I have a long runner in my hallway and the cats love sliding on it. I swear I straighten out that rug 4 times a day. I suppose you could use gripper strips that adhere to your flooring.

I wouldn't use a rug in front of the staircase. that is a tripping hazard. The puppy can't build up much speed in that small area, so leave it be. when she grows a bit she will have better control.

get a 8-10 foot runner for the hallway. if you place it in the middle, it should be enough for her to keep control.

Hey @Beth H. : - thanks so much for the quick reply here and for your input on the slip + slide that is our hallway haha! 😂

I'm glad to hear you agree that keeping the staircase rug-less is the way to go! Regarding the hallway, I'm thinking that two runners will help with breaking up the length/adding some interest, as well as keeping a better grip - given that portion of the hallway is 18 feet, I think 8-10 feet of runner will be too short? All of the advice I've seen online advises to have runners placed to ensure that when someone steps out from a room they are entirely on the runner (vs. half on / half off) so my thinking was we'll need to have enough coverage for all 4 doors to be covered..

I’m going to suggest a custom cut/install runner for the hall, which runs down the stair case.

There are so many doors, a landing, stairs, I think it would be the safe/easy way to go. It will have padding, an added asset to control the sound of foot steps in the wee hours.

thank you both so much for the help here! @JudyG Designs - great idea! definitely something we'll consider in the future as we're on a bit of a budget having invested so much with the puppy (and imagine the rugs will take some wear + tear in her younger years so want to hold off on doing anything more custom until she's older) Will save this for then!!

@Beth H. : hilarious on the kitty parkour!! I grew up with cats myself so definitely have experience with the "running starts" (and paw prints 😂!!) Thanks so much for the suggestion on the runner length - that's definitely been a hangup in my head! If we go with two 8 feet runners, we'll have a ~2 foot (tops) gap - I'm less experienced with rug placement so just wanted to get a sense of whether that sounded like a good layout? Lastly - curious on your thoughts about mixing two different designs (vs. using the same rug twice)? I'd been looking at Ruggable and LOVE their stuff (+ very pet friendly) but they unfortunately only have 7 ft + 10 ft.. assume that'd make for an awkward pairing?

I tried a design tool I just found online and this looked like a good approximation for what the hallway would look like with your 8 ft rug suggestion! (definitely not the colors I'd go with, but just to get an idea!)

yes. that's exactly how I was thinking of the placement.

another option. you could try a rug/carpet store and see about remnants. (budget-wise) they will cut to fit your exact measurements, and then bind the edges. Prob a few hundred or so depending on what you choose.