How To Help Prevent Your Dog From Sliding on Slippery Floors

Dogs are man’s best friend, but they’re still not able to walk in the same spaces we can. And that’s because only until very recently, we humans have lived in pretty simple abodes. These days, however, we have floors made out of fancy tiles and smooth materials. And while we can easily move around them with a pair of shoes, the same can’t be said for dogs.

Even if your dog can move around nimbly over the soil, doing so over waxed tiles is a completely different story. Over smooth surfaces, dogs are more likely to slide and slip as they walk or run, making it a little more difficult for them to get around. If you’d rather not see your dog deal with all this, there are certain ways to prevent this from happening.

Dogs and Slippery Floors

The reason why dogs can’t move around smooth flooring as easily as we can is simply due to the fact that dog paws are not meant for such surfaces. Dogs are descendants of wolves, and those animals live in harsh conditions in the wild. Their paws tread through snow, soil, rocks, and more. This sort of terrain is rugged and rough, and their paws adapted to work in such conditions.

But this sort of traction on their paws doesn’t work at all when they’re walking over a tiled or waxed surface. There’s just not enough friction generating on your dog’s paws, and this means they can end up sliding and slipping if they make one wrong step.

Grip Socks for Dogs

One of the most efficient ways to give your dogs some footing over smooth surfaces is by giving them a set of grip socks. As the name suggests, grip socks are dog socks that your pet puts on so that they can walk around without falling over and slipping. The added traction and friction that comes from the grip socks ensure that your dog can walk and even run around smooth and slippery surfaces with ease.

The only downside to grip socks is that you have to actually buy them. This basically means that you’re spending a bit of money on some dog accessories that you can’t really use if your dog is not walking on these sorts of floors. If your house is mostly smooth tiles, however, it may be worth the purchase, especially if your dog can’t seem to move around very comfortably at home.

Trimming Your Dog’s Nails

One other way to make it easier for your dog to move around is by trimming its nails. Nail trimming is usually done to prevent their nails from causing scratches or inconveniencing your dog, but it can also help secure better footing. If your dog’s nails are too long, it’s generally harder for them to walk around and this becomes even more of a problem when walking over a smooth surface. By trimming your dog’s nails, they can more reliably walk around on any surface, whether they’re wearing grip socks or not.