Welsh Terrier weirded out - won't walk on floor. How can I 'fix' him?

Question

Herbie got a haircut yesterday, when he came home he was ok, but about an hour later he started acting really strange. He will go in his crate, but doesn't want to walk on the carpet/floor/ground anymore than he HAS to. He'll actually jump on the couch and walk along the back of it to get to the door to go outside. He jumped in the recliner and I saw him eyeballing trying to jump from it to the couch (too far).
He did this once before - and it was about a week before my Dad (who is 87 and lives with us) had his stroke.
Is he just weirded out because of getting his pedicure and haircut and it'll go away - or is he maybe sensing something else? He doesn't particularly pay that much attention to my dad. Just looks down at the floor like there are bugs crawling around on it (there aren't!)
Anyone else's dog ever act like this?
The last time it happened, he went to the kennel for 4 days while I went on a trip... and when he came home he was fine ( the same day my Dad had stroke)

Answer 1

Maybe the dog is getting shocked by the carpeting? If there is a lot of static electricity (like there is in my house right now) he may have decided that it hurts to walk on the carpeting. You'll have to first take care of the static problem (do you have a humidifier?) and then retrain him to see the floor as a positive thing (treat him each time he steps onto the carpeting - the treats should probably be high value at first and make sure they are very small so he doesn't end up with a weight problem). If it's something else causing it you can still retrain him to see the floor he won't walk on as good.

You mentioned he just got a hair cut... I assume they did his toenails too? You might want to take a look. Maybe they quicked him and his feet are sore.

Answer 2

Terriers are very sensitive and intelligent dogs. I have a cairn, I used to have two cairns but my elderly male passed away last year. My family had wire hair fox terriers when I was a kid. Each one of these dogs had their own personality quirks, but all of them hated to have their nails clipped. Terriers also seem to crave a lot of attention from their owners--maybe he thinks your father his is a rival for your attention.
I have a feeling he got at least one nail clipped too short, or maybe he needs a little extra attention; or both.
My five year old female cairn has only had her nails clipped a few times when she was a puppy; I take her for walks on the sidewalk and that wears her nails down. I gave her a haircut once, and she was so mad at me she just sat in the yard and "pouted." She eventually got over it, though. I think your dog will get over it pretty soon, but you might want to rethink about the nail clipping; it might make his feet sore. Or, he might not really be sore, but he's acting like it. My male cairn used to be very particular about his feet and he would make a really big deal out of it if he had a bur between his toes or something.

Answer 3

Clipping their claws can change the feel of what they are walking on. Take my word for it there are breeds that can freak out way worse than your Terrier. Normally they will completely forget about it in a few days as the tip of their claws lose their sensitivity.