# Dog doesn't want to walk on hardwood/tile floors



## prs (Jan 3, 2009)

Hi my parents have an english mastiff and they've been having trouble with getting her to walk across their kitchen floor and some other floors in their house. 

Basically she'll lay on 1 side of the floor and whine if you call her to come to you. Every once in awhile she'll eventually come on her own but most of the time you have to pick her up and sort of push her along. Once you get her up she'll go on her own but she continues to be scared the next time. Shes also about 170 pounds so its not exactly an easy task to get her up.

Shes only like 2 1/2 years old and this has been a problem for quite some time now. I think she was fine when she was smaller but since shes gotten bigger shes taken a few spills on the floor and this has been the result. My mother makes sure her nails are always cut but that still doesn't help. My little brothers dog runs across the floor all the time so shes seen other dogs do it.

Anybody ever have this problem with their dog and figure out a way to fix it?


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## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

You could put dog boots on her that have a good grip. There's also something you can get to put on their feet to help make them less slippery. I've heard of this before, especially with large breeds. They fall HARD and it HURTS. Some of them have put anti-slip throw mats down on the slippery floors so that the dog can walk on those without fear of falling.


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

How short are her nails kept? 

Just because they are kept trimmed, doesn't mean they aren't still long enough to make walking (especially on slippery surfaces), more difficult; she's a heavy dog so long nails are even more painful. Ideally, the dog's nails shouldn't touch the ground at all. 

If the nails aren't touching the ground, especially when she walks, then maybe getting some pad protection (there are different kinds), from boots, to a 'wax' type protectant, to make her feet more gripping, may help. Rugs will also help.


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## Erick Aguilar (Jun 9, 2008)

You need to be very carefull, a dog runing on tile floor can harm him if he slips, plus i've heard hard surfaces do bad to dog joints if they walk too much on them.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

I agree with the other suggestions to keep her nails trimmed a little shorter. Her nails should not touch the ground at all. Other than, though, you need to start desensitising her to the slippery floor. She's obviously associated it with traumatic experiences, so start reversing that by letting her associate it with positive things. Every time she walks on to the floor, treat her and praise her. Lure her a couple of steps in with a treat, then give it to her (but don't make her go any farther than she's comfortable). Don't lure her from the other side of the floor; that's asking for too much. Ask for maybe one step on to the floor, then treat. When she's comfortable with that, coax her maybe four or five steps in, then treat. It will take a lot of time; desensitisation occurs entirely at the dog's own pace and is not something you want to rush. Trying to speed up the desensitisation process often ends up making the problem worse. 

And, of course, try to minimise her chances of falling on the tiles and hardwood (be it through shorter nails or non-slip mats), because one fall will undo all the training you've already done.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Besides keeping the nails, trim the excess hair from the paw pads. There is also an aerosol spray called Stick-em but, that may not be an ideal solution.


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