Dogs Slipping on New Hard Floors

[BrewerGeorge]

Anybody have any advice to help dogs slipping on new laminate floors. Our 13yr old Golden, especially, is having a terrible time. He falls, and sometimes his legs splay out completely. It's affecting his quality of life really negatively, and I'm concerned he'll injure himself, so I have to do something.

I've seen a few products on Google, but I'm wondering if anybody has direct experience or advice.

 

[mbills2223]

It might be different since he's older, but my dogs figured out the hardwood pretty quickly, although they do still slip from time to time. I would think something like this would work: Non-Slip Dog Socks - Power Paws Prevent Your Dog from Skidding | Woodrow Wear

I would bet it's cheaper and just as effective to make your own though

 

[dusty88]

Rugs over the paths where he walks will work best.

 

[96firephoenix]

rugs.... sometimes even just a little one will do the trick, if there's a spot in particular. If it's everywhere, then I'm not so sure....

 

[Snapdragon]

It might be different since he's older, but my dogs figured out the hardwood pretty quickly, although they do still slip from time to time. I would think something like this would work: Non-Slip Dog Socks - Power Paws Prevent Your Dog from Skidding | Woodrow Wear

I would bet it's cheaper and just as effective to make your own though

I did this with my Laszlo when he was still with me. He was blind, deaf, and arthritic. He used to slip and go boom, and he couldn't get back up.

I bought baby socks and put dots of rubber cement on them and let it dry. It worked OK, but I had a hard time keeping them on him.

(Really bad clip-job on him that I did myself, because every morning he would be lying in his mess and I had to give him a bath before I went to work.)

Pre-shave Laszlo:

 

[logain]

Rugs are just about the only real option. We've got them for a kitchen and the dogs only walk on them now. They'll jump from the rug back to the carpet lol.

 

[Jagdhund]

My dog has been on hardwood floors since she was a puppy. Some times she slips when sitting on them but walks and runs fine. She learned to gallop like a horse to run on them.

I would think your dog would eventually get used to it, but maybe not.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

It took our dogs a little while to get used to ours. We only have laminate in our family room, which they have to go through to get outside. For the first couple of weeks they were hesitant to even go out there, but they adapted.

 

[SkinNFluff]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned this. start off with grooming the dogs feet very well if this has not already been done. Trim the toenails short so they are not coming in contact with the ground and trim all the hair out from between the pads. Now seeing that the dog is older his pad are most likely very dry. If you use a moisturizer on his pads to soften and moisten them up it will help his feet feel better and limit the slipping. Elderly dogs need special care that a lotof people dont even think of. Using shoes or socks on his feet could help, but he will most likely be uncomfortable if he has never wore them before which could cause excess stress that may not be needed. I would try to address his feet first and see how that does. other options are rugs or no slip mats.

 

[dusty88]

My dog has been on hardwood floors since she was a puppy. Some times she slips when sitting on them but walks and runs fine. She learned to gallop like a horse to run on them.

I would think your dog would eventually get used to it, but maybe not.

Older large dogs often shift their weight to the front legs. That's a lot of weight on a small amount of surface area, so it's hard to stabilize on a slippery surface, especially if you are stiff and can't adjust quickly. The back legs at the same time have been somewhat dragging along, so they slide as well. If they walked very slowly, they might eventually figure out how to shift their weight, but what usually happens is they just become afraid of the floor.

 

[Snapdragon]

I agree that for the time being, and runner with a rubber backing might make the older dog's life easier.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

Trim the toenails short so they are not coming in contact with the ground and trim all the hair out from between the pads. .

This right here ^ !

I have my dog groomed every time he starts sliding around then he's good to go for another 2-3 weeks .

 

[bobbittle]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned this. start off with grooming the dogs feet very well if this has not already been done. Trim the toenails short so they are not coming in contact with the ground and trim all the hair out from between the pads. Now seeing that the dog is older his pad are most likely very dry. If you use a moisturizer on his pads to soften and moisten them up it will help his feet feel better and limit the slipping. Elderly dogs need special care that a lotof people dont even think of. Using shoes or socks on his feet could help, but he will most likely be uncomfortable if he has never wore them before which could cause excess stress that may not be needed. I would try to address his feet first and see how that does. other options are rugs or no slip mats.

If you aren't good at keeping up on keeping their nails trimmed, DO NOT TRIM THEM SHORT. You'll have to gradually trim them back slowly so you don't cut into the quik inside the nail and cause bleeding and pain.

 

[bradmedic04]

[video=youtube_share;5fP4emqw7O4]http://youtu.be/5fP4emqw7O4[/video]

OT, but the dog sock thing made me think of this.

 

[flhultra]

I vote on the excess hair on the bottom of the feet.

 

[Mark 1911]

I've heard that certain breeds are prone to serious permanent hip injuries due to exactly this, especially as they get up in years. Not sure if Goldens are one of those. Be careful. May consider keeping him off of those floors until you find a solution.

 

[lovemachine]

Rugs and keep the toenails short.

It took him a while to get used to it, but my dog constantly slipped and fell after I installed our laminate hard wood floor. We laid down some nice area rugs, and keep his nails short.

Now, my 139lb rottweiler runs all over my floor.

 

[Rookie]

Try uncoiled rice.

 

[Stang51d]

Had a three legged dog named Steve that had a hard time at first on the wood floors. He got it figured out. The current three legged dog, Buddy, has no trouble unless he's just going crazy, then he's down quick.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

We took all the carpet out of our family/living room area and replaced it with laminate, partly since our rescue dog had a leaky bladder. Then, she slipped so much on the floor, she refused to even come in for a week or so, staying out in the breezeway. She eventually decided to come in, but it was a process for her to learn how to walk on that floor. When she would get nervous, she would instinctively rise up on her claws for traction, and that made it worse. She eventually figured it out and was fine.

We did put down a bunch of old area rugs for awhile until she got used to it.