Hard surface floors and puppies

[McLoki]

When we rebuilt our house i put hard surfaces (wood and tile) on the entire main level of our house. (And in the bathrooms, my daughters room and master bedroom)

My question is, how much do i have to worry about my puppy sliding on the floors and what can i do about it? She plays with our great dane, runs and slides all the time on the floors. (She is getting pretty good at it and does not spin out or fall very often, she has adopted kind of a shuffle-run when on the floors to keep her legs under her.)

Our upstairs hallway and all stairs are carpet to help increase safety for dogs and people travelling on them.

So, worry or not? And if so, what to do about it? (On a side note, i can make recommendations for wood flooring and vaccums for hard surfaces now....)

 

[Ginny]

I'd get them covered ASAP with area rugs. A growing giant slipping and sliding on hard surfaces is a recipe for orthopedic issues.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

We have runner rugs throughout our downstairs. We got inexpensive ones from home depot that we can replace periodically. It will keep your puppy from sliding and hurting himself and as they age it will make it easier for them to walk around and get up.

 

[victoria1140]

Rubber backed non slip mats here

 

[McLoki]

So, do you just put mats in high traffic areas? How do you keep it from looking like a crossword puzzle board?

 

[Jager's Mom]

Don't worry about how it looks...

My Bear ended up with 2 knee surgeries due to slick floors.

Not a good thing for Bear to go through...and over $6000 out of our pockets.

 

[shellyk]

Not only are area rugs good for slippage in the house...we found out the hard way carrying wet dogs around in the back of our car. The water soaked down through the carpeting and rusted our car. We found some rugs and runners that soak up a lot of water and it doesn't soak through the polypropylene backing.

 

[Murphy]

My house looked like a patchwork quilt. I ended up pulling the smooth floor and having wall to wall carpet installed.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

So, do you just put mats in high traffic areas? How do you keep it from looking like a crossword puzzle board?

That's exactly what it looks like. No one cares here. We placed a runner rug on all the "path" areas where the floors were slippery.

 

[Shel]

I went to our local flooring store and had them take a remnant and create (piece together and bind) two long runners - 15' x 30" and 20' x 30". I find it's easier to vacuum the heavier weight runner and my OCD isn't constantly nagging me to straighten the half dozen smaller runners they replaced.

 

[Wayne A]

Another patch work quilt house here.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I just need to know, what kinda car did they say that happen to ShellyK? (I'm not buying that--at all, unless you had never ending puddles on the back floor that never dried but you would have had mold & mildew smell that would have been over powering. Your out west right? very damp, moist area?) And yup, quilted our kitchen, I kept the carpet for the other rooms and invested in the BIG GREEN MACHINE, which I am thrilled with!!!

 

[R Taft]

So, do you just put mats in high traffic areas? How do you keep it from looking like a crossword puzzle board?

That is how it looks :lol:

 

[Denali's Mama]

we have runners and area rugs all over our house (we also have hardwood floors throughout and tile in the kitchen and bathrooms). non of the rugs match and our floor looks like a rainbow quilt!! but we've learned it is so helpful after Denali's accident to keep him from slipping.

 

[shellyk]

I just need to know, what kinda car did they say that happen to ShellyK? (I'm not buying that--at all, unless you had never ending puddles on the back floor that never dried but you would have had mold & mildew smell that would have been over powering. Your out west right? very damp, moist area?) And yup, quilted our kitchen, I kept the carpet for the other rooms and invested in the BIG GREEN MACHINE, which I am thrilled with!!!

It's a Honda Fit and other than that we actually love it. It's a small car that all three of our dogs can fit into the back comfortably. The back seats fold all the way flat. It was the back of the seats (under the carpet) that the water soaked/dripped down into and the metal shows rust spots. We live in the Pacific Northwest which has a lot of rain and mold/mildew can be a problem but I didn't notice a smell problem. We took the dogs down to the Puget Sound near our home and the ride back with dogs wet with salt water was the culprit. It could be we are just nose blind like the fabreeze commercial.