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How Pet Splints Are Vital to Heal Your Dog from Injury?

Veterinary professionals may recommend or utilize splints for various reasons to aid in healing animals. To begin with, splints are usually applied below the stifle (knee) on the hind leg or below the elbow on the front leg. They provide protection and support to an injured area while keeping the leg at a normal walking angle.

Splints - Walkin' Pets

The purpose of a well-fitting splint is to prevent movement of an injured area while providing comfort and support to weakened or unstable joints. The support of a splint allows weight-bearing of the affected limb while preventing sores and other potential trauma to the injured area or joint during the healing process. For proper treatment, our Walkin’ Fit Adjustable Splint is sold exclusively to pet professionals. Accordingly, speak with your veterinary professional to see if your pet is a candidate for a splint.

Forelimb Common Conditions that May Benefit from Splints:

  • Osteoarthritis of the carpal or metacarpal joints
  • Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)
  • Polyarthritis
  • Soft tissue injuries to carpal or metacarpal tendons/ligaments
  • Carpal hyperextension
  • Carpal or metacarpal joint instabilities or malformations
  • Brachial plexus or radial nerve damage injuries
  • Neurological conditions causing knuckling of paw
  • Post-surgical protection

Hind Limb Common Conditions that May Benefit from Splints: 

  • Osteoarthritis of the tarsal or metatarsal joints
  • Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)
  • Polyarthritis
  • Soft tissue injuries to tarsal or metatarsal tendons/ligaments
  • Achilles tendon injury
  • Tarsal hyperextension
  • Tarsal or metatarsal joint instabilities or malformations
  • Neurological conditions causing knuckling of paw
  • Post-surgical protection

If your pet is a candidate for a splint, it will require extra care and attention on your part as the pet owner. Speak to your veterinarian for guidance on choosing the right pet splint for your dog’s leg injury. Therefore, monitoring the splint makes for a well-informed pet owner.

adjustable splint for dog leg
Walkin’ Fit Adjustable Splint

How Splints Help Your Dog

  • Splints keep pets mobile and protected while healing.
  • They’re comfortable to wear. A dense foam lining and comfort pads protect and cushion the paw.
  • Splints allow your dog to heal while keeping the paw in the correct position.
  • Provide joint support and stability to injured legs in limping dogs
  • Designed to allow the paw and leg to breathe with separated touch fastener straps on the front of the splint.
  • To customize splint fit, or if the pet falls between sizes, cut and use an adhesive foam sheet for improved fit.
  • Prevent paw knuckling – splint keeps the paw in the correct position and helps avoid additional injury from scrapping or dragging feet.

Important Tips & Tricks:

Do Not Allow Your Dog to Chew on Splint

Wearing a splint is a new feeling for a dog. Always supervise your dog while wearing a dog leg brace. An anxious dog may chew on straps or the splint itself because they aren’t used to it yet. If your dog is a chewer, the splint can always be sprayed with an anti-biting spray to deter nervous chewing.

Keep Your Dog’s Splint Dry

Splints must remain clean and dry to prevent moisture from sitting against the skin. If the splints get wet, allow them to fully dry before reapplying.

Other Night-Time Protection

Give your dog a break from their splint. In the evening and at night, remove the splint to let your dog’s paw breath. For night time leg protection use a Hock Hugger or Wrist Hugger to lightly support the joint.

Pets with Sensitive Skin

rear dog splint for german shepherd

Check your pet’s toes daily for any swelling. If the toes become cool or puffy, it’s possible that the splint has been applied too tightly and is impairing the limb’s circulation and needs to be removed.

Tip: To avoid over tightening when putting the splint, tighten the bottom and top strap before the center strap. Starting at the top and working your way down can lead to progressive over-tightening.

If your pet develops chafing of the skin area due to rubbing of the splint, you may have to add some adhesive foam for added cushioning. Baby powder may help soothe the affected area. As always, contact your Veterinarian with any immediate concerns.

How to Get the Perfect Splint Fit

To customize the fit of your dog’s splint (without the custom price), you can use a foam insert or talk to your vet about an adjustable splint! This adhesive-backed foam can be cut to fit any shape and even includes templates for the most commonly used shapes.

Before and After Splint Foam Kit

Use Foam for:

  • Skinny dog leg: place foam inside sides of splint for a snug fit
  • Paw won’t sit flat: build up the paw from underneath, cut and stack foam under the foot until paw is resting comfortably.
  • Prevent rub points and protect the leg or paw
  • Swollen limbs: whether swollen from injury or arthritis, if your dog’s joints are swollen purchase a size larger and adjust fit using foam.
improve dog splint fit

In summary, splints can be vital to the healing process for our beloved pets. They provide protection, support, and comfort to weakened or unstable areas. Often they are a long-term solution to a degenerative problem, where otherwise, a pet may struggle to walk. Finally, consult with your veterinary professional to discuss the benefits a splint may offer your pet.


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44 Comments

  1. I’m not telling you guys how to run your business, but here’s a suggestion that will help boost your sales, 10-fold:

    You must make a video demo’s of your products in order for potential buyers to have faith that your products will solve their issue. I found two video’s for your front splint and your hind bootie splint, however, both videos are useless to me. Because you failed to demonstrate how a dog walks in these products, you failed to convince potential buyers that your products actually solve their pets issue(s). It’s that simple.

    Watching you place the splint on the animal is a waste. There are three straps and three loops — a very obvious observation, one that we can see on your website. For this reason alone I cannot buy your product, which is very unfortunate, I might add. I’m the parent of a 10 year old English Bulldog mix, who’s recently torn CCL has caused damage to his paw, causing persistent knuckling when he walks or stands.

    • You are absolutely right, and it is something we plan to do. Did you look at the No-Knuckling Training Sock? https://www.www.walkinpets.com/no-knuckling-training-sock/
      Maybe that would help your dog. The third video on the photos/video tab on that page – all the way on the bottom – is not a good quality video, but you can get an idea of how the dog walks with it.
      I hope to have better quality videos made for our products before too long. Thank you for your input, and I hope the no-knuckling sock might be something to help your dog.

  2. Greetings, We have a two year old Berners Mountain Dog whos front limbs have grown to look like basset hound feet. I read your product info but respectfully request if you could advise if this is something for us. We opted against surgery. Thank you. Warm regards. Kimberly & Ramon

  3. We have a Rottie that is 165lbs and has bone cancer tumor on his front leg and needs a splint to assist with walking. Would your front splint work for a dog this size?

    • I would recommend measuring your Rottie for our Front Splint, but our largest splint size the XL may be too small, which would mean you may need a custom splint. But try the measuring first, to see if the XL will work. A good way to measure is to measure the width of your dog’s paw; the XL measures approximately 3 inches in width. Our Customer Service department would be happy to assist you with any sizing questions you may have, either about this splint, or with ordering a custom splint should you need to go that route: 888-253-0777.

  4. I have a 15 yo teacup Pomeranian. She broke her tibia 3 months ago and he been in a splint all this time. The vet feels that due to her age it may never fully heal. e ar.e looking for something to stabilize her leg. Will your walkin rear splint help her?

  5. I have a 14 year old corgi, we recently found out that she has degenerative myelopathy. Her back leg keeps slipping out from underneath her. I was originally looking at toe grips for her. A friend had recommended your leg splints. I am not certain which would be beneficial, the full leg splint or the short foot splint. Could you please make a recommendation.

  6. Hi,
    Do these splints work on cats?
    Any videos or testimonials from cat owners?
    I think this is perfect for my cat’s tarsal joint instabilities, but am hesitant to purchase.

  7. Hello, my Yorkshire terrier who is 11 had a slipped disc which put pressure on his chord, he has had spinal surgery, his right side is coming on nicely, but not so much his left side, his front paw is knuclinh causing him to fall over, what would you reccomend for this ? The full support leg splint ?

    Thanks again.

    • I would recommend our Walkin’ Front Splint for your Yorkie. This splint will provide support throughout the lower leg and support under the paw as well, providing protection from knuckling. Best of luck!

  8. Hello our lab-Rot (Diesel) is going to be 2 yrs. he broke his rear metacarpals in February. They removed the 5 pins 4 weeks ago, and he was placed in a temporary brace at that time. He’s been out of the brace 1 week, his bones have not califcied strong enough. Which brace would be Bretter recommend. He holds the rear leg up,

    • I would recommend either the Carpal Splint or Front Splint, depending on the level of support your dog needs. The front splint will offer additional support under the paw as well as the carpal. The Carpal Splint will keep the paw free and support just the carpal area.

  9. Hello we have a 1 year old cattle dog mix that is accustomed to 5 to 10 miles of hiking and a lot of activity every day. She has a possible soft tissue injury to her rear left hock and the vet gave anti inflammatory and told us to limit activity to only bathroom breaks for 2 weeks. Short of keeping her in her small kennel all day I am concerned with her jumping on the bed and the couch. I am hoping that you splint will help keep the injury safer during inside activities and bathroom breaks. She is 50 lbs and I measured 7.5 in from top of paw.
    Do you feel the splint will help and is medium the proper size? Thanks , Mike Villarreal

    • Before deciding on any course of action, I would highly recommend speaking with your vet for their opinion. Based on the information you’ve provided, the Hock Splint may be a good option for your pet. It will help to stabilize the carpal joint. Based on your 7.5″ measurement, the Medium would be the correct size. You may also want to consider our Walkin’ Rear Support Leash to give your dog some additional support in the rear and help to take some of the weight off that leg when you walk your dog outside.

  10. I have a 12 year-old cock-a-poo with autoimmune polyarthritis and degenerative joint disease. We keep her a mobile as possible through exercise and low diet and daily doses of prednisone. She is generally full of life enthusiastic about everyone and everything. In the last couple of weeks, her rear right knee has regularly slipped in and out of joint. I can manipulate it back into place but I fear once it has begun to slip routinely, keeping it into place while she is moving around is going to become unbearable for her. Have you had success with any dogs with similar conditions using this split or another product? Thank you so much. We sure love our baby!

  11. We have a 1 yr old red heeler mix, 22 lbs. She was a rescue, and seems to have some nerve damage causing her to knuckle on her front left leg. Beyond chiro that we are currently doing for her, can you suggest any product that can help her?

    • I would recommend our Walkin’ Bootie Splint. This splint is designed to support the lower front leg and assist your dog with paw placement, helping to protect your dog’s foot from knuckling.

  12. I have a bullmastiff who tore both CCLs about 6 years ago. She had TPLO surgery on one leg, and during the post op period, the other leg healed enough that the orthopod felt surgery was not necessary. All has been fine until she was knocked over by a packmate a couple of weeks ago. Her natural leg has gotten progressively worse. She started knuckling under sometimes and has progressed to dragging that leg. She still uses it some, and can squat in the yard, etc. Would one of your aids help support that leg for walking?

    • Our Walkin’ Rear Splints will help to support the lower leg and help protect the paw. The boot of this splint is designed to help with paw placement as well, so it will keep your dog from knuckling when it is worn. The splint is designed to support the lower leg only and will not support as high as the CCL. Many dogs with this type of injury benefit from the support of our Walkin’ Wheels wheelchair, which is designed to let your dog continue to use all four legs and help your dog get their exercise as they heal.

  13. I have a Pomchie who broke his front leg just above the wrist. Both bones are broke. I was just wondering if the front leg splint goes up to the albow. It has been 8 weeks and just 2 weeks ago it started calsifining. His splint up to his shoulder comes off in a week. I don’t feel good about it I don’t feel it is strong enough to to go with nothing after next week. That’s why I have been looking at your splints

    • Our Walkin’ Front Splint is designed to support the lower leg only. This will support as high as the midpoint between the elbow and carpal pad (that first bend in the back of your dog’s leg). If your dog’s injury requires support in the elbow as well, I would recommend purchasing a custom splint for your Pomchie.

  14. I have a 1 year old male cat weighing about 9 lbs… he has both broken paws all across (not toes)…..he is not healing well only 2 on one foot calcified and its been 8 weeks….we are looking to get permanent booties or front leg splints….as he eats and bites at the taped spooned splint from the vet and we at home find it difficult to redue them or he gets them shucked off….we can’t afford the thousands for surgries…our vet has said thought of ending his life….we can not see to do that as i have a grandson who had cerebral palsy and had many orth.braces and splints and it helped his quality of life and I think we could do the same with our cat….our vet is willing to look into finding sonething he can use to get around but can be inter changeable …..without tape… I hope we can use something from your company …the casting one for a tiny cat is little to much for us to do both paws but the Velcro bootie or walking splint is our best option. What is the best need to help a tiny cat walk again and can the velcro be placed different so its not o er the broke bone areas

  15. I have a greyhound who has chronic toe issues and an amputated toe, she has been getting a soft cast now of months per the vet. I need a permanent solution but her skin is super thin and her legs are skinny I need help.

    • I would recommend either the Walkin’ Bootie Splint or the Walkin’ Rear Splint depending on the amount of support your dog needs in the leg. Either splint will provide protection for the paw and amputated toe. We actually had a Greyhound in our office last week, and she fit in our Walkin’ Rear Splint perfectly.

  16. We have a 12 month old Male German Shepherd, he was born with vascular restriction of his right front paw which has remained smaller than normal. His foreleg is is slightly thinner, his wrist is a little smaller than it should be but is functional and has full movement, his pastern is shorter than his left by an inch or so and his pads are under developed.
    Sounds worse than it is, most people don’t notice anything wrong. His real issue is that his pad causes him a lot of pain and he won’t slow down. We have some Ruffwear boots which help a lot on walks but easily shift on his foot come loose often and rub, ideally we really need something better.

    • I would recommend our Walkin’ Bootie Splint; this will offer more support under the paw, and it is also padded with a dense foam on the inside of the splint for comfort. This will provide more support than the boots he’s using now and won’t shift around.

  17. Hi Lisa, thanks for your reply, I like the idea of a bootie splint but have an issue ordering the correct size. Zeke’s right front paw size measures 6 inches, toe nail to just below his wrist, his good paw 8 inches, which gives you an idea of the difference between his good foot and his bad. Size works out to be small, however his weight is 72 lbs and he will be 80 lbs in 12 months time, would his paw fit in a small, he is a medium sized German Shepherd Dog? His pastern length is shorter than it should be, where as his paw is almost normal width.

    • Ian – To help size him correctly I would recommend also measuring the width of your dog’s paw. Once you have this extra measurement, please call us at 888-253-0777 and one of our Customer Service Representatives can help make sure we get Zeke in the right size!

  18. Our seven year havanese/poodle broke two toes in her hind leg. She has been in a splint all the way to the top of the leg. After the last rewrapping at the vet she is having a lot of pain. I would like to try one of your boogie splints? Would it work for broken toes. One of them is weight bearing.

    • Yes, our Walkin’ Bootie Splint is a great alternative for wrapping the foot. The Bootie Splint is designed to give support to the paw and to help stabilize broken toes. Depending on the size of your Havanese/Poodle mix, she may need a smaller size than our XS Bootie Splint; in that case I would recommend our Walkin’ Rear Splint in XXS. This splint is very similar; it does go up the leg a bit higher but it will protect the toes as well.

  19. I have a 5 year old boxer that suffered an FCE. She now has rear leg paresis on the right side. I am looking for something to help her with her hind leg weakness. Is this recommended for that!!

    Thank you

    • Given your dog’s situation, she might do best with a Walkin’ Wheels wheelchair rather than a splint. The Walkin’ Wheels will help to provide support for your Boxer and continue to allow her to exercise her legs, helping to maintain muscle mass in her legs and helping her through the rehab process. Please contact our Customer Service department at 888-253-0777; we would be happy to discuss the possible options and answer any questions you may have.

  20. We received the rear leg splint yesterday and tried it on our 12 year old lab. He fell immediately because of the lack of traction on the bottom under the foot. Is there something that came done to increase traction?

    • I’m sorry to hear that! I recommend using Shoe Goo on the bottom of the splint to add traction (found in Target, Walmart, Amazon, etc.). Or, if your dog doesn’t need the additional support under the paw, I would recommend our Walkin’ Hock Splint instead of the Rear Splint, because the Hock Splint will leave the paw free.

  21. My 12 year old Pug suffered a mini stroke which has left her front paw without strength and she can’t stand properly due to her paw bends back making her limp and fall forward.

    Which of the products on this site could help her be able to support herself without her breaking her wrist (due to it appears her paw has zero strength and stability), not sure if this is what is called knuckling.

    • Hi Evelyn,

      I’m so sorry to hear about your pug. I would recommend either our Walkin’ Bootie Splint or our Walkin’ Front Splint. Both splints will help to support the carpal/wrist joint as well as over support under the paw. Please call our Customer Service Representatives at 888-253-0777, we would be happy to help you get the right splint for your pug.

  22. My 3 yr old pit was hit by a car vet said he has nerve damage wants to amputate, he can stand but paw is bent under do u think a brace would help I don’t want amputation

    • I would check with your Veterinarian. I have heard of cases where splinting a paw has helped in situations similar, but it really depends on the condition of your dog’s foot and the severity of the injury.

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