# Training Class Dilemma



## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

My mpoo puppy, Topper, is 6 months old and has recently developed an aversion to - or reluctance to walk on - slippery floors. He's fine on the hardwood floors at our house, but refuses to walk on the slippery vinyl or linoleum tile in the hallways and some rooms of our training school. Our Puppy Kindergarten, Level One and Level Two classes were held during the day on a vinyl floor. When we started Level 3 in that room about three weeks ago, he stopped walking with me. He excelled at the mat work, where he could get off the floor. We switched to a class in a room with a less slippery floor, but it's at 6:15 p.m., which is really close to Topper's bed time. As one would expect, he doesn't have much focus or patience, and is very easily distracted by the other dogs. 

One option is to do a virtual class via Zoom. The only other option is a class at 10 a.m. on Sunday, but that's right before our 11:15 nose work class and I'm concerned that two classes in a row will be too much for Topper. The trainer said that some dogs can handle it and others can't. 

I would love to hear your input ab out how to balance puppy nap time with training time! Thanks in advance!


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Just seeing your post. I'm bumping it with hopes that some of our excellent trainers here can help!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Peggy definitely could not have handled back-to-back classes at that age. What about using something like rubber Pawz booties to give him more traction on the slippery floors?









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Just a single pair would last a long time with indoor use.


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Can you take him to the building outside of class to work on the floor issue? Dropping yummy treats, playing with a favorite toy. This is an issue that you'll want to resolve eventually or it will affect places you can take your dog . . . pet stores, vets, etc.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Regarding the floor issue - has he had his pads shaved recently? One of our dogs gets afraid of sliding on slippery floors if she has hair growing on the bottom of her feet that lets her slide.


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## naybaloog (May 19, 2020)

I saw a video of putting non slip socks on a dog that was afraid of walking on slick floor and the dog was great after that. Might be worth a try??


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

For Want of Poodle said:


> Regarding the floor issue - has he had his pads shaved recently? One of our dogs gets afraid of sliding on slippery floors if she has hair growing on the bottom of her feet that lets her slide.


He has his paw pads shaved every four weeks at his regular grooming appointment. Plus, I shave them myself between appointments. Two days after the last grooming appointment on a Friday, Topper had issues with the evil slippery floor outside our training room on Sunday. Poor fella.


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Peggy definitely could not have handled back-to-back classes at that age. What about using something like rubber Pawz booties to give him more traction on the slippery floors?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think Topper may not be able to handle back-to-back classes - he was pretty tired after nose work class today.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

PowersPup said:


> My mpoo puppy, Topper, is 6 months old and has recently developed an aversion to - or reluctance to walk on - slippery floors. He's fine on the hardwood floors at our house, but refuses to walk on the slippery vinyl or linoleum tile in the hallways and some rooms of our training school.


Has anyone tried this as a solution?

*Wax poetic*
_
Originally designed to protect sled dogs’ paw pads against snow and ice, musher’s wax can help add traction for the slipping dog. When applied to the pads, it is a bit sticky and helps prevent your pet’s legs from sliding out from under her. Musher’s wax is 100% natural and will not damage carpets. Musher’s wax also protects pads against sandburn and winter de-icing products._


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I would not use booties since that is one other thing to train since many pups probably wouldn't like them. I would use either Musher's Secret or probably better would be Show Foot which is a resin that helps with traction. I would not spray it directly on the pup's feet but instead spray it to a reasonable level of saturation onto a paper towel then rub it on the feet. Wetting feet with water also seems to help some dogs with traction.


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## Newport (Jul 16, 2014)

In addition to the advice on providing some extra traction to his paw pads (with musher secret, show foot, or simple water) I would sign up for one or two private lessons at your training facility on the slippery floor. You can work on basic puppy obedience stuff with all the time address floor shyness as it comes up. Possibly bring a towel or a yoga mat so he can practice a sit, etc on both surfaces. And make sure you have excellent treats: boiled chicken for work done on the slippery floor, and a lesser treat like a biscuit for work done on the towel or mat.

Good luck! Update us on how it goes.


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## Michigan Gal (Jun 4, 2019)

Are his nails too long?


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

Thank you all for your input - I LOVE this community!! I have used paw wax for our classes, and it worked OK for a while. I have seen Show Foot on Amazon, but understand that it's no longer being manufactured. As for booties, I agree with Lily cd re that it would be another thing to train. I feel a bit overwhelmed with all the training this puppy needs already and am reuluctant to take on another project. I can apply the paw wax and take Topper to PetSmart to see if it works. 

However, Topper now has an aversion to the slippery floors at our training school. He doesn't even want to try to walk on them unless he can see a rug or carpet nearby. A private training session would be ideal, and I will try to schedule one. I'm lucky that I volunteer in the training school, and the trainers are very interested in helping me solve the issue. I want him to continue to be a confident little guy - in our nose work classes and practice, he will climb into boxes, go through tunnels, stick his head in a coffee can, etc. I don't want him to lose his courage and sense of adventure. 

I have signed up for a virtual training class so we can proceed with our training at home, where Topper is sure of his footing. The class is in the morning, which seems to be a good time for both of us. The trainer is the same one who does our nose work class, so she's familiar with us and some of our training challenges (focus, calmness, etc.)

Again, thank you all for your input. I will keep you posted on our progress!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

It always says it (show foot) is no longer being made and has said that for years and years, but it never really disappears. So either someone has a ton of back stock or it is still being made!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I had similar problems with Babykins and slippery floors. I have wood floors at home and that impeded learning to sit, down and stand until we got over that hump. You are not alone, I know several people who had this problem.

I done lots of training inside stores such as TJMaxx and Pet-Co which has vinyl or linoleum tile. The worst is Nordstroms which has a mix of highly polished and extremely light reflective marble with islands of carpet. Took a couple of training sessions for Babykins to learn she could safely navigate those floors.

I looks like you have covered the basics - paws should be groomed, nails clipped to minimize slip. Waxes help but wear off and are of no use if you don't have the wax handy all the time. Socks require additional training.

I'm glad you're doing virtual training for now. Looks like the slippery floors has "poisoned" the training center for now until you can get him over this hump. Be aware that he may have issues with other surfaces. We had to agility equipment such as the pause table, to wooden dock, aluminum decking - all kinds of random surfaces.

I'm glad you are looking into getting a personal trainer to help.

It helps to go somewhere neutral where he hasn't been before and start to desensitize him. Bring lots of high value treats. Be patient, don't push the process, go at the pace of your dog and step back a few steps if necessary. Break up into tiny steps and repeat each step multiple times. You could do one or two steps, then leave, do something completely different then come back and repeat. Obviously you can't do it one day, but you can have several short training sessions in one day depending on your schedule. You can also buy some remnant flooring to start the work in your home, garage or yard.

Go to a store with similar flooring - and treat him outside the door. Approach the door and treat then walk back a few steps and repeat. When he's comfortable, step inside for a few steps - treat then go back outside. It's usually a mat surface. When he is eagerly comfortable take one step inside the slippery floor and treat heavily - jackpot then step back out on safe flooring . Repeat many times. He could have wax on his feet if you want at this stage but eventually you will want to wean him off the wax. When he can take one step on the floor without fear, try two steps. You can break it down into the steps you think he needs. Always treat heavily when moving to the next step and continue to treat as you're desensitizing. Never force him to do more than he's ready for or you'll set yourself back. When you're making good progress at one store - try another and start over - but this should move more quickly through the steps because he's learning to feel safe on that type of floor. Try several stores - then start over again at the training facility. All of this should be done when it's quiet, not a lot of people or dogs around to distract. 

You will get there and once it's solid you won't have to worry about this type of flooring again.


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

Skylar said:


> I had similar problems with Babykins and slippery floors. I have wood floors at home and that impeded learning to sit, down and stand until we got over that hump. You are not alone, I know several people who had this problem.
> 
> I done lots of training inside stores such as TJMaxx and Pet-Co which has vinyl or linoleum tile. The worst is Nordstroms which has a mix of highly polished and extremely light reflective marble with islands of carpet. Took a couple of training sessions for Babykins to learn she could safely navigate those floors.
> 
> ...


I took your advice, Skylar and had some great success! It helps that Topper is naturally bold, confident and curious. We went to our local PetSmart, which has both tile and cement floors. We went in early afternoon when there were very few other customers. I applied paw wax before we went in, and armed myself with plenty of string cheese to encourage Topper to walk around with me. 

I had to encourage him to take the first few steps off the entryway rug. But the aromas in the store were so enticing to him that he walked around the treat area and food aisles on a loose leash. I happy talked to him, praised him for taking steps and pretty much followed him around. I let him set the pace and pretty soon he was checking out the toys. We picked out his first big boy dog bed and got him a snazzy orange rain jacket that we'll also use for visibility on future hikes in the woods. He had fun, so we'll go again soon.

This morning at nose work class, two of the searches were in the restrooms - with scary tile floors. I used a hot dog trail to get Topper to walk on a slippery floor to the first restroom, and he started his first search pretty slowly. I gave him positive reinforcement for walking on the floor. Once he homed in on the scent tin, he became very confident again, even getting up on his hind legs to get the bits of hot dog on top of the tin. I piled on the treats and praise. The second restroom search was more difficult because it was the mens' room and smelled pretty funny to begin with. The hot dog had fallen off the scent tin, but Topper ignored it and found the scent tin anyway and really locked onto it. My heart nearly exploded!! Of course, the trainers were really happy with this progress, too. 

Oh, and Topper graduated from Level 3 in our virtual (Zoom) class earlier this week. He was able to focus on the training without the distraction of the fun trainers and the other dogs (or slippery hallways). 

Thank you all for sharing your wisdom and encouraging me!


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## Fenix&Felix (Oct 21, 2020)

PowersPup said:


> I took your advice, Skylar and had some great success! It helps that Topper is naturally bold, confident and curious. We went to our local PetSmart, which has both tile and cement floors. We went in early afternoon when there were very few other customers. I applied paw wax before we went in, and armed myself with plenty of string cheese to encourage Topper to walk around with me.
> 
> I had to encourage him to take the first few steps off the entryway rug. But the aromas in the store were so enticing to him that he walked around the treat area and food aisles on a loose leash. I happy talked to him, praised him for taking steps and pretty much followed him around. I let him set the pace and pretty soon he was checking out the toys. We picked out his first big boy dog bed and got him a snazzy orange rain jacket that we'll also use for visibility on future hikes in the woods. He had fun, so we'll go again soon.
> 
> ...


Yay Topper, and you! This is really inspiring—nice job!


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

That’s fabulous.

Since you are doing nose work I will add look for and desensitize him to all kinds of potentially weird floor surfaces such as bumpy tile, textured aluminum ramps, elevators and strange stairs etc. we do searches everywhere and not just in dog training facilities. The bonus with doing nose work is a dog who is odor obedient will be more confident and focused on the search therefore more tolerant of surfaces that might be scary.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Really good progress! Yay!


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## PowersPup (Aug 28, 2020)

This may just be a coincidence, but when I was grooming Topper yesterday I noticed that both of his testicles are now descended. Maybe that development resulted in increased bravery....


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