I Took In A Stray Dog, He’s About 1 Year Old And He Won’t Go Up/down Stairs.?
stairs are the only way into the house, we have had to carry him up and down to let him outside. once he is up a few stairs he will go the rest, but he is terrified of them. what can I do?
how can i teach him how to use stairs?
Thanks a bunch! =]
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I had my Great Pyrenees/Siberian Husky for 2.5 years in a one level house with no stairs. We moved into a house with stairs and she was (and still pretty much is) terrified of the stairs! She is especially scared of the landings that are slippery linoleum under her toenails. It took over a month before she would venture and attempt the stairs by herself. She weighs around 100 pounds, so carrying her up and down was hard, but it wasn’t her fault, so we carried her up and down every time for a couple months. She finally got used to being lead up and down with a leash and we practiced several times every day. We just didn’t think about it while she was growing up that we should expose her to stairs. Now we have been here for almost a year, we put carpets on the landings so it isn’t as slick and she is still very scared, cautious and very slow on the stairs. It takes her about five minutes to go down the stairs. She is a little faster going up. We didn’t want to force her before she was ready, as that only made her more fearful. So we let her take her time. Eventually, your dog will get used to it, but you have to be patient and encouraging. Remember that it isn’t the dog’s fault. He probably has never seen stairs like my dog. Just be patient and give lots of treats and praise even if he only does one step and it will be less scary. As a side note: we have four concrete stairs leading out the sliding glass door into the back yard and she has no fear of them. She runs and leaps off with no problem. It is the steeper stairs inside with the slick landings that scare her. She is unique and so funny but I love her to pieces and know she will get the hang of it eventually!! Best of luck!!! Practice, practice, practice with a leash, tons of treats and lots of praise. You will get it!
He probably had some sort of accident that has bruised his knee caps, making it very painful to step down. Or he may be so frightened by stairs because of an abuse type situation that you may need to just love him more until he trust that the “bad” days are over. Our dog didn’t go up or down until he had been with us for about 6 to 7 weeks, then he didn’t think about it. The knee problems you can also figure out by having him walk on different surfaces, like the beach is hard with knee problems, or down a hill.
His fear of stairs maybe due to an accident or something, he could have fallen down stairs at some point in the past. My mom had a dog that got scared of stairs as well after falling down them at one point. It took her a long time to get him to go up and down stairs again. Also with his fear of the leash, it sounds like he may have been abused by a previous owner. Perhaps he was treated rough with the leash. You just need to work with him, and show him that the leash as well as the stairs are okay, and teach him to trust them. it may take a bit of time and work to gain that trust, but when you have him on the leash just be gentle with him.
He may not be scared of the stairs, but he may have a weak leg or something that makes him embarrassed, or hurts him to go up and down stairs. If he really is just scared of them, I recommend going up or down the stairs yourself and encourage him. Maybe offer him a treat, but only give it to him if he comes down or up to get it. However, if you notice him limping or actually having some difficulty, don’t push him.
Since the stairs are outdoors it’ll be easier for you to help your guy. Take him on a long walk and when you get back to the house…don’t even pause or think about it. Just walk up the stairs. Stay calm and don’t get nervous that he’s not going to do it. As Nike says, Just Do It! This is a training exercise for him. If he doesn’t do it the first try…don’t carry him inside. Walk around the driveway, then try again. Keep doing this until he walks up the stairs. Be patient and persistent. He’ll get there. And make this an everyday thing. Take him on a walk and end with this. When he does get to the top of the stairs, immediately praise him for it. He’ll be walking up the stairs in no time if you stay persistent with this.
Don’t give him a choice- leave him down at the bottom and keep his food at the top. Eventually, he will get over this fear! Dogs are very food motivated animals.
I have never tried to train an adult dog to use the stairs, but to train our puppies to use them we usually carry them to some point in the middle and let them decide where they want to go from there.
I would guess he’s never been a house pet before, since he doesn’t know how to use stairs.
I had a great dane that was the same way, we used treats to coax him up and down the steps, it will take a little bit but they will get over their fear. just make sure you praise them when they do it, also use a leash to assist but most of all be patient