Why is my dog scared of the kitchen floor

Believe it or not, this is a common issue with many dogs and puppies. Slick floors are scary, especially if your dog or puppy has slipped or skidded on them a few times. Also, elderly dogs have a tough time navigating along slick surfaces due to arthritis. It takes a lot of control to keep their feet from sliding right out from under them.

If your dog is afraid of slick floor surfaces, check out these tips that will most definitely help.

Gosh, there are so many reasons why dogs are afraid of shiny floors. If your dog has never seen shiny, slick floor surfaces before, he’ll probably refuse to walk on it. Also, some dogs have fallen, slid into a wall, tripped, stood still when their feet splayed out from under them, or tried to walk across it by using their nails (i.e. digging nails in for traction) and it didn’t work out well. Basically, dogs have learned to be scared of slick floor surfaces due to previous bad experiences.

Common Slick Floor Surfaces Dogs Fear

Linoleum is probably the scariest slick surface for most dogs, and it’s used everywhere because it’s super easy to clean. You can pretty much guarantee your dog will be exposed to linoleum flooring during his lifetime. I’m pretty sure your veterinarian’s office flooring resembles a linoleum-lined skating rink.

Laminate wood flooring is just as slick as linoleum. I know I’ve had a few falls myself and my dogs have skidded across our living room and into the wall. Shiny ceramic tile is pretty slick too; however, grout will provide some type of traction. Hardwood flooring can be slick too, but dogs are able to dig their nails into the hardwood for traction, which is good for them, but horrible for your expensive floors. Carpeting provides the best traction, but I also know that keeping carpet clean while sharing your home with dogs is pretty darn impossible.

Never Force Your Dog to Walk

If your dog refuses to walk on shiny floors, never force or drag him across it. This will most certainly cause your dog’s fear to worsen. When you’re at the veterinary hospital, either pick him up or ask veterinary staff for a towel to sling around your dog’s waist (this helps support your dog’s entire body). While waiting to be seen, place the towel on the floor, so your dog has traction and give him lots of treats for remaining calm.

How to Get Your Dog to Walk on Shiny Floors

Introducing your dog to shiny flooring first works best. For elderly dogs, or dogs scared of shiny flooring, you may need to add a few rubber-backed mats.

Slick Surfaces Are Fun

Starting on carpet or a rubber-backed carpet mat, sprinkle tiny treats in a straight line (Hansel and Gretel style) about three feet away from the carpet. Most puppies and dogs will slowly follow the food trail and gobble up treats, as they move along shiny floors. By pairing something good with a new thing, you’re teaching puppies and dogs that slick surfaces are good and that they need to walk slowly on it.

After your puppy has eaten all his treats, make another treat trail back around to your carpeted area. Practice this a few times, and soon your puppy will learn to walk safely on slick surfaces.

Rubber Mats

Purchasing rubber-backed rugs and assembling them into a walking trail works well for dogs scared of shiny floors. You can place them toward the backdoor, in your kitchen, in front of his food and water bowls, or wherever. When Sobek tore his ACL, these rugs were a lifesaver. You can find cheaper versions at discount stores, or you can use bathroom rugs too. Another plus is they can easily be washed unlike wall-to-wall carpeting.

Traction Socks

Since lack of traction is the main concern with slick surfaces, some dogs feel more comfortable wearing traction socks. These socks have traction material sewn on the bottom and work really well. Check out this article on teaching dogs how to wear traction socks.

If Your Dog Slips on Shiny Floors

It’s going to happen, especially with young and excitable puppies and dogs, and it’s most likely going to happen when you return home from work. Try standing on a carpeted area for greetings or, better yet, bring them outside for a quick game of fetch.

When elderly dogs slip, my heart falls right along with them. Just walk over and calm them by supporting their body with your hands. Usually, older dogs will fall flat and become stuck, or try over and over to get up, so pick them up or at least support their bodies with your arms, as they walk toward a carpeted area.

Introducing shiny floors to your dog early on is key, but when your older dog begins having trouble, pick up some rubber-backed mats. They’re awesome!

Veterinary visits can be stressful for dogs. One of my greatest joys as a trainer lies in teaching dogs to relax and even enjoy the visits, a task best accomplished by minimizing anxiety triggers. Some of the anxiety-provoking situations that occur during visits to the vet are easy to recognize, such as being physically manipulated or receiving immunizations. But other areas of stress are often overlooked, including the fear many dogs have of the slick flooring of the hospital.

Animals can panic when they feel unsteady on their feet, and slippery floors make it challenging to stand, move, stop or stay in one place. For some dogs, a fear of slick flooring may be isolated to the veterinary office or groomer’s, while other canines face their fear daily inside their homes or while out on walks.

Dogs that are well socialized during their prime learning period — about the first three months — have a better chance of dealing with circumstances they encounter later in life. That may be because the dog dealt with something similar in his puppyhood, such as having had a prior positive experience navigating slippery flooring, and/or he learned that the world is a safe place and he can cope with novel situations when he encounters them.

Though it's important to socialize a puppy to new situations, including varied flooring, it is possible to help a pooch gain confidence if he missed such early training or already has developed a fear.

In some situations, outside help is warranted. If you are concerned that your dog's hesitation may be related to a physical impairment or pain, seek veterinary advice. Dogs with conditions like arthritis, for example, are often more hesitant on slick floors because of the pain that occurs when they struggle to stay upright while slipping and the fact that their leg muscles may be weak from disuse.

If your dog is fearful due to his lack of control while walking on a slippery floor, provide him with some traction. Various accessories are available for your dog to wear, from canine booties to disposable paw grips to nail grips. If his fear of slick surfaces is based in the home rather than outside, area rugs provide greater stabilityon slick floors. In addition, keep nails and fur between paw pads trimmed to make the dog's paws less prone to slipping.

Training can also help a dog relax on slippery floors. Avoid forcing a dog into a situation he is afraid of (i.e., don't drag him onto a slick floor and hold him there). Such actions come with a high risk of making the fear worse and diminish the trust between person and dog. There are better methods to train a dog than to use force, which can border on being inhumane and increases the risk of aggression in dogs.

Instead, to promote confidence, allow the dog the choice to move onto the floor under his own volition and associate the flooring with rewards.