Fear Of Linoleum/vinyl Flooring!

[Guest Matty]

Hey everyone! We finally got our first grey this morning, and he is adorable! He has utterly ignored our cat which has been fantastic (other than a quick sniff, shrug, walk away).

 

We are running into one issue - he won't leave the main entrance area of our house. The area has 2 exits - one to our kitchen and den, and the other going upstairs. To get to our den area he'd have to cross a vinyl floor (our kitchen). If we try to bring him in through the back via our laundry room, he won't even pass through the room because it has a linoleum floor.

 

I think he has an issue with shiny floors?

 

Googling for the issue has given me no help. We've basically been sitting as deep in the kitchen as we can with small treats, and trying to get him to come to us. Once he gets about half way, he freaks out and goes back on to the carpeted area. I know he's been through a heck of a lot today (moving from the foster, to the adoption coordinator, to us), so I don't want to put any pressure on him. I'd love to have a plan of attack to try and get him broken of his fear. Any ideas?

[Jenbo]

Area rugs will help until he gets more comfortable.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Yes...area rugs.

Make sure you get ones with a firm rubber backing so they don't slip around when he walks on them.

 

They are cheap at Costco.

 

You may have to get enough to carpet a very large area for him, but once he's used to your home you can start spreading them around, so he'll have to step on the slippery floor.

[cleptogrey]

bed bath and beyond sell runners by bungalo flooring. they are polypropelein(sp)or microfiber, very thin non-skid and easy to wash. i have a couple of the 5 ft runners, they wear like iron and stay pretty clean. a quick shake or vacuum and clean.

 

http://foflor.com/?gclid=COuJgqGquq4CFULe4Aod-ymAOA this place has a selection of wild patterns- faux wood/stone ect. waiting for a sale. i have a calmer bbb version that i found at home goods 1/2 price

Edited February 26, 2012 by cleptogrey

[Feisty49]

There are a lot of Greys who don't like potentially slippery surfaces. I adopted Annie Bella 7 months ago and had to put down runners and small area rugs because she does not like the wooden floors that are in the house. She still won't go into the dining room because there are no rugs there. She wouldn't do the stairs to the bedroom until I put down treads. There are a lot of posts here on GT about this issue. Your boy may eventually not need rugs for security but for now he does.

[GeorgeofNE]

Fear not! Totally normal!

 

I had to physically place my dog on his first shiny floor because it wasn't my home--and the automatic doors at the pet store kept trying to close on his butt and he wouldn't move! So I picked him up and gently placed him down on the evil floor of shiny doom, and just let him stand there for a few minutes. Then he just started to walk and he was fine.

 

He is still a bit fearful of my wooden kitchen floor, so I keep a rug in there.

 

I'm very surprised your adoption group didn't mention this to you, as it it super, super common.

[Guest Matty]

Hm, for now the adoption group suggested some bath towels, because area rugs are prohibitively expensive given the space we'll need to cover. I'll see if there is any progress made with these guys. Thank you for the suggestions!

[Houndtime]

Not necessarily area rugs, but small mats or runners with rubber backing, so they are slip proof. I had four in my old kitchen. In our rental house I have three rectangular mats and one runner going from the front door to through the kitchen and to the back door. They just follow the path.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

I would NOT use towels. You need something with a rubber backing that will stay in place. What you absolutely do not want to happen is for him to take a few steps on the terrifying floor and have him slip and panic. If that were to happen you would have a much worse time getting him to walk on the floor. That is what may happen with the towels.

 

 

Also, you don't need to cover the entire floor. Just make paths to his bed, his food dish and the door. Yes, it will look tacky for a few weeks, but then they will be gone and you will have a confident boy,

Edited February 26, 2012 by Scouts_mom

[Guest DragonflyDM]

Boomer got over his tile issues, but occasionally if he moves too quickly he slips, freaks out, and we start all over again.

 

I find that getting them focused on something else (like peanut butter) motivates them and gets them over their fear. Also you can’t pull them on the tile. YOu have to be firm, confident and patient. I will walk very slowly with Boomer through stores. Occasionally will get behind him and let my knees support him (and give a big of encouragement) to move forward.

 

In the house, I put rugs and yoga mats down. Then every day I made the space between them a little farther apart but put things that he wanted someplace that required him to walk on the tile to get there. It didn’t seem to work at first, until I went upstairs and saw him get the feeling that he was “sneaking” the king kong or biscuit without me knowing.

 

if cost and looks are a concern….go to the store and ask for remnant carpets-- they are usually free or close to it.

[Guest NancyS]

Hey everyone! We finally got our first grey this morning, and he is adorable! He has utterly ignored our cat which has been fantastic (other than a quick sniff, shrug, walk away).

 

We are running into one issue - he won't leave the main entrance area of our house. The area has 2 exits - one to our kitchen and den, and the other going upstairs. To get to our den area he'd have to cross a vinyl floor (our kitchen). If we try to bring him in through the back via our laundry room, he won't even pass through the room because it has a linoleum floor.

 

I think he has an issue with shiny floors?

 

Googling for the issue has given me no help. We've basically been sitting as deep in the kitchen as we can with small treats, and trying to get him to come to us. Once he gets about half way, he freaks out and goes back on to the carpeted area. I know he's been through a heck of a lot today (moving from the foster, to the adoption coordinator, to us), so I don't want to put any pressure on him. I'd love to have a plan of attack to try and get him broken of his fear. Any ideas?

[Guest Matty]

We bought some runners and still no luck. He will put his front 2 feet on to the runner, start shaking, and then back off. They're rubber backed, so they're stable and not going anywhere. I'm not sure what to do at this point - we've been using food to try and bribe him to come farther and farther in. At this point we've managed to get 3 feet on to the plain vinyl (without the runners) by offering treats if he comes to us. It seems like if we go beyond a certain point he'll just whimper, turn around, and go lay down. He just gives up.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Ok, here is what I have done, a few times as I foster:

 

1) Go to Petsmart and purchase "Pawz", for greyhounds I believe it will be the purple (its been a while). Probably dont take your hound as if he is afraid of your shiny floors, Petsmart will be just as terrible in his eyes.

2) Put purchased Pawz on his paws.

3) remove all runners and other items from shiny floor.

4) pick up hound and put him down in the middle of the room.

5) keep a hold of his collar so he doesnt just take off.

6) let him figure out that he can walk.

7) repeat a few times until you see him walking calmly.

 

You dont need to keep the Pawz on him for long, just long enough for him to get over his fear. Once he does, you will notice that he doesnt cling to the walls, and keep staring at the floor. What is going on is that the reflection of the light is making the floor look like fluid to him. If you can keep his head up, and walking slowly, he wont slip and wont notice. For the really scared hounds, I recommend the above steps, but turn off the lights so there is no reflections on the floor.

 

Chad

[Guest DragonflyDM]

Ok, here is what I have done, a few times as I foster:

 

1) Go to Petsmart and purchase "Pawz", for greyhounds I believe it will be the purple (its been a while). Probably dont take your hound as if he is afraid of your shiny floors, Petsmart will be just as terrible in his eyes.

2) Put purchased Pawz on his paws.

3) remove all runners and other items from shiny floor.

4) pick up hound and put him down in the middle of the room.

5) keep a hold of his collar so he doesnt just take off.

6) let him figure out that he can walk.

7) repeat a few times until you see him walking calmly.

 

You dont need to keep the Pawz on him for long, just long enough for him to get over his fear. Once he does, you will notice that he doesnt cling to the walls, and keep staring at the floor. What is going on is that the reflection of the light is making the floor look like fluid to him. If you can keep his head up, and walking slowly, he wont slip and wont notice. For the really scared hounds, I recommend the above steps, but turn off the lights so there is no reflections on the floor.

 

Chad

 

If I could suggest that if you do this plan that someone stand next to him for moral and physical support. If your dog freaks out and moves too quickly he will be Bambi on ice for the first time and further traumatize the dog. Your confidence and firm support-- pluse encouraging him to walk slowly-- will calm him and show him what to do. If you have two people...have another person be at a destination with treats and encouragement. As they walk be very praising.

 

I finally had to get behind, Boomer and use my knees on his bum to encourage him forward. Everytime he slips on tile...we almost have to start over. Your dog may NEVER like walking on tile or hard slick surfaces--- but they should be able to tolerate it if needed.

[Guest Matty]

Well, made an effort last night to pseudo-implement the suggestions. I didn't get a chance to get out to the store to look for Pawz yet, but I will. We fed him on one of the runners, and my girlfriend made him reach out further and further. When he barely had his tip-toes of his rear feet on the carpeted area, I gently nudged him from behind, pushing his rear legs out on to the runner. He got super, super shaky, and started to act like he was going to fall over. I held him, and after a moment he kept eating, though it was obvious he was far less hungry now.

 

I held him there on the runner until he stopped eating - the whole time he was getting a ton of praises and love. I'm wondering if we're going to just have to keep repeating this over and over until he gets less scared? We're also considering putting him on a leash and pulling him through the kitchen on the runners, just so he can see that on the other side there is carpeting and a HUGE room for him to play in.

 

We just feel bad, he basically lives in a tiny portion of our house right now because he can't get up the stairs, and he won't cross the vinyl into our main living area.

 

We were already contemplating redoing the kitchen floor with stone, and this may push it forward (we have a contractor coming out to give us an estimate on installing runners on the stairs already). However it still doesn't help if we take him to someone's house or to a store where they have vinyl floors.

[gracegirl]

It's only been a few days, just let him be for a few weeks. He doesn't care that he's living in a small space right now. Just keep giving food in the kitchen occasionally and see how it's going in another week or so. Pushing him beyond his comfort will only stress you and him further. You are probably acting different in that area of the house, so he's probably thinking "I wonder why these people are so freaked out about these floors?!? I should probably be afraid too".

 

We moved last month. DBFs 85 lb airedale was afraid of the tile in the kitchen. That lasted all of three days as that's where we keep the treats. He's dramatic like that. He's lived with tile before.

[GeorgeofNE]

Relax about it, first of all! It takes a little for some of them! You're doing fine. And so is he!

 

And I cannot believe you were told to use towels; sounds worse than useless to me. Sliding would no doubt terrify him!