Our four legged friends develop the same mental associations as us. If you slipped on a certain flooring you would be vary careful when approaching this flooring again. The difference between human and canine recognition is dogs may consider any similar looking flooring as the one they originally slipped on. This can develop into an anxiety for the dog and make taking them to certain homes, shops etc difficult and even wary of your own flooring in the home.
Over the last few years we have met many dogs who have a fear of smooth flooring due to an incident from the past, and this was one of the reasons we decided to find a flooring that would be resilient, easy to maintain and waterproof for our benefit, but more importantly safe for dogs.
The process of building up a dog’s confidence with flooring requires a few things;
- Time
- Patience
- The right flooring
- Encouragement
- Re-assurance
In situations when dogs with this condition first see Floors For Paws they may associate it with a similar colour/type of flooring that has been an issue previously, and as such will need a lot of encouragement to step onto the floor in the first instance. This can’t be rushed and doing so will make the situation worse. We start by letting the dog have a good look & sniff of the floor before stepping on it. Then we use a favourite toy to encourage the dog to step onto the floor.
Once this stage is achieved it is important to give lots of positive encouragement. Once the dog realises it is not slippery then we spend some time slowly walking with the dog around the whole floor.
In all but extreme cases; after 10 minutes the dog will have built up confidence on the floor.
Floors For Paws has been installed in vets and recommended by animal physios. With an 85 PTV slip rating you can be sure you are giving your dog a safe, clean, hypoallergenic environment.
