I Need Slippery Floor Advice!

[Guest MannysMom]

I need some advice about Manny. That boy just can not stay on his feet in the house on our floor. We have wood laminate and none of the other dogs seem to have trouble, but they are so much shorter. I put down some mats with rubber backing that won't slide so he has a path from his crate to the bedroom and couch but with all the animals we have and two kids I really don't want the mats or any carpeting. We moved in a year ago February after extensive remodeling including the floors in all of the downstairs with the laminate, except the bathroom, so replacing the floors again is not an option right now. Every time he walks on the floor instead of the mat by mistake he just slips and slides. I feel so bad that he won't walk around much so I bought 2 carpets last night so he has room to run and play more in the house.

 

So I guess my question is will he ever figure out how to walk on the floor? He isn't afraid really he just can't seem to do it. If not I will get in touch with the contractor and see if he can put any kind of a coating on the floor to make it less slippery or we will live with the carpets until I can do something else.

 

Thank you!

[TheFullHouse]

He'll figure it out. All of mine did when we pulled up the carpet and had tile installed (well with the exception of Saint, who still on occasion will do the splits). Mine have even learned how to run through the house without falling. Don't make a big deal of it if he slips and slides. If you ignore it, he won't think it's a big deal. If you pay too much attention and baby him, he'll become fearful.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Short, short nails that don't touch the ground at all, some dog show "paw wax", and time!

[Guest sheila]

I think there are products out there that you can put on the pads of your dogs feet that will help. I think one product is called Paw Wax but I'm sure there are others.

[Guest SLM4956]

In addition to trimming the nails, we also trim the fur between our Greys' toes with a small pair of scissors. It seems to help our Girl on our slippery floors. Good Luck!

[Guest HoundyGirl]

I have this problem with my new greyhound, Gus. He can do the laminate floors as long as he doesn't realize he's walking on them. Once he realizes it he gets scared and skids out. My solution right now is putting towels down to make a path where he needs to go. I plan to make the towels cover a smaller and smaller area once he gets used to them. Do you think this will work?

[Guest dee]

When we first adopted Micah (Jan. 2010) he could barely walk on our wood floors. We have two other dogs that continually run from one end of the house to the other when they hear anything outside. Micah slipped and slid and even fell a few times. It bothered me more than him. He now runs with the girls and amazingly doesn't slip or slide anymore. Give it time.

[Guest Lovemyhound]

OK, I too just pulled up some old carpet in the main living room and hallway and put down wood laminate floors. My pups are walking on it ok but having the occasional slip 'n' slide and really don't have the ability to play with the stuffies anymore.

 

I feel fairly certain this will pass as others have mentioned but my question is this (I'm not hijacking, I promise ) ... what is Paw Wax? I might be interested in that for my pups!

 

TIA, Connie (and Violet, who is wondering why she can no longer throw her stuffies in the air and RUN down the hall to her crate at mealtime???)

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

For those of you with this issue, you must realize that greyhounds have very limited experience with any surface other than sand and concrete. They don't have hardwood floors in racing kennels, they don't have nice laminated floors. They have slab concrete. So when you say your "other" dogs don't seem to have any problem, you need to realize the history of your greyhound vs your "other" dogs.

 

That said, they can get used to walking on any surface, you just need to work with them. I had a boy that was fine until one day at obedience class he took a header into the shiny laminate floor. That did it for him. What I did was to get some neoprene hunting booties for him. For the next 4 weeks at obedience class he had a bed where he could work on his commands, but otherwise it was walking on the floor. He couldn't handle it at first, so I picked him up, put him in the middle of the room, and let him walk on his own. He had the booties on his feet so they wouldn't slip. At first, he slinked his head as far down as he could, nose touching the floor, and basically slithered to the wall where the floor wasn't so shiny. He would walk along the edges of the room where the reflection of the lights were not as apparent. I picked him up 3 times and placed him in the middle of the room. He didn't like it, but was getting better. What I have also found with a few of my fosters that exhibit the same behavior is to grab the collar and hold the head up high so they cannot focus on the floor. It seems that they stare at the floor thinking its liquid or something other than a solid surface. If you pick their heads up so that they cannot obsess on the floor, it tends to help. I also will hold their head against my hip as we walk together so they feel confident that I will not allow them to fall. I do this over and over again and treat once we get to the other side of the room.

[Guest jaws4evr]

How long has the dog been exposed to the laminate floors?

 

We have laminate which is very slippery. Our GH still has issues with it sometimes, but for the mot part she's fine. She was REALLY bad for the frst few days, if she layed down she literally couldnot get up to save her life.. it was a two person job to get her upright with her feet under her. She did her fair share of bambi slip and slide until she collapsed on a carpet, poor thing.

 

We put cheap rubber backed rugs on the trouble spots (top of the stairs, corners, etc), and it really helped her confidence. Occasionally she forgets, or if she gets really excited she'll have to concentrate REALLY hard in order to get where she wants, but she did learn, even though it did take time.

[Guest MyBoys]

Short, short nails that don't touch the ground at all, some dog show "paw wax", and time!

 

This what I did for one of my boys who had floor issues, also make sure the fur that sometimes grows between their pads is trimmed as short as possible because that can also make for slippery floors.

[Guest FreddyGirl]

I have had Bobbi almost 3 years. she is now one month shy of 11 1/2 years. she can no longer navigate the hardwood floors NOR the stone in the kitchen. So, I bought rubber backed runners at K-Mart and Kohls. They ae all over the first floor, which she is now confined to. Stairs are out now.

 

remember, as the dogs age, these issues arise. I do Not like all of the rugs, but what's a greyhound momma to do???

[TheFullHouse]

Paws Wax is a sticky substance you can put on their paws that will basically give them traction on slippery surfaces.

[Guest mcsheltie]

One of our adopters put down carpet squares like stepping stones. She slowly removed them one by one. Now her dogs have no problems with her laminate flooring.

[Guest Lgyure85]

You can also use quick-sort on his pads. It's that pink stuff bank tellers use on their fingers to sort money. They sell it at office supply stores, and it's pretty cheap and effective!