# Afraid of Hardwood floors and some ceramics?



## Moose (Oct 2, 2010)

Does anyone else have a vizsla who is terrified of their floor coverings? Ours hates hardwood floor, and has his own special way of walking into different areas of the house [which is hardwood and ceramic on the main floor!] he'll walk sideways into one area, turn around, and reverse to come into the kitchen...and he can't walk straight through the kitchen to get to the back door, he has to force his body THROUGH our table [we have a glass table top with iron rod legs] and sometimes has to try to squeeze his body between the chairs and table, pushing the chairs all over the place and finally panicking and skidding across the floor, bashing his body against the door frame. Its like he's running on ice half the time, running but going nowhere- and just tearing up our hardwood. 

Any tips on how to fix this problem? He was fine with hardwood as a puppy, but the we moved and about 6 months into living in our new home he started having this issue and it's b een getting worse as he gets older. Foam mats worked for a while but I don't want to have foam mats all over my floor being torn up by dog nails [he shredded them as well in some spots]


----------



## Tulip (Feb 14, 2010)

How funny! I can't offer any advice only to say that in the last few weeks our Vizsla has started to eat our floorboards (in our 120 year old house!!)!!!! So maybe it's no bad thing that your vizsla is scared of them..... better than viewing them as an afternoon snack!!

I hope you find something that helps, best wishes.


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

I'm no expert. When Copper doesn't like something (example his new dog coat) I view it as an opportunity to get him comfortable with the object in question. I would give him treats where he is uncomfortable and restrain him in that area. If he has a favorite blanket or bed; put it on the wood floor and don't let him use it anywhere else. This may seem cruel, but it is how dogs learn to confront their fears (which is essentially what you are trying to accomplish). Kinda like teaching them to swim or be comfortable with water. Show him it isn't so bad and can be rewarding. If he is pretty much trained on the other important stuff; I wouldn't reward him with any treat except when he does something to improve his wood floor phobia. It can be done just stick with the reward and getting him comfortable with it idea. My guess is the noise of his claws on the floor is the problem (unless he isn't comfortable with hard surfaces). Keeping his claws clipped may help.


----------



## AthenaDean (Nov 13, 2010)

I am having the exact same problem. Since we moved into a new house with pergo floors, Copper skates across the floors, if he HAS to, otherwise he completely avoids them and stays on the carpeted area. Even keeping his nails short doesn't seem to help.

Maybe we should both try what Linescreamer suggested...my Copper is very much food and affection driven, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Athena


----------



## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes please let us know. It's funny how they keep trying to train us.  They are so smart. They can get comfortable with anything, we just need to show them it is OK, and reward them and associate the activity with something they really like! ;D


----------



## vizslarunner (Oct 20, 2010)

my pup has been on wood floors since he came home, and he hasn't been trying to avoid it, but it is pretty hillarious watching him flop around with his puppy clumsiness in addition to the slippery floor.


----------



## marishavh (Dec 8, 2009)

Our 12yr old V has always been terrified of slippery floors and confined spaces. He looks like he's standing on ice, rocks back and forth trying to get the courage to move and eventually tries to run as fast as he can, usually skidding into walls and what not on the way!

When he was younger, I tried all the suggestions of feeding him on the wooden floors, encouraging and rewarding him for walking on them etc but to be honest I found it made the issue worse. The more I paid attention to him doing it, the more he would just freak out. So I've ended up just ignoring the problem for the most part. If he gets 'stuck' trying to cross the floors I simply tell him to hurry up in an annoyed, but not angry tone, so he knows he's has to pull it together. Or if he is really freaking out, I'll give his collar a tug and say come on now! 

He's much better now than he was when younger, but still has his moments.. 

God love those crazy Vizslas though right!


----------



## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Wow, I'm surprised this is such an issue for so many dogs. My V doesn't mind the floors at all, although they've certainly caused plenty of accidents while playing. Speaking of accidents, he even likes peeing on them still


----------

