low on Calcium, Bone Meal is what was suggested to me, and poof toes closed. and always have been since then as I now supplement bone meal to all dogs.

Duke, what do you mean by tightness? Concrete, as least with a slightly roughened surface does promote good traction and can prevent some joint injuries caused by doing the "splits" on a slippery floor. I guess that I need to understand tightness. I am not familiar with that. Bob-O

I assumed, and shame on me for doing so, that Duke was speaking of "splayed" toes. At least that would be what my comment was reffering to. Bob brings up good question. Maybe I also should have asked. :-)

Echo/Bob I was referring to splayed toes due to a smooth cement kennels. Toenails are kept short. Thanks for the replies.

Duke, thank you for the reply. I thought that was what you meant, but I wanted to be sure. I would think that a floor that is too smooth is not good for developing feet, as the toes may naturally splay due to a slick surface. Just a theory, I know. I have seen puppies briefly do this when placed on a new slick hardwood floor due to my lack of judgement while a client was present. Of course that type of floor is much more slippery than a concrete floor, I would think. But I do know that a sealed concrete floor can be very slippery. My kennel floors were always wooden floors, and I never had feet problems. But they are tougher to sanitize, that is for sure. The new kennel will have concrete floors, but I will use an overlay to provide some cushion. Maybe you can purchase some rubber matting such as is available at a farm supply store. There are interlocking tiles made for kennels available on some websites. You can also mix fine sand with a water-based epoxy concrete floor paint and roll that in place. Just be sure that it is a fully curing formula and not allow a puppy on it until it is fully cured and washed a few times. Just some suggestions, but no real answer. Good Luck, Bob-O

It is genetic. I raise my dogs and puppies on concrete, yet their feet are tight as they could be. Ajay Singh

Good, tight feet are genetic as Ajay said. If one or both parents have flat feet, the odds are so will you dog. Many times dogs with flat, spayed feet will also have long, weak pasterns. Some flat footed dogs may improve a little if they are housed on pea gravel. A hard surface is not good for a flat footed dog. Frankly, I don't care for a hard surface for any dog and much prefer pea gravel for all dogs other that rock eaters.

I concur with Patiala. BSZS V19 Ian Von Fidelius produces those nice tight paws in his progeny. Stephen