Scared Of The Kitchen Floor

[Guest Ref]

Hi All

 

Just wondering if you can offer any advice to rid Ali of a strange phobia she's developed.

 

We have a tiled kitchen floor which never bothered Sarah and up until yesterday has not bothered Ali (7 weeks). But yesterday she suddenly decided it is very scary and refuses to walk on it. We are not aware of her slipping on it or anything else happening to make her not like the kitchen itself. No amount of encouragement, biscuits, treats etc makes a difference, she just stands in the doorway and 'talks' to us. [i'll load a video up later when I work out how.]

 

We've had to resort to carrying her across the kitchen to the living room, the hall and the garden.

 

Any ideas because she's too heavy for my wife to lift during the week.

 

Andy

[Shaysmom]

Do you have any rugs you can lay across the floor for now? She may walk on those.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Shaysmom

[Guest Sweetreba]

I have had my Reba for 1 1/2 yrs and she just started with being leary of the kitchen floor but I know she slides on it sometimes with her nails even though they are clipped. I saw a photo on the site of a grey and the owner said can you tell she is afraid of the kitchen floor and she put a long rug runner across where her dog could walk to the door. I have been looking at them for myself but Reba seems to be ok with the floor now. It lasted about 2 weeks. If she does it again I will buy a long narrow throw rug runner for her to step on. I have some smaller ones at the stove and sink and I noticed she would hug the counters to walk on those when she was going through her thing.

[Guest mickie37]

My Lupo is afraid of all shinning floors. I place non skid rugs so that he can move from place to place.

Have you changed any light bulbs lately? I had put in a brighter light in my kitchen and Lupo refused to walk on the rugs for a couple of days. I make sure that all new bulbs are the same watts as the old ones now

Good Luck.

[Guest Ref]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Nothing has changed in the kitchen, no new lights or appliances.

 

I've laid a square of carpet in the middle of the room to give her a safe spot between the different rooms and the garden but it's not a long term solution. I was hoping their would be a 'magic' answer.

 

Retired racers for Dummies suggests putting something on her pads - has anyone tried that?

 

Andy

[CaliforniaGreys]

When I bring Wayne with me to my client's, he's very afraid of the tile floor and refuses to walk on it.

 

I've tried a few of the products for his pads but found them totally useless.

 

I just put non skid carpet down for him.

 

Being afraid of the floor is really not strange for them at all

[fourofem]

The same thing happened to Hitchie about three months after he arrived but I know what caused his phobia. One morning, while he was eating his breakfast, he suddenly "spread-eagled" in front of his feeder. I can count on one hand how many times he's come into the kitchen since (almost four years). He's not even comfortable with rugs down. Luckily, I don't have to carry him anywhere...he can get everywhere he needs to without going in the kitchen.

[jenn8]

Those non-skid rugs usually need another non-skid pad underneath to keep them from moving around on the floor. I haven't found one yet that stays put on it's own.

 

Jenn

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

The "magic" way of fixing the problem can be a pain in the butt. My boy Bart took a header at obedience class 1 month after we got him. The class was held in a room with shiny red linoleum flooring. He suddenly wouldnt walk on anything slightly shiny. What I did was to go to a hunting store (Bass Pro) and bought a set of neoprene rubber hunting booties for him. They have double velcro straps that wrap around the boot. I put these booties on him the next time I went to the class. I picked him up, put him in the middle of the large room on a leash so he couldnt bolt. He stood what felt like 10 minutes (actually about 20 seconds), then tried to make a break for the wall. I wouldnt let him run, but I did let him pull me. After getting to the wall, he started to realize he wasnt slipping around. I picked him up and put him in the middle of the room 2 more times. He got the hang of it, and realized he wasnt going to slip. After 4 classes on the last day of class, I didnt put his booties on. He walked around calm and confident and had no more issues. He rarely has issues at pet stores and the likes when they have a very shiny surface, but in those instances, I just grab his collar with my hand and dont let him duck his head down. I hold his head at my waste and walk with him. After a few feet, he relaxes and is able to walk. The problem is sometimes what they see is the reflection and it bothers them. If you see your hound ducking her head towards the floor to stare at the floor, this is what my boy would do. Grab the collar so she cant drop her head and support her while you walk her across the floor. This will also help.

[Guest Ref]

Thank you once again for all the ideas. I will have a look at the weekend for the rubber boots in the huge pet store we have near us that sells almost everything a dog could ever need, but here in the UK we don't have hunting stores (I have never seen one).

The carpet square is doing the trick at the moment although it doesn't look that good! I think over the Easter weekend we will try a few shops to find a better looking alternative that is rubber backed.

 

Once again thank you all and have a happy Easter.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Ref,

Sorry, I wasnt paying attention to where you live. Things are a bit different on this side of the pond. Happy Easter to you as well and good luck with the issue.

 

Chad

[Guest earlkattangrey]

You might try PAWZ - much cheaper and very grippy, like balloons http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/gem_store/houndwear.htm