Hardwood floors + dogs = ruined hardwood floors. When we purchased our new house, I was excited that there were hardwood floors throughout and I was determined to make sure this sad equation didn’t come true for us.
I looked online and found that people recommended booties. Well, there is no way my dogs would tolerate booties on their paws for more than 5 minutes. Even if they did, I didn’t want to have to bother putting them on and taking them off every time they want to go outside.
I needed something that required little time on my part and something that my dogs would easily tolerate. That’s exactly what I found when I came across Soft Paws.
Soft Paws are nail caps that you glue on your dog’s or cat’s nails to prevent them from stratching floors, people, or even themselves. Each kit comes with 40 nail caps and 2 tubes of adhesives. That’s enough for 2 applications if you apply them to all 4 paws or 4 applications if you put them on front paws only. The nail caps stay in place for 4-6 weeks (they should be removed after a maximum of 8 weeks if they haven’t fallen off).
They are quite easy to install:
1. Trim the nail tip with dog nail clipper with safety stop
2. Fill nail caps 1/3 full with adhesive
3. Slide nail caps onto nail
4. Observe dog for 5 minutes before release
I was curious to see how my dogs would react to Soft Paws. They don’t usually tolerate anything on their paws so I thought they might try to chew them. We followed the instructions carefully, glued them in place, and hoped for the best!
They were really easy to install. The only initial difficulty was to figure out how much adhesive to put in each nail cap. Instructions say to fill 1/3 of the cap with adhesive but it’s difficult to see if you’ve put enough or too much. After a couple nail caps, we figured it out. It might be easier to try clear nail caps at first so you can see exactly how much adhesive you’re putting and how it fits on your dog’s or cat’s nails.
After 3 weeks of use, I can now confirm that Soft Paws are amazing! Not only do my dogs tolerate them but they stayed on and required no maintenance.
However, after about 1 week, one of my dogs who is more prone to skin irritation had a reaction around his cuticle (the skin at the very top of the nail). I wasn’t sure what caused it because both the nail cap and the adhesive are non-toxic and shouldn’t cause an allergic reaction and the reaction was only on one paw, around 2 nails (if it were an allergy, you would expect to see the same reaction on all 4 paws). I could see that it was bothering my dog because he would try to lick or chew on his nail cap so I contacted Soft Paws.
They knew exactly what was happening: the nail caps were too long and were pushing against the skin. They told me to remove the caps by trimming the tip of the nail, then gently cutting a slit along it until I could peel it off safely. I did so and the irritation is now gone.
The Soft Paws team informed me that it is very important to make sure the nail caps are not pushed against the cuticle. If they are too long, you can simply cut the open end a little bit to get the perfect fit. I will definitely take the time to custom fit them next time to avoid running into the same problem.
Despite the small setback, I am very pleased with Soft Paws. I am glad I found a product that is safe for my dogs and that they forget about! Plus, Soft Paws are affordable, take only a few minutes to apply and they give you peace of mind and scratch-free hardwood floors. Soft Paws have become a new essential product for our dogs and I’m already getting ready to order more!
If you have a dog or a cat, you must check them out! Head over to Soft Paws’ website and don’t forget to like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter for the all the latest news, promotions!
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This post currently has 10 responses.
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Rachel
Yes, they are definitely hardwood floor savers! Do get them and let me know how you like them 🙂
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This is something I have never heard of before. Interesting concept. It’s wonderful to hear of their customer service! Are they still sharp enough to scratch and itch?
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Hi Tara! To answer your question, yes my dogs can still scratch. Obviously the nail caps are not as sharp as nails (that’s the whole point!) but my dogs don’t seem to mind and don’t scratch compulsively so I think the nail caps don’t interfere too much.
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Amy Peschel
My husband bought these for our 3 pom’s about 4 wks ago from Ebay. They are great! We also have hardwood floors. We aren’t worried about the floor, they haven’t been damaged. It’s when I’m trying to sleep, their nails on the floor seem so loud (I’m told I am crabby if I don’t get my sleep). At first, they seemed a little confused, but after walking in them for about 10 min., they were fine with them. They haven’t even tried to take/chew them off. They do get their nails polished when groomed, so I don’t know if that helped or not. These are worth the money.
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Yes, totally worth the money! I’m glad you like them too. Did you get colorful ones?
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Alex
How long can you keep a set of Soft Paws on your dog or cat’s nails?
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Hi Alex! The nail caps are supposed to stay in place 4-6 weeks and they fall off. If they haven’t fallen off after a maximum of 8 weeks, you have to remove them yourself following the procedure that I explained in my review: trim the end, cut a slit along the side, and peel it off.
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Interesting. We have hardwood floors as well so if we had a dog, I would definitely look into these. Thanks for the review!
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Hi Emily! Thank you for the review. I am happy I was able to assist you with your issue. We strive to provide excellent customer service and do our best to answer any questions that may arise. We have been selling SoftPaws online for over 15 years and have a vast wealth of knowledge, what we don’t know we can find out! Plus we have exclusive colors you cannot find anywhere else.
Thanks again!
Elizabeth
SoftPaws Customer Service
I need some of these for my dog and my cat. Both of them don’t mix well with my hardwood floors.