Puppies and stairs

Watson's Mom

Watson's Mom

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So, Roxy has going up stairs down and will come inside the house just fine. There are only two steps from the house to the garage but she either refuses or just can’t seem to go down them.

I’m not sure if she’s just refusing or if she can’t manage it yet. Watson also had problems with going down stairs.

How do I teach her stairs? We have tried luring with bits of treats on the steps but she just stretches her neck out like a turtle trying to reach them but no paws on the step.

am I relegated to carrying her down the steps until she gets a little bit bigger?
 
I used the lure technique for Cooper. He had a hard time with the steps at the Vet clinic ( we went there for socializing) because they were bare...no carpet.
 
Mindy was worried about going downstairs, too. I did what you did and then just decided to pick her up for awhile. Periodically, I would experiment to see how she felt about it. Eventually, she just started going for it. I think the more she thought about it, the more scared she was. Taking the pressure off helped a lot. Roxy will get it before you know it!
 
I carried Minnie up my stairs to the first floor
for many months to spare her shoulders,
but one day she couldn't care less and went down by herself.

I also carried her up for a few months to spare her back
until one day she ran up by herself

I'm probably a slightly protective mother :winkgrin:

But small steps with 4-5 steps them she went up and down when she found it right
 
Hanne said:
I carried Minnie up my stairs to the first floor
for many months to spare her shoulders,
but one day she couldn't care less and went down by herself.

I also carried her up for a few months to spare her back
until one day she ran up by herself

I'm probably a slightly protective mother :winkgrin:

But small steps with 4-5 steps them she went up and down when she found it right
Click to expand...

I guess I’ll just keep carrying her when it’s an “ok, we’re going out NOW” situation and sprinkle in a few chances for her to try them in her own and when she’s ready, she’s ready.

I was worried the carrying might affect house training.
 
We carried Brodie up and down stairs for months! One day he tried to come up stairs, ran after the cat an got stuck on like the 5th stair. Every time he'd try to go down, he'd end up a stair or two higher and it was funny to watch him try to process the whole thing. Eventually, one day I was upstairs and he just appeared but going down took a very long time. That, too, was cat related as he chased the cat down. Our stairs are hardwood, uncovered, and he manages just fine, but we let him do it in his time. There are still days when he'd rather bark at the top of the stairs to see if someone will come carry him down. I do keep his paw hairs trimmed up neat and trim so the hair does not cover his pads. When they are young, their pads are so soft, they are quite slippery and it takes a really long time for them to toughen up a bit to give them traction, even if you walk on pavement as we did with Brodie.
 
Honestly, I'm jealous! I wish Kip wouldn't do stairs. I try to carry him up and down stairs because I'm afraid he'll hurt himself. But sometimes he gets away from me and tears up them like a crazy thing. I'm trying to teach him to go really slowly on the stairs. If he takes one step, he gets a cookie. Another step: cookie. And so on.
 
When I started Cooper going down the stairs I was nervous as it’s 15 steps. I started him on the step third from the bottom and gradually worked our way up, now he tears down them skipping the last step! lol
 
Elei said:
Honestly, I'm jealous! I wish Kip wouldn't do stairs. I try to carry him up and down stairs because I'm afraid he'll hurt himself. But sometimes he gets away from me and tears up them like a crazy thing. I'm trying to teach him to go really slowly on the stairs. If he takes one step, he gets a cookie. Another step: cookie. And so on.
Click to expand...
We only have two stairs going out to the garage. She’s figured out the small step down to outside from the garage. And as of today, she’s getting more brave about checking out the two from the house.

I could, but I don’t want to have to carry her forever. :-D
 
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