Our Attempt At Minimizing The Wipeouts

The only floor in our home that isn't carpeted, aside from the bathroom, is our kitchen. It's covered with linoleum. During the cold weather months, at least twice a week, I'll put on a pair of slippery plush socks and dance around. Ear buds in. Blaring. This is my therapy and, often times, my means of breaking through writer's block. While I appreciate our slick linoleum floor, it's not exactly ideal for the kids. Especially Lobo.

Coco and Sophie have wiped out on occasion while running through the kitchen or doing the Welcome Home Doggie Dance. If they're on the kitchen chair and jump down, it takes them a second or two to reestablish their footing.

Lobo, on the other hand, loses his footing frequently due to only having only one hind leg. Wipeouts. He has limited mobility with the remaining hind leg. It tires easily. We're certain he sustained an injury to that leg at some point prior to his rescue. There's a scar that goes completely around the ankle.

Up until this summer, the linoleum wasn't a huge issue. He had wipeouts. Maybe 3-4 a week. However, as Lobo continued to come out of his shell, he became more playful with Coco and Sophie. And, his Welcome Home Doggie Dance blossomed into full swing

Sophie doesn't play much. She prefers to watch her brother's spectacles. 

It got to the point where he was wiping out 3-4 times a day versus per week. Some day, that number increased. In addition, if Lisa or I picked him up in the kitchen area, his first instinct was to break out into a run to fetch his favorite toy when we put him down. We'd hold onto him until he got his footing, but the instant desire to run in the direction of his toy often resulted in a wipe out.

We had to do something.

We tried doggie shoes with slip guards. He hated them. And, it didn't solve the issue of his discomfort while sitting or laying on the kitchen floor. A pet pillow solved that problem until it became a safety hazard for me.

Grace is not my middle name.

While baking cookies one day, I noticed Lobo sitting and sprawling out on the foam mats we had in front of the kitchen sink and stove. This was Lobo's preferred area to sit and watch what I was doing or simply, to be closer to me.

The light bulb went off.

The following night we purchased a few scatter rugs with a no-slip bottom.  The kids were naturally curious. They sniffed. Sat. Stretched out. Coco, who's bum has never touched the linoleum floor, sat on command.

True story. In the 3 years since adopting Coco, he has never sat on the linoleum floor. We have yet to figure out why. 

Lobo was in his glory. He had more options. So far, so good. Now, we have to decide whether to purchase a gigantic rug for the kitchen or several no-slip runners.

Decisions. Decisions.