Hesitation In Entering Kitchen

[Guest Tokolos]

Sprinkles had never had any issue coming in to the kitchen to eat, drink, or just socialize. The floor is linoleum, but that's never been a problem. (We've had him since Feb. '10.)

 

In the last week, he's started to show some hesitation about entering the kitchen, lingering in the doorway and whining at times if I'm there and he's not. As of today, he only seems willing to come in to the kitchen if I invite him in. I don't recall anything happening that would make him worried about the kitchen, and my husband is home all day with him and he can't think of anything either.

 

Any ideas on this new behavior?

[Guest Flysmom]

Could he have gotten scared by a pot falling or a loud noise, even though it did not seem loud to you guys? It seems odd that he all the sudden is afraid of coming into the kitchen, you would expect that from a new dog.

Hopefully somebody else will chime in to help you.

[Guest Sweetreba]

My Reba did that and what it was she slipped and started to fall and got scared. She hesitated for quite a few days and then got over it. Once in awhile she will slide and be a little leary but not like the first time.

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer had a floor issue, too. When I first got her, she was very hesitant on our shiny tile so I had to work with her. But suddenly, one day, she just refused to cross it. She has no choice, she HAS to cross it to both the front and back doors. We figure she fell or something when we were out. I had to put in a LOT of work to get her back on it again. I took her into every store I could think of it and walked and walked and walked their floors. PetSmart, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, etc. She often froze at the store door (which she hadn't done before the fall or whatever) and we spent 5 minutes there before she would agree to take a step. It was a slow path and I wasn't going to force her, she had to CHOOSE to walk with me. I knew she would, eventually. And she did. Now she's a certified therapy dog and sails along the tile floors in nursing homes like an old pro! Don't nudge her and try to change her position when she's standing on a bare floor, though, or the sky will fall.

 

So... my suggestion is to try your pup in a store with a shiny scary floor. PetSmart's are usually shiny and are a good choice! If he hesitates and he never did before... you will know what you need to do!

Edited January 16, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[JohnF]

There could be several things going on here:

1) Sore toes, legs, spine

2) Balance issues from something inducing mild vertigo (ears usually)

3) Deterioration in peripheral visual range (common in racing Greys)

causing an incompletely-seen floor to appear scary.

4) Fear of falling or of doing the 'splits' from recenet expereince

6) Fear of Kitchen noises

6) Idiopathic fear requiring reassurance. Those Calming Signals link would be excellent here; and also leave a secondary 'escape route' from the kitchen danger via another door. If that's to the outdoors then have someone standing outside to prevent going in the road etc.

 

One of my Borzois (age 5) became scared of the kitchen floor and I couldn't get to the bottom of it so I replaced the Linoleum with RhinoFloor brand (which has something like a sandpaper texture while still looking nice). The problem was solved, though whether it was just the different tile pattern is something that could not be determined.

[cleptogrey]

check your dog's nail lenght, when was the last time they were cut?if they are long it can take quite a while of cutting them weekly to get them back to a better lenght. also, make his trip into the kitchen worth while, high quailty special treats that he can ONLY get when he goes into the kitchen on a recall.

 

some non-skid bathbats that can easily be laundered might do the trick or tacky paw used at dog shows(check cherrybrook online). but often a dog whose pads are not meeting the surface will have trouble.

[GeorgeofNE]

No need to stress over the WHY (as long as you've checked toenail length). Dogs do weird stuff. My old dog was afraid of the ironing board (never an issue) but not cars (he was thrown from a moving car as a puppy). Go figure. Something that seemed totally innocuous to your and/or your husband probably scared him. He'll likely get over it.

 

Will he enter the kitchen to follow a trail of kibble on the floor or something?

[rascalsmom]

You might check your dog's feet. Maybe a corn has developed, and it hurts to walk on the harder surface.

[AEB]

Sadie suddenly stopped walking across the kitchen floor. We figured she skidded-out on it when we weren't home because we saw her do a mild skid in coaxing her across. she got to the point where she refused to cross and you had to cross to access outside. We bought 15' of cheap carpet runner at Home Depot and it was on the floor for 2 years. When we noticed she wasn't really using it all the time we removed it and she was ok. She would run across the floor and stay out of the kitchen (she never spent time in it anyway). But she would cross it. Her last year or two she started walking all over the kitchen. Nothing bothered her anymore.

 

One time, at the vet, she was there for a shoulder injury from enjoy herself in the snow too much. They were trotting her across the lobby and she got scared of the shiny floor- she tensed-up and went skidding into the waiting room chairs. She took all of them out and they went flying across the lobby. Hysterical. Poor girl.

 

Apparently Kevin's first trip to Petco with his first foster mom ended in his best Ghandi impression. He laid on that shiny floor and all attempts to get him to move were met with passive resistance. He had to be carried to the car by a good samaritan.

[AEB]

Also- I noticed that Kevin's pads are getting very dry and slippery with the dry heat. He is sliding more on hard floors.

[MaryJane]

Get some rugs for the floor and see if it fixes the problem. Get the rugs (non-skid backing) at Home Depot, keep the tags on and return them if it doesn't fix the problem.

 

Some dogs develop a fear of the floors after they have slipped on them and it might not show up for months or years.