Dogs Who Are Afraid Of Linoleum

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   JBeadleposted 14 years ago

   I put up a wood laminate floor and my dog fears it.  Unfortunately, he needs to walk across it to get to the back deck and the fenced in back yard.  He manages to scamper over a carpet runner we laid down to bridge the door to the deck with the carpet of the living room... but only because he's driven by an urge to pee and it seems easier to him to get out I think.
   
   To get in we do this bark and open the door and coax and lure with a treat and it has all backfired so he has a complex about it.  You have to tell him what a brave boy he is, with conviction, or else he just sits there and cries.  We've been able to have him go in and out of the garage to get to the back yard but it is a pain.
   
   How do you get a big 110lb husky with some fear issues over his fear of linoleum.  It be nice if he'd just walk in like any other dog whose been here.
   
   Thanks in advance!

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      SquigglesMcBeeBeeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I was afraid of da wood floors too, but my mama gotted a rug and put it in da hallway, and I started walking on dat right away. den to get me to walk in da rest of the living room, she folded a quilt and put it on da floor, and whenever I wanted to come out she would "bring out da drawbridge" (quilt) for me. now I am used to da floors and don't need da quilt anymore. we can't gets any traction 'cause of da fur on our feets, so we get all nervous...

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      Katy Allgeyerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My dog has arthritis issues in his hips which make him afraid to put his full weight down on his feet when he walks, he favors one side due to pain in his hind legs. This causes him to slip on certain floors such as linoleum or pergo laminate. You might want to get your dog checked out with your vet as the cause could be more serious than "fear".

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2. 93

   habeeposted 14 years ago

   Patience. Get him to associate the new floor with something pleasant. Place a treat on the floor or start placing his food dish there. The footing probably just feels strange to him.

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   lrohnerposted 14 years ago

   Ditto what Habee said. And don't coddle him. When he's in a fearful state and you try to coax and lure and baby talk him, you're just feeding into his fears. Be authoritative and talk with a calm and firm voice.

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   galleryofgraceposted 14 years ago

   While it's true the dog may fear the slippery surface. There are also many dogs who were taught as pups not to come in the kitchen. Therefore they associate the linoleum as a forbidden area.

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5. 83

   JBeadleposted 14 years ago

   Thanks on the advice thus far.  We *know* not to coddle him but I think our *support* turns into coddle.  My wife just read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and that had dog training as a part of it.  In the book they were big on give the command once and then expect the behavior and wait until you get it.  It works great on the rat terrier but not as well on our husky.  It's so easy to go to coddle and almost play with it as the whole scene is ridiculous with the huge dog crying about wood floor and us telling him what a brave dog he is.  We will stop that.
   
   This morning I just opened the door and kept calm and we had about 20 seconds of pause and he crossed so hopefully some of the fear is dying down.  It doesn't help with the little rat terrier scampering in and out like a freak while Quin is gathering up his nerve to cross the threshold.  She keeps messing up the runner we have too.  We are going to need more of a rubber bottom on a new carpet runner we'll have to get.
   
   I blame my wife some as I'm a cat person and she just likes dogs!  But I agreed so... I guess I share the blame actually.  We aren't "dog people" and that doesn't help the dog.  And our comforting solutions early on in Quin's development really ingrained some of his fear behaviors that if we knew more we could've quelled.  Now that he is 10 and we only realized we wer horrible dog owners three years ago... some of those issues are deep seated.  At least he doesn't think he is the alpha male in our house.  He realized that is my wife!  DOH!
   
   We're doing better with handling dogs but I have to admit we fell back to coddle-mode (again) and that is a big wrong of ours.  We will correct that immediately.

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   MrsMoeposted 14 years ago

   Hi JBeadle!  At the size your husky is, if he has slipped on that floor at any time in the past and had his legs splay out because of it, it will give him great "paws" (pun intended) before walking across it.  Any anxiety on your part now, no matter how small, is picked up by him and reinforces the wood floor is a bad thing.
   
   You have the right idea in providing a non slip bridge to the door.  Take it a step further and get some spray you can put on his paws to prevent slipping.  Here's one version:  http://www.showdogstore.com/bio-groom-show-foot.aspx
   
   Or you can put boots on that prevent slipping.  Here's one version:  http://handicappedpets.com/www/index.ph … boots.html
   
   Once he has had success in not slipping, he will start to get over his fear of the floor.  Also, don't make a big deal of success OR failure.  Be calm about your praise, be calm about coaxing him across the floor.  Make sure he walks slowly and calmly to go out.  Get the little one out first so there's no scampering around his feet.  If he's trying to avoid stepping on the little one, it could cause him to slip.  Good luck!

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   PrettyPantherposted 14 years ago

   Have you seen the television show, "The Dog Whisperer"?  He has an episode about a large dog that is afraid of slippery floors.

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