I have a full grown 110lb Yellow Labrador who is having an awful time trying
to maneuvre on our newly installed laminate flooring. Any suggestions???
Please e-mail Thanks.

110lb Yellow Labrador who is having an awful time trying to maneuvre on our
newly installed laminate flooring.

I think most dogs would have a problem on almost any new flooring, as it is
very slippery until it wears in a bit. My cocker did OK on a new ceramic tile
floor, but it wasn't the shiny tile and has a matt surface.

Make sure his nails and extra hair around the pads are trimmed, and give him a
chance to get used to the new speed limit.


Bernie

:
I have a full grown 110lb Yellow Labrador who is having an awful time trying
to maneuvre on our newly installed laminate flooring. Any suggestions???
Please e-mail Thanks.

A couple of people have replied as regards keeping the hair on the feet cut
short and keeping the nails trimmed as short as possible.

Those are great suggestions, but also, many dogs, when they hit extremely slick
surfacing that they haven't had experience with, tend to ball up their feet
with tension, which means that even if the hair is clipped and the nails short,
the dog is still going to get no traction. If not worked with, there can be a
tendency for this to become a habit on slick surfaces and the dog may never
relax to walk comfortably. They'll eternally try to "scurry" across the floor
and the behavior becomes ingrained.

My Belgian Sheepdog had only carpeted surfaces in her life previous to my
adopting her at 10 years old. I have highly polyurethaned hardwood floors and
vinyl tile -- no carpets at all due to my allergies. This definitely wasn't to
the old girl's liking. I also had a Greyhound before my Belgian who came off
the racetrack with a strong dislike of vinyl surfaces.

I started with a lot of area rugs -- the longish runner types. Non-slip ones.
I slowly cut back on the number of them over a period of months while at the
same time calmly giving her tiny little food treats each time she successfully
"strayed" off an area rug and onto the flooring. Eventually I cut back on the
treats and treated only as she got further and further away from the area rugs.
I would stand a short distance from the rug and encourage her to come to me
but wouldn't push it whatsoever. And I began with very short distances. In
the beginning, only her front feet had to come off the carpet -- that's how
slowly I went. And I always kept treats in my pocket just in case she decided
to stray off the area rug on her own, without my encouragement.

My idea was to get her to think that being on the slick surface was a pretty
good thing. On carpet surfaces, life is boring. On slick surfaces, good
things happen.! But I had to be very calm about it because I didn't want her
to get excited, start bouncing, slip a little, which could set her ten paces
backwards in her progress. So since she responds to vocal praise very
"bouncily", I kept my vocal praise very quiet and just popped her treats. The
treats were always held at her head level so that she didn't have to unbalance
herself to reach them at all.

Eventually, over the months, I could see her becoming more and more relaxed as
she strayed off the runners, so I started to pick up, say, every other runner.
I just started picking up more and more of them as she relaxed. I still
actually keep runners between the doors of the the living room and kitchen for
the Belgian since she's a dog who likes to "charge" across the kitchen towards
the back door and I do worry about her slipping on the floor. She's just fine
in all the other rooms. With the Greyhound, I eventually needed no rugs at
all.

Good luck with your Lab!

Take care,
--
Cindy
Posted & emailed

A quick P.S. to my previous post:

1. If you should try my idea, remember to cut down on the volume of your dog's
regulars meals in direct proportion to the amount of calories the dog will be
receiving thru treats or the dog may end up fat enough that it'll have to roll
across the smooth floor and you won't have to worry about it's walking (I think
I ended up with the only fat Greyhound in captivity by the time I was finished
getting her settled into the house -- I got a lesson in how much easier it is
to put weight on than to take it off); and

2. When the dog does happen to slip or panic on the smooth floor, don't baby
the dog -- don't rush over to "comfort the dog", no "soothing" words. Just
treat it as if nothing in the world just happened, as if it's absolutely
nothing to be concerned about. If a dog receives the "oooooh, poooooor baby"
routine, it tells them that there really *was* something worth panicking over
or it's human wouldn't have responded in such a manner.

Again, good luck!
--
Cindy
Posted & emailed

The same thing happen a few weeks ago to my Pug Victor.
He slipped on the laminate floor about 10:30P.M. on a Saturday night.
It looked like he was having a fit. Called the Vet and rushed him over to
the emergency
surgery. The Vet checked him out. By that time 11:00P.M. he was back to
normal.
It could have been a minor fit but there were no signs of one, and none
since (thank goodness).
More like he panicked and we panicked.

Now we have a carpet runner on the floor with his water bowl and food bowl.


--
Linda

--

Remove XX for correct e-mail address
Mundy Pond wrote in message
...
I have a full grown 110lb Yellow Labrador who is having an awful time
trying
to maneuvre on our newly installed laminate flooring. Any suggestions???
Please e-mail Thanks.

On 14 Aug 2003 02:38:23 GMT, (Jazztptman)
wrote:

110lb Yellow Labrador who is having an awful time trying to maneuvre on our
newly installed laminate flooring.

I think most dogs would have a problem on almost any new flooring, as it is
very slippery until it wears in a bit. My cocker did OK on a new ceramic tile
floor, but it wasn't the shiny tile and has a matt surface.

Make sure his nails and extra hair around the pads are trimmed, and give him a
chance to get used to the new speed limit.


Bernie

Hi Bernie,

I have a Cocker and a Germ Shep. I don't worry about the Cocker at
all on the floor (pergo) because he is small enough, all he has to do
is plop his butt down and he is OK. But my bigger dog, I do worry
about. They can "split out", injuring most any bone in the hind
quarters. Usually it is the joint above the metatarsal, or even the
knee, but it is not unheard of to crack the pelvis either. It is a
very serious threat to larger dogs. (And especially in pigs, who have
to be put down when their pelvis cracks, and that is where they
usually break)

But fortunately, the GSD seems to know she is vulnerable and has
learned to tread carefully. I also keep a larrge hallway runner type
of carpet in the kitchen on the traffic pattern, just for her sake.
Also, as others have mentioned, keeping the pads clear of fur and
toenails clipped such that they do not touch the floor helps too

SD