One option is to just put in a pet gate at the bottom of the stairs and don't allow him upstairs. If he's having difficulty with the steps you don't want him to slip and hurt himself or even just scare himself (more). I don't know if your downstairs is enough space for him but it is a possibility.

If the floors and stairs are not actually slippery to dogs (do the other dogs have any issues?) maybe your scaredy-dog will just get over it in time.

If the stairs and hardwoods are slippery and you want to allow him upstairs, I would start out with a runner on the main hall (to your bedroom) and maybe just tread grips, you don't need a full runner, like these:

Sisal

patterned

braided

Thanks for the response. I think the floor is a bit slippery, obviously moreso than carpet, but he has no problems with the same stairs on the lower level so it is a bit more of a behavioral issue. Whether he will get over it, I don't know, but see now that he is panicking then slipping so I am worried about him hurting himself. We have two dogs and the other has no issues, so the pet gate wont work unless we want to listen to the two of them whining at the bottom of the stairs. Plus we are used to them having full reign.

Thank you for the link to the stair treads, that may be perfect! and much less expensive then a full runner. Does the adhesive damage the floors if we were to decide to remove?

Any thoughts on the stair runners in the hallways? Do they all need to match?

I'd get some treats and reward him for each stair he climbed. Since he can do the lower stairs he just needs to build his confidence up. Shouldn't take very long before he conquers his fear, hopefully. Good luck.

If he is like my dog (Bassett Hound), he will never adjust to the floors. We moved to this house 4 yrs ago, last June, and he goes to the utility/mud room , and then into the dining room, where there is a big area rug under the table. I have a runner from the the mud room door that goes almost to the area rug, so he can get there easily. My kitchen/family room joins to the dining room, so that allows him to be where I spend most of my time. Our last house had carpet, and he roamed through every room in the house freely. I cant advise on the steps, because, his little short legs, dont do steps well, anyway. I do feel sorry for him, and I have been thinking about runners for the hallways, so he has more roaming area. He also sits and whines, if I am busy in another part of the house and he cant get there.

I agree with Dawn. Make it into a game using lots of treats. Who know why he is doing what he is doing, but really who cares? You just want the behavior corrected.
He'll get it with time and patience.

To answer your question, using matching runners is a good idea. I don't think they need to be a perfect match to the bedrooms either.

He's used to stairs though, right? Once you get the rugs & stair pads down, I think it will make a world of difference. Poor guy. :(

This post was edited by oakleyok on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 14:48

We don't have hardwood floors anywhere in our house, though we had them in the first place we lived when my dog was a puppy. She is a German Shepherd and has always been cautious on my parents hardwood stairs. But as she's aged, she's become more and more fearful of them. Unfortunately, she has hip dysplasia. I suspect this has been a big part of her fear of certain surfaces and especially stairs, which has gotten much worse now that she's old. You didn't mention your dog's breed or age, but you might consider just checking with your vet to make certain there aren't mobility issues in play. I hope not, but it might be worth a check.

The dog is a Sheltie and he's getting older, guesstimating about 13-14 years old (he was a stray so can't know his age for sure). He has a long history of arthritis for which he has taken medication for years. So I am sure that some of his fear is tied to mobility. However, he gets around just fine with the hardwoods downstairs and will even walk all the way up the stairs but stops just on the top one. Thus why I think it is behavioral. Anybody who is familiar with Shelties know that they are very smart, but highly sensitive little souls. I'll try the treat thing, but he is not one enticed by treats typically. I thought that carrying him into the rooms and showing him the floors are like the floors downstairs would help. but I seem to have made his fears worse. Now when he sees my coming towards him while he is on the top stair he turns around and goes back down quickly so the evil lady can't take him into the evil rooms. It is in this rush back down that I worry most about his sliding. Poor thing, I do feel bad for him. Maybe this is just the adjustment period and he'll get over it. I'll pick up a cheap runner to use going into the master before I commit to buying three to cover the pretty hardwood floors to see if it makes a difference. I think getting the stair treads is definitely in order to keep him from slipping down the stairs.

Thanks for the responses. I love my dogs and certainly didn't want to buy a house that one can't get around!

Cesar Milan had an episode a few years back with a Great Dane that would not walk on the tile floors in his owner's new home. As I remember he put the leash on the dog and started walking from the outside and just moved into the house without hesitation and walked the dog onto the tile. Of course the dog went right along with him with barely hesitating and he had the owners repeat everyday until the dog became comfortable with the new surface. I still don't know how he gets those dogs to behave like that!

We have a Weimaraner who also has an issue with new surfaces. We recently moved from a house with hardwood to another house with hardwood and she is having issues with the same type flooring, perhaps just because its in a new place. We bought a few cheap throw rugs and put them on the area she won't walk on several feet apart, sort of like stepping stones. You might try that and eventually as she gets comfortable walking further down the hall you could remove the rugs one at a time.

I had a Sheltie growing up and he was the smartest dog I have ever had.

Good luck, I think with patience you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Yikes! We are replacing our carpet in the living room, dining room, and eat in kitchen with hardwood floors. I hope our pooches don't have issues with it!

I didn't read all the responses but I agree with dawn's suggestion to treat him. We have a puppy who just graduated from her puppy II class and the message I got from there as well as the vet is that it is all about positive rewards based conditioning. Of course, it works best if your dog is food motivated; but whatever make the experience of going upstairs a positive one and something that he likes, food, attention, praise or play. Or perhaps it's the sensation or sound of his nails on the floor? Could try trimming his nails.

When we remodeled we replaced our tile and carpet with hardwood floors on the entire upper level and stairs that lead downstairs. We have a 13 year old weimaraner that was having trouble with the stairs. I bought some stair treads and love them. I thought the stairs were even slippery for me. I got mine from Solutions. They are very good and the reviews were very good. After getting the 1st set and using them, I purchased another set so that I had a backup set while the others were being washed. They also have matching runners and rugs. They do not require adhesive to be applied and they don't slide or move around much at all. They are the Vista rugs.

13 to 14 years old is pretty old for a dogger. Could be alot of health type issues could be behavioral or a combo of both. Whatever it is, in my experience at that age my whole house was covered in throw rugs with the latex backing for traction. Could be her urge to be with her people overcomes her fears sometimes. But please know this is a struggle for her both emotionally and physically. Check with your vet there are some great arthritis drugs out there for dogs. Difference is like night and day. IMHO, I would probably limit her stair usage and create a nice spot on the main floor for both dogs. You may have to listen to them whine for a few nights but having each other they will quickly settle down.

Back to the decor question, Yes, I would have them match or coordinate as much as possible as you will be living with them for a few to several years.

Well, I am clearly no Cesar Milan. I tried the leash trick and he just put the brakes on and I certainly didn't want to traumatize any further (I did this downstairs as he is also afraid of the powder room - the only downstairs room he fears). I ordered one rug online that should arrive soon, relocated a rug into the office and have littered the halls with throw rugs, so we'll see. Because it is a behavioral issue, I think the patience and play it cool approach may be the way to go.

sumac, I can see the struggle for him! And I think it is more emotional because he has no problems downstairs on the same floors, but literally looks terrified of the same floors upstairs. As far as arthritis, he has been on Rimadyl for years and it works well for him (no worries about liver or kidney function, it is closely watched).

Weimom - I will check out those stair treads, I do admit that the stairs are a bit on the slick side.

Is the hardwood upstairs a different color than downstairs, or very shiny? An older dog usually has fading vision, so dark floors might not offer visual contrast, which is scary for them. Ditto very shiny floors. Also, the floor color/texture/sheen might remind him of a frightening situation from his past, or the echo-y sound might be bothering him.

Make sure his claws are clipped, too.

Training won't help this--I.m not a fan of Cesar Milan's approach in most cases, it doesn't translate well to real life. And would you try to "train" your your poor granny not to be afraid of falling on ice? That's how the floors seem to your dog.
Get runners for stairs, rooms he passes through and an area rug or two: one for the family room so he won't be afraid to spend time with his humans and one for the room where he sleeps at night. If it's behavioural, you'll be able to remove them gradually--but I think they'll be necessary until this little guy goes to the rainbow bridge.

Finally, lower (animal) fat food will likely help your dog's arthritis--many dog foods are too high in crude fat. Mine get vet hypoallergic blend which is around 11 percent crude fat, and it makes a huge difference since sore jointsare often linked to food sensitivities. I then supplement them with Omega 3 oils. Also eliminate wheat and corn from their diet--no packaged treats, give them cucumber slices, carrot chunks etc instead.

A memory foam bed would be wonderful for this dog, too!

Hope this helps!

Is the hardwood upstairs a different color than downstairs, or very shiny? An older dog usually has fading vision, so dark floors might not offer visual contrast, which is scary for them. Ditto very shiny floors. Also, the floor color/texture/sheen might remind him of a frightening situation from his past, or the echo-y sound might be bothering him.

Make sure his claws are clipped, too.

Training won't help this--I.m not a fan of Cesar Milan's approach in most cases, it doesn't translate well to real life. And would you try to "train" your your poor granny not to be afraid of falling on ice? That's how the floors seem to your dog.
Get runners for stairs, rooms he passes through and an area rug or two: one for the family room so he won't be afraid to spend time with his humans and one for the room where he sleeps at night. If it's behavioural, you'll be able to remove them gradually--but I think they'll be necessary until this little guy goes to the rainbow bridge.

Finally, lower (animal) fat food will likely help your dog's arthritis--many dog foods are too high in crude fat. Mine get vet hypoallergic blend which is around 11 percent crude fat, and it makes a huge difference since sore jointsare often linked to food sensitivities. I then supplement them with Omega 3 oils. Also eliminate wheat and corn from their diet--no packaged treats, give them cucumber slices, carrot chunks etc instead.

A memory foam bed would be wonderful for this dog, too!

Hope this helps!

Poor buddy. :(

The first thing I would suggest is a vet visit, just to rule out pain. I know you said he's on Rimadyl, but maybe he needs an increase or a change in meds?

Also, it's not uncommon for older dogs to develop anxiety, even if it hasn't been an issue for them before. I have an anxious dog, and he avoided the backyard for a while (was terrified of it) -- I have no idea why, but something small must have spooked him and he associated the backyard with the scary thing (loud noise? bee sting?). And the move alone might have been scary -- my brother has a dog who wouldn't leave their sectional voluntarily for days after they moved into a new house, because it was familiar there and she was anxious about the new place. Both dogs in my examples have gotten past their fears (though both tend toward anxiety still).

There are a number of things you can do for anxiety, including medication. I'm not a fan (at all) of Cesar's, and I think your instincts are good. Gently encourage him, with lots of high value treats (hot dogs, cheese), to move further. Don't pressure him at all, and don't correct him if he doesn't move forward (I wouldn't use a leash; it should be totally voluntary on his part) -- just a ton of encouragement and lots of treats if he tries it out. It can take a while, so don't get frustrated. And if he wants to stay at the bottom of the stairs, so be it.

ETA: Sorry, just reread your post indicating that he's not hugely treat motivated. Is there something he'll work for? A great toy? Lots of verbal praise? Tugging? Something rewarding. I would really try to let him work it out on his own.

Sorry I can't be of more help with rugs, but I think they're a great idea for an older dog.

Good luck!

This post was edited by StellaMarie on Tue, Apr 23, 13 at 13:20

We had a minor success today (or sorts). We relocated a rug into the office and he rested on it. Of course we had to carry him on and off of it, but he looked cozy enough while he was there. Since my husband occasionally works from home and he finds the whining disruptive on conference calls, this seems like a suitable work around for the short term. And maybe he will make the move himself with a bit more time. As far as the floors being a different sheen from the upstairs to downstairs, I am sure it is possible from his perspective, although I can't tell a difference.

Regarding anxiety, I am quite sure that this is the issue for him. Like I said earlier, he is a sheltie which as a breed tends toward being high strung, with him having that classic treat. Maybe he needs some puppy prozac! We have found that his biggest reward is company, so I am thinking maybe the carrying him and placing him on the rugs maybe how we will have to deal until (and if) he gets up the nerve to move about himself. In the meantime, I will keep my eye out for more rugs.

Thanks for the ideas everybody. I feel a bit guilty for changing his environment!

Last year we took out all our carpet downstairs and the upstairs hallway and put in laminate. The only place left that is carpeted is the stairs, 3 bedrooms and bonus room that are all upstairs. We have 3 dogs - 12, 10 and 5 yrs old. The two younger ones are fine and have no issues walking on the floor. Our oldest one absolutely hates it, has not gotten use to it and I doubt ever will. She will only walk on it for two things, to come in to the kitchen to eat (and she has to stand on a throw rug to eat) and to go out the back door to potty. Other than that she stays on the throw rug in the family room. I feel soo bad for her, it's as though she is living confined to a throw rug. I have to carry her upstairs every night to go to bed, otherwise it would take her all night to walk that far. Now the throw rug issue - the 5 yr old loves to pee on the throw rugs. He was already housebroken when we moved in to this house and he didn't go on the carpet here (if he did, we would have known it!). Now I can only have throw rugs that can be machine washed and to protect the floors, I buy cheap shower curtain liners and cut them to fit under the throw rugs.