When I bought my first house, the hardwoods were not hardwoods and they were light. Max’s hair showed up everywhere. So when I got around to putting in real hardwoods, I put in wide, dark planks. For a year, Max’s hair blended in perfectly.
Then Melvin arrived. Oh well, visual hair there would be.
In this house, because Melvin was (I so effortlessly typed ‘is’ there — still working on typing ‘was’) allergic to everything, hardwoods were the best option. Carpet traps all the things that made him itch. So pretty much the entire house is hardwood. (Medium color — some lessons I do learn!).
Then came Jake. Still all good. Then came Jake’s leg’s issue and hardwood is now his worst enemy. He will stand on the edge of an area rug and panic comes over him. It’s like a child on the edge of a swimming pool. He steps onto the hardwood an SPLAT. Then he swims just trying to get to the next rug.
I love Jake, but I am not having the whole house carpeted. While we were at the beach, I did notice that he walked better on tile. The tile was a rougher texture and he was able to gain some traction on it. That MAY be an option. But for now, I’m going with ‘plan leap-frog’. I put carpet squares all over the house, in between the main rugs so that he can leap onto his lily pads.
Since you all know that I have decorating ADD, I look at those carpet squares and my first inclination is to pick them up/keep things tidy. But then I have to say ‘No, those are for Jake. You love Jake. You love Jake more than you love decorating, right? Right?! Yes, yes, of course.’
We have also tried: traction socks (they don’t stay on), traction socks with vet taped wrapped around them (they don’t stay on), toenail grips (they don’t stay on), paw pad traction stickers (you guessed it, THEY DON’T STAY ON).
If you have any ideas (beyond making him play Frogger), let me know!
Have you heard of or tried the Pawz rubber booties? They are like balloons for dog feet and stay on great. I’ve used them for paw pad injuries, to prevent scratching with claws, and as snow/ice boots. They are inexpensive and great to have on hand. I wish I had known about them when I had my dog Lasya, who had partial hind end paralysis due to DM. I wouldn’t leave them on for long periods, but maybe during Jake’s active time of day.
http://pawzdogboots.com/
Yes! I should have mentioned we tried lot’s of boots and the Pawz. They have the potential to work great – except that Jake is in-between a small and medium. The small ones barely go on and then they are too tight around his ankles to leave on. The larger ones are too big, they drag and then fall off. I even tried cinching the larger ones and putting electrical tape around his ankles. Worded ok but he seemed to want to walk less so… Thanks for the suggestion though!
We’re getting ready to remodel our house and are getting rid of most of the carpet for hardwood floors. I’m a little worried about how slippery the new floors will be, so I’ll have to keep checking back for advice left in the comments.
We’re also getting ready to remodel (next summer/fall-ish) we are looking into vinyl flooring that looks like wood, I’m hoping it won’t be as slippery as laminate or wood flooring. When we walked on it in the store it was raining out and it was even the least bit slippery. I worry about my older boy because a) he’s uncoordinated as all get out and b) he’s getting older and we don’t want him to fall.
They make this stuff you dip your tools (ahem hammer, screwdriver ect.) in that makes them grippy, maybe dip Jake’s toes in that stuff? 🙂 Just kidding, no great suggestions here, especially if he’s between sizes in most booties.
Carpet runners could work, they tend to be 26 to 33 inches wide and can be cut to whatever length you need. They come in a lot of patterns too! We have one from the front door to the kitchen that we call “the runway”. 🙂
We have a couple of runners strategically placed as well and I noticed that even Julius, who bulldozes through things likes to make use of the rug bridge. Our dilema was finding rugs that don’t look too haphazard and we haven’t quite gotten there yet.
Have you tried Soft Claws Nail Caps? I know they’re really meant to protect furniture and flooring, but they seem somewhat grippy.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1408
I think with your decorating style, round rugs are the way to go. They would look more like they are part of the style of the room.
Oh, I love the circle idea! unexpected and fun!
Your pictures always amaze me – your house is so, so beautiful! The rug thing is a toughie. We’ve been dealing that with Lucas on three legs. Our wood floors are far too slippery for him to get anywhere safely, so for now, we have little bath mats strewn about. They’re driving me crazy. If you figure out a solution, please share!!
If you want to see where I got the idea of the round rugs from, check out Pit Bulls & Parolees Season 1, episode 1 – Second Chance Ranch. You can check it out on u tube. Just skip to the end where they are bringing the old dog to the adopters home. I think they look really nice!