Is your dog scared of your kitchen floor? You are not alone.
I have come across many dogs that were either rescues or not socialized enough that are afraid of walking on certain surfaces.
The most common surfaces are usually slippery ones, such as laminate, tile, linoleum, or metal, such as manhole covers on the street, vents, etc. Many dog owners just “deal with it,” picking up the little dog that won’t walk cross the kitchen floor, or walking their golden around all the manhole covers in their neighborhood.
But, what if you adopt a rescue dog and your entire house had laminate flooring? This is what happened to my sister, who recently adopted an adorable Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, Katie. After watching poor Katie for several minutes jump from dog bed to rug to her carrier and then start to whine because she wanted to follow my sister but had run out of “safe” flooring, I thought, this is no way to live.
So here are some tips to help your dog get over his floor phobia.
Why are They Afraid?
While there is no way for you to ever know for sure why your dog doesn’t like a certain surface, especially if he is a rescue, there are a few common reasons you can explore. Knowing these can help get you started in your training. Just remember your dog may be acting the way he does for one of the reasons or all of them, or because of something not listed here. If you get stuck, call a certified dog trainer to help you with your training.
NOTE: Please make sure if you are working with any of the metal in the sidewalks that they are not hot! If your dog does not want to walk over them (especially if they normally do) it could be they are too warm for his paws.
Lack of Coordination
If your dog has problems walking on the slippery surface and falls a lot, this may be why she tries to avoid it. Some dogs look like they are trying to walk on an ice rink. It’s understandable that they would try to avoid walking on a surface that makes them fall all the time.
Solution: try non-slip dog booties. These can help especially older or injured dogs keep their grip on those slippery floors and may solve all your problems. If your dog doesn’t like booties, you can put down clear runners so they have a pathway around your house.
Noise
The metal grates, manhole covers, vents, etc. that you come across on the street can make noise when you walk over them, scaring your dog. Pay attention next time to you go on a walk and see if that is the case. If so, you need to work on noise desensitization.
Solution: Victoria Stilwell has a great sound phobia CD collection available to help you with this. The main thing is to start with a noise that is similar to the metal grates but quieter and start pairing it with something your dog loves – food, petting, toys – to get her over the fear. Eventually you will work up to rewarding her for walking on that big scary piece of metal.
Feel
Some dogs just don’t like the feel of a new or different surface. These are usually the dogs that just didn’t get out enough as puppies and so they just aren’t used to walking on them.
Solution: Get out some treats or a toy and encourage them to walk over the surface, praising and rewarding them as they go. This fear is usually pretty easy to get a dog over, taking only a few times for your dog to realize nothing is wrong and to continue on his way.
Correction
This is definitely the saddest one on this list, and probably the hardest to overcome. When I was watching Katie I noticed that it wasn’t that she couldn’t walk on the surface (because if my sister set her down in the middle of the floor she would run, very quickly, off of it) but she was afraid to. You could see the stress in her body language. My guess? She was corrected for being in an area (most likely the kitchen) with non-carpeted flooring in a not-so-nice way. Now, she is afraid to walk on any smooth surface.
Solution: This one takes time and patience. You can try dog booties with a dog like this as well, as a management tool at first, because if they can’t feel the smooth surface they may be a bit more comfortable (Katie was). But the main thing is you want to teach your dog that it’s okay to walk on your floors, that he won’t be corrected. Do this by scattering high value treats all over the floor and praising your dog for going after them and eating it. Depending on how high your dog’s fear is and how much he likes food, these may have to be pretty good treats. Katie wouldn’t set foot on that floor for anything, until we brought some cheese out. You will have to play with this. When praising your dog, be sure to use a nice, soothing tone. If you get excited (because he is finally on the floor!) or raise your voice to loud, he may misinterpret it to mean you are mad and run. If your dog doesn’t like food, try encouraging him to chase a toy on the floor. Not too fast – you don’t want him to fall.
Confidence Building
The more you can build your dog’s confidence the easier over coming these fears will be. You can do that by working your dog on other strange surfaces that he is not necessarily afraid of, but is not familiar with either. Things like textured wood, rubber mats, different pile carpets, etc. A canine conditioning class can really help with confidence building as well.
About the Author
Based in Wilsonville, Ore., animal lover Kristina N. Lotz is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA). She is the founder of A Fairytail House. In her spare time, she trains and competes in herding, agility, obedience, rally, and conformation with her Shetland Sheepdogs. She smartly married a Veterinary Technician, who helps keep the fur kids happy and healthy, and provides a quick resource for articles.
