Why is our soon to be 3 year old golden retriever afraid of certain places in the house.?

Question

There are certain spots in our house and in my mom's cabin where he is afraid to walk across. He will whine and cry and try over and over to work up the nerve to walk across. Eventually he will gun it making a huge fool of himself or we'll have to drag him across. The next time he passes the same way he's fine. Please don't tell me we have ghosts in our house. Could it be his shadow or the shine on the floor he is scared of? What can I do?

wow...thanks for the answers! One spot is downstairs. The whole floor is the peel and stick kind. It's only 1 spot he fears and it's not all the time. It's a path between the couch and the wall. My mom's cabin is the kitchen part. Which is also peel and stick flooring. He won't come in the kitchen door but he will go out????

Answer 1

It could be shine on the floor... Or, do you, by chance have parkay (sp?) style floors? I used to have a dog that was afraid of such floors (these are the tyles or linoleum squares that alternate big squares of black and white); we had this sort of floor in our kitchen, and the dog wouldn't even enter the room; we always wondered if she thought that the black squares were holes. Never figured it out for sure, though. That same dog was also afraid of heating grates or heating vents in the floor and would avoid them at all cost -- are there any heating grates near these areas? Also, some dogs simply hate to walk on linoleum or wood floors. Do you have wood floors with area rugs? Are these areas that aren't covered?

Answer 2

Is it possible to place rugs in these spots? If so, be sure to place grippers or tape under them - a sliding rug will only make things worse! When he is willingly walking through the area, begin to phase out the rugs by first making them smaller and then eliminating them altogether.

Try using treats or a favorite toy to create a positive association with these spots. Initially just put the treats a few feet from the area, leading your dog toward the scary spot, or play with him near the spot. Gradually move closer to the spot (this could take a few days - look for signs of stress in your dog that tell you he isn't ready to procede yet).

When he is more comfortable around the area, try a trail of treats to a jackpot (six or so treats) in the center of the area. If necessary, put down treats and then leave the area, letting him work it out for himself. With repetition he should get over it.

Answer 3

I dont know either. My 3 year old golden mix is the same way. She is very skittish around certain areas. I know she is afraid to go through the kitchen if the dishwasher or our gas stove is going. She will also go anywhere in the house except the bathroom. Our bathroom has two doors and if she is in the hallway and I am in the other room on the other side of the bathroom, she will go all the way around the house to get to the room instead of just walking through the bathroom to me. She is also like that in any new homes she visits. Maybe its just a breed characteristic. Maybe we just have weird dogs, I dont know. Well if anyone gives you any tips or ideas let me know. Good luck

Answer 4

I'm sorry theirs no other way to put this but their is a ghost in ur house but on the good side it might be a friendly ghost so don't be worried.Or he just might smell another animal or person around ur house that he dont like.LOL!!!Or it just might be the floor.

Answer 5

i always heard that ghosts make dogs nervous and it sounds like theres something that scares him i know my dog wont go in the bathroom because of baths and maybe something happened to him there and whats why it makes him nervous

Answer 6

I would have to say it's the type of floor that you have. He has probably never been on that type before and it's scary to him.