westie is acting very odd..

Question
Hi, I have a 5 year old male westie, Bentley. He has always been kind of a baby about a lot of silly things, he won't climb stairs, he hates 3 ring binders, doesn't like when the fan is on, etc. Recently he has decided he's afraid of our hardwood floor. This is a big problem because our whole downstairs is wood floor with area rugs in each room. For the past week he has been standing on the area rugs howling and barking for us to come pick him up or play with him on the carpet. I think he might have slipped one day when no one was home and now he doesn't want to walk on the floor again. We've been trying to reward him with carrots when he does walk on the floor but hes very hesitant and he always runs to the nearest carpet. I feel so bad for him because hes normally a very happy, playful dog and this new phobia is totally changing his personality! He barely wants to play anymore! Please help!!!!

Answer
The first thing is that you want to make certain that the dog has no physical problem that is contributing to his fear of walking on the floor.  It is very rare for a five year old dog to not do stairs, so unless it's because you didn't train him as a puppy, and lifted him each time he cried, you may want to consider whether he has a medical problem.  For example, some dogs with arthritis or hip dysplasia are more prone to hurt when they slip, which would increase the fear.  For such dogs, being carried up stairs or using carpet runners might be a humane solution.  But, if he has no physical problem and you want to gradually reduce his fear, you need to pair walking on the floor with something very pleasant, and you can probably even train him to do stairs.  Never force him, or drag him.  Also, stop trying to reward him with carrots, he isn't a rabbit lol.  Dogs usually are much more motivated by roast beef:-)  Also, be sure that his nails aren't too long, as it reduces the traction he gets when he walks.  If you can hear them clicking, they may need to be trimmed.  I would not make a big deal of this, and would ignore his pleas for help when he finds himself "stuck".  If there are no other animals in the home, one thing you can do is to virtually pepper the floor with meat - tiny, tiny pieces that he can go "hunting" for.  You can try placing his food bowl on the floor, not the carpet.  Then, just let him make his way to it on his own.  When he gets there, he gets the automatic reward of dinner.