I have a yorkie mix, age 9. Three nights ago, she suddenly started acting extremely strangely. She is terrified of being on our hardwood and tile floors. She hunkers down and won't move, or, if there is a "safe" spot close (like carpet or a dog bed), she will bolt for it, while trying her best to keep a wall on one side of her.

She will not leave her bed in our kitchen. We had to move her water and food dish over to the bed just so she would eat/drink. She has gotten very scared of being picked up because, I assume, she thinks we are going to put her on the floor, which sometimes we have to. When we let her go outside, she walks just fine on our deck and goes down to the grass, but is then too scared to come up the deck stairs. She has taken to hiding in a bush on the side of our house when we call her to come in, requiring us to go down and fish her out. This is not an acceptable long-term situation.

Conversely, when she is on carpet or a bed or furniture, she is her normal self. I have done some research into dogs that get nervous on hardwood and I guess that's what I'm dealing with here, but it was just so sudden. She has not fallen or sustained any injuries that we can see. She does not appear to be in any pain or have any other negative health symptoms. Up to this week, she was an extremely active, energetic dog who had the run of our house and was, in most situations, utterly fearless (the tiny dog/big personality thing).

My wife called our vet who recommended Dr. Buzzbee's toe grips, which I've looked into. But they are recommended for senior and special needs dogs, which ours is neither. We got her a thundershirt in the hopes it would soothe her anxiety but so far it has made no difference. The only thing I can think of is that her nails are too long. We are lax about trimming them because she hates having her feet touched, and they do seem rather long. As a yorkie mix, her hair grows continuously and she probably needs a trim between her paws as well. But this whole thing seems purely psychological, and the suddenness, randomness, and utter out-of-characterness for her has me and my wife perplexed and stressed.

Any ideas what might be going on in her head, and what we might try? Thanks.