Dog Afraid To Walk Across Floor

Hi my just over 1yr old standard poodle has all of a sudden become afraid of walking on hardwood flooring.

Dog afraid to walk across floor.

Cesar millan in one of his episodes helps a dog fearful of walking on a slippery floor by simply walking over it. I have come across many dogs that were either rescues or not socialized enough that are afraid of walking on certain surfaces. If your dog is fearful due to his lack of control while walking on a slippery floor provide him with some traction. The most common surfaces are usually slippery ones such as laminate tile linoleum or metal such as manhole covers on the street vents etc.

The uncertainty of that experience. Your dog may look adorably cute as he clumsily stumbles around your floor or glides around like an ice skater. A senior dog may be fearful of trying to rise and walk on hardwood floors. 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.

Alternatively and unpleasantly if a new rescue dog seems stressed or afraid to walk on your floors it may be because they were punished for walking in a certain area like the kitchen and associate the floor type with previous bad experiences. Is your dog scared of your kitchen floor. Also he just doesnt seem himself like he is stressed out about it all. It started a few days ago with timid steps and now he all together avoids them.

This method of having a dog face its fears directly is known as flooding. 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. Slipping during the act of rising compounds the problem by several magnitudes. If your dog has never seen shiny slick floor surfaces before he ll probably refuse to walk on it.

Older dogs can also injure themselves by falling. But to your dog he might as well be walking on ice he can t get a grip. Digging nails in for traction and it didn t work out well. Major problem as my entire main floor is hardwood.

Additionally senior dogs have more difficulty going from a lying down to standing position. My malamute has recently been afraid to walk on floors. You can t get your grip and you feel like you re going to fall. For some dogs walking on a slick wood or tile floor may feel like walking across a sheet of ice.