Walking on Slippery Floors
A slippery linoleum or hardwood floor can be frightening to a dog that has never felt such a smooth surface under his feet. Unfortunately, a dog's reaction to a slippery floor is often to walk on his nails rather than the pads of his feet, making traction impossible. After a few seconds of skidding around and not going anywhere, most dogs get scared enough to lie down and refuse to budge, even for the tastiest morsel.
The solution to this is to introduce your Golden puppy to all sorts of walking surfaces. This will help him develop the skills he needs to negotiate any surface. If your puppy is now a growing dog and hasn't had these experiences, he needs practice, patience, and some tips from you.
Go slowly and at the dog's pace. Fear will interfere with learning and slow down the process, so make sure your dog is comfortable.
Start by putting small bits of treat on the slippery surface and let him eat them. Repeat this three or four times.
Sit on the slippery floor about three feet from your dog and wait.
If he looks in your direction, click and place the treat at his feet.
Hold your target hand out with a treat in it and wait. If he moves toward it at all, click and treat.
Now hold out your hand without a treat and if he moves toward it, however slightly, click and treat.
Continue to scoot back so you are always about three feet away and he is following you.
Pay attention to any attempt on his part to cover more ground and click and treat it.
Pay off with a jackpot (three or four small treats) if he does more than a step or two.
The more you reward movement, the more movement you will get.
If at any point he refuses to budge, go back a step or more until he's comfortable again.
Keep the session short and practice frequently instead.
Once he has mastered one surface, switch to another and repeat from the start.
Most dogs, once they learn how to negotiate the surface at their own speed, will be much more willing to attempt another type of surface or the same surface in a different location. Remember that you are teaching a life skill to your Golden. There are great benefits to going slowly and making this a fun process.
Pay attention to any attempt on his part to cover more ground, and click and treat that behavior. Pay off with a jackpot (three or four small treats) if he does more than a step or two. The more you reward movement, the more you will get movement. If at any point he refuses to budge, go back a step or more until he's comfortable again. Keep the session short, and practice frequently instead. Once he has mastered one surface, switch to another and repeat from the start.
