Afraid of the laminate floors.

[Kevin Oskow]

We just brought home a 3 year old doodle, about 55lbs.  When she was checking out the house everything was fine.  Last night she got moving a bit fast, slipped, and now is afraid to walk on the floor.  

Does anyone have advice on overcoming this?  The whole house has laminate flooring. 

Thanks,

Kevin

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Can you put some rugs and runners down for her? The type with non-skid backing? 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Yes, I would agree with Karen - use lots of run runners.  Years ago, our standard poodle slipped coming down some wooden stairs from a loft in a cabin and hit his knee hard enough that he suffered a partial cruciate ligament injury.  My daughter has laminate in an area in her home and I took her some runners so when we visited the boys did not have a problem crossing the room to get out the back door. Possibly you could buy boys size socks with non skid bottoms to put on your doodle.  I wish they had put down ceramic tile instead of laminate - that is what we have throughout half of your home and the doodles do not have a problem. Good luck.  I hope you get some great ideas because it is scary for them if they are slipping and sliding!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ceramic tile and even linoleum can trigger the same skidding problem.  I suggest that you put down cheap rubber backed rugs that stepping stone from place to place for now.  Most likely the dog will learn 'how' to navigate the floors.  We had one dog that was very cautious on our tile floors when we had them installed but learned to be more careful so he didn't slip.  We continued to put the rugs down on rainy days.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I know some ceramic is also slippery, but when we were building our retirement home we specifically chose dull surface light brown variegated color that is not the least bit slippery - and you cannot tell if they are clean or not! LOL  I love that.  My friend is always cleaning her grout, etc and I have never had to do anything with mine other than mop!  I can thank our builder for that suggestion!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Linda, we did the same thing except our foyer came with slippery, shiny tile - the great abyss for our old dog! The rest of them don't seem to care.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with using the runners until your Doodle becomes more used to walking on the laminate.  You might also try tethering her to you and walking very slowly around the room a few times...giving treats and praise as you go.  Do this a few times a day for just about 5 or 10 minutes.  She'll start to gain confidence little by little.

[Kevin Oskow]

Thanks everyone.  That is helpful.  

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Happy Photo!  Your doodle has a great beard!

[BG and Gavin]

What a cutie!  I agree with Jane about the tethering and treating.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

One other suggestion as your picture tells me that her coat is kept fairly long.... check to see if she has a lot of hair between the pads of her feet. Trimming that up (or having a groomer do it for you) will give her better "grip" on the floor and maybe help with her confidence.

Congrats on your new addition, BTW!

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I have laminate floors nearly everywhere in this house.  Keeping the hair between pads short as Lori suggested really helps.  Runners and rugs help too.  My best suggestion for rugs and I have tried a lot are Albert and Dash rugs.  They do need light weight pads under them, but they wash in the washer many times and still look new.  Also they spot clean easily with just about any cleaner.  Roo and Tigger finally figured out how to manage the floors but it took awhile.

[DonMarie and Picco]

Just another suggestion - Traction Dog Boots.  Ultra paws offers them.  It sounds like a hassle to have booties on the dog all the time, but it is another option.