# Hard Wood Floors ! Anyone's Dog Afraid ?



## Lil Red Express (Jan 18, 2009)

Good Morning all .

We just moved to a new house , which has a combination of hard wood , laminate and ceramic tiles. I never even considered this before the move , but Red is scared beyond belief of the hard wood floor. He has no issues at all with the laminate in the basement or the ceramic tile. The hard wood is in the kitchen and at first he cautiously tip toed across it ( like it was thin ice ) , that was working for a couple days , then in the middle of the kitchen I guess he tried to accelerate a bit and it was paws and legs flying everywhere .
He won't even approach near the kitchen now. 
Any solutions aside from laying carpet down ( if even that would work ) ? It sucks because through the kitchen is a 30 x 20 foot deck where he can go out and play while dinner is being cooked or the kitchen is in use. 
Anyone have or had the same issue ? I thought it might be the gloss on the floor but it's not much different than the laminate in the basement. 

Thanks !!


----------



## TheHandmadeHound (Jun 24, 2009)

Hey there,

Greyhounds tend to have this problem, mine didn't but I know of many who have this problem. And it's as you say - not just the wood, but any shiny floor. I know of some who have put high value treats in the path of the dog leading into the floor. Try not to have the dog in a situation that he's going to be skidding and get even more nervous so keep it slow. Maybe put him on the leash and just confidently try and walk him onto the floor? Let him pick up your nonchalance about it. If your dog is as food motivated as mine, the high value treats will do the trick. Just keep dropping a trail of them and see what happens!


----------



## LoupGarouTFTs (Oct 27, 2007)

Instead of carpeting, maybe you could put a carpet runner down along the direct path that leads to the deck? If you give him a chance to bypass the feared wood floor, he might gradually acclimate himself. I like the idea of using the leash and showing him confidence, but you need to figure out if that might stress him too much coming so soon after the move.


----------



## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

One thing that can help is keeping the hair trimmed from the pads of the feet and keeping the nails short. I do that with my Shelties for our hardwood floors.


----------



## txcollies (Oct 23, 2007)

our house has nothing but pergo and tile. We did have one dog who hated it, but we gave up babying her and finally told her to buck up and that she had to walk across the floor in order to go outside.  She did get over it pretty quickly once she figured out it wouldn't 'get her'.

Keep nails short and hair trimmed on the bottom of the foot.


----------



## Junior (Jun 8, 2009)

I think my floors fear the dogs


----------



## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

I have hardwood throughout my first floor, and use runners and throw rugs. Chloe does everything she can to stay on the rugs!

Both sets of stairs in my home are hardwood and she has _never_ attempted to go down them. She tried a few times to go UP, but she did slip once and hasn't tried since. It's a pain to have to carry her, but for her safety I just do it. I don't know if it's her depth perception or if she thinks she'll slip, but she just sits there waiting for a "ride" 

I completely did a 100% remodel a year before I got Chloe so I can't change much at this point. I thought of carpet runners for the stairs but am waiting on the state budget to see if I still have a job before I do much else here.

So you're not alone... not even treats, chicken, hot dogs or steak got her to do the stairs and I tried for a year.


----------



## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Alvin and I lived with my parents when I got him. Their house had all hardwood floors that never bothered him. When they put wood laminate in the kitchen, he slipped on the new surface and went sprawling and was thereafter terrified of entering. We just moved his water dish to the hall, since there was no other reason for him to go there.

Then we moved. My new house also has all hardwood floors (no scary laminate), but he was terrified of it the first week or so. So terrified, in fact, that he would only go as far as the mat in front of door, which he would just stand on and whine. As I started to get throw rugs and carpets, he started to venture into the house, but he wouldn't cross the kitchen, which leads to his dog door and the backyard. I despaired of getting him to go out to pee. 

I ended up doing a combination of what Brannon and txcollies mentioned. I cut up roasted chicken into tiny pieces and left a trail of it behind me when I walked through the house. As he got more confident, I phased out the chicken and decided to let him finish dealing with the problem on his own. I had 100% confidence in his housebreaking, so I knew he would figure out how to cross the kitchen in order to go outside and pee eventually.

He did and he's fine now.

So, my advice is 1) Buy a carpet runner if you can. Carpet stores have samples and remnants that they will often GIVE AWAY if you ask for them. 2) Lay down a treat trail and have a party on the deck when he makes it safely. 3) Make him deal with it on his own. He'll figure it out eventually.


----------



## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Icesis is nervous on hardwood floors -- she walks very carefully on them. She once ran fullspeed into the kitchen, skidded, and hit the sink drawers, and ever since then she's not liked slick floors very much. =(


----------



## ColoradoSooner (Mar 26, 2009)

I did what others on here suggested...rugs, treats, etc. I slowly began to move the rugs farther apart and then took them up one by one. I also purchased "Musher's Wax" and that seemed to help Mayzie get better traction. 

It took a couple of months but now when Mayzie gets excited, she slips and slides all over the place and doesn't care in the least.


----------



## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I saw a product in my local petstore the other day (it's a boutiquey kind of place, not food and stuff) and they had these pads that stick with surgical grade adhesive onto the paw pads. Last several days I assume. Great for senior dogs or dogs with hip issues on slippery floors. I always thought "baby socks", you know, the ones with the rubber grips on the bottom, would work as well. Something to think about. lol.


----------



## Lil Red Express (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I worked with him yesterday , used some pieces of chicken and some cheese ( he cannot resist cheese ) and I got him to the middle of the kitchen again. That was good . I'll pick up a carpet runner later and run it to the door. 


Thanks again.


----------



## TheHandmadeHound (Jun 24, 2009)

Yay! Glad he's making progress! (Heck, I can't resist cheese either. ;o) )

I don't know if you have a Christmas Tree Shops near you, but this week they have 18" by like 48" little carpet runners on sale for $3.99. Just so you don't have to break the bank trying something new...


----------

