Ground force kinetic adaptations associated with canine boots

Abstract

Introduction: Dog boots are being utilised to improve performance and welfare of dogs exposed to a range of adverse environmental conditions however there is a lack of empirical evidence establishing the impact of these on subsequent gait kinetics. Within humans, the introduction of footwear to habitually barefoot individuals results in tenuous injury prevention benefits as, whilst footwear may attenuate ground reaction forces and provide protection, detrimental increases in the rate at which forces are applied have been noted. Hypothesis: It was hypothesised that similar to humans, the introduction of dog boots would result in altered ground force kinetics. Method: Six clinically sound beagles were analysed on two separate occasions using a cross-over study design to enable randomisation between barefoot and shod conditions. For the shod condition, dog boots were simulated through the use of a 2mm EVA pad secured using cohesive bandage. During each session, dogs were trotted by an experienced handler over an AMTI force plate sampling at 1000Hz. Within each session, 6 trials of each functional step were analysed with a valid trial defined by the complete ipsilateral fore- and hind- strike over the force plate. All kinetic data was analysed using Visual3D V5 whereby the following variables were investigated: stance time (s), peak vertical force (N/kg), peak instantaneous loading rate ((N/kg)/s) and vertical impulse ((N/kg).s). To establish the influence of footwear, as data did not meet assumptions of normality, non-parametric analysis of each variable was conducted using Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Tests (p<0.05) within SPSS. Results: No significant difference (p>0.05) was found between footwear conditions for stance time, peak vertical force and vertical impulse. Peak instantaneous loading rate was significantly greater (p=0.002) when shod (17125.017 ± 3785.652 N/s) compared barefoot (11670.877 ± 1527.149 N/s). Discussion/Conclusion: Whilst the use of dog boots may improve animal welfare through environmental protection, findings suggest that the introduction of footwear alters ground force kinetics akin to those associated with humans. Significant increases in loading rate are suggestive of alterations in foot strike that may result in overloading of musculoskeletal structures. Therefore, caution must be by handlers when introducing dog boots to ensure an adequate adjustment period.