[Ginger Daddy]

Hi there.

We have recently bought a 9 week old Chihuahua puppy - for those interested, click here for a picture!

The problem is - he hates walking on our wood floors!

He comes from a house where the breeder has had carpets and as soon as we put him on the wood floor, he runs for his bed. we even had to buy a throw to put on the floor just so he can run around.

We also have puppy training pads, and he only really uses them if they are placed on something soft (the throw usually).

Any ideas of how we can get him used to the wood floor? Or do we wait until we move into our new house in five weeks which is all carpets? He loves the carpets at my partners mum's house!

Also last night, we had to put him in his bed in the living room (with his hot water bottle) as he would not sleep! He kept running around the bedroom, under the bed and at 2.30am we lost patience and put him in the living room. He cried for a bit and was pleased to see me this morning so I played with him for an hour before work.

Whats the best thing to do in this situation? Is banishing his to a room on his own the best thing to do?

Cheers.

[kaisa624]

Pop him on a lead, and sit him on a carpetted floor by the doorway to the wood floor. Then hold a piece of chicken or a treat that he likes in front of him, and see if he'll put even one paw on the wood floor, and praise him. Maybe, sit on the wood floor in front of him with a toy and see if he'll come over to you. Make sure you do it gradually, maybe place his food on the wood floor, where he has to put at least one paw on it, so he gets used to it, little by little.

I'm not sure really, as my puppy's breeder's house had both wood and carpetted floor. I think little by little is best, so you don't scare him, but just introduce him to it.