Dog Problem...advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[Raven]

Some of you know that I have a new puppy. She is 6 months old now. She has known nothing but my cabin in the woods. I have moved for the winter to a condo in the next town. Will and I brought the dogs over for the first time last weekend. The old dog, Gypsy, was just fine, but my puppy, Tinker, freaked out. This is a three story condo and Tinker will not go up or downstairs. She seem afraid of the stairs. She now resides on the ground floor which has the livingroom and kitchen. She also seems blown away by cars and people, which are more plentiful here.

I want to get her to use the stairs...any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

[benddem]

1. Put her food at the top of the stairs

she will come up them when she is hungry.

[Alleycat]

2. Treats or meat

Try putting some treats or something she really like a few steps up and encourage her to get them. Keep repeating until she feels comfortable doing a few, then move them up further.

[Fleshdancer]

3. I've had this problem before

I started out slowly using treats. I would put a treat at the very bottom of the stairs and wait for the dog to eat it. Then the second stair, then the fourth, etc. Just don't rush it. She'll get the hang of it :)

[xultar]

9. Yup same problem here. Chihuahua who is really tiny...her tummy

touches the stairs when she went up and down. I sat with her on the bottom stair and put a treat on the step. When she jumped up to get the treat I praised her.

Then I'd sit on the second from the bottom

Then the third

Now she's a pro. Her tummy still touches the stairs but she's used to it. She takes her time and she's happy to have the whole house as her kindgom.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Just leave her be..she'll adapt the more you bring her there

her eyesight and depth perception are still developing...make sure you have her toys with you and make it a game to go up the stairs.

[Scootman78]

5. From the website perfectpaws.com

Training Puppy to Climb Stairs

If your dog is afraid of stairs, or simply does not know how to climb them, then begin slowly to build her confidence. Start off at the bottom of a flight of steps. A wide, shallow stairway will probably be least frightening for your dog. Go up one step; encourage and lure your dog up with your voice, a food treat or a toy. When she is successful, give her lots of reward and praise. Then go back down that same step. Repeat only one step over and over until your dog goes up and down with ease and courage. Wait a while, then try two steps. When your dog feels secure going up and down two steps, then try three steps and so on. Never force your dog to go up or down as this will only frighten her and slow the process. Always use praise and lures to get your dog to go up or down a step. Don't rush her into doing more than she can, take things "one step at a time."

Source: <http://www.perfectpaws.com/cls.html>


Hope this helps. I can't add anything of my own unfortunately.

Good luck

[wildeyed]

6. Neither of my dogs had experienced steps before

they came to live with me. Near as I can remember, eventually they just wanted to come upstairs more than they wanted to stay down.

Lots of positive reinforcement as she gets used to the traffic. Anytime she doesn't freak out, treats and love. My pups love the liver snacks :) will do almost anything for one.

[Nite Owl]

7. We had a dog like that. We got him at about a

year old. He just refused to do stairs. I taught him to come and when I was downstairs called him to me. He knew that he had to listen and so he finally did it when it was a command. Took a couple of months to be sure he really knew and trusted me follow the command. After that he just always did it.

[displacedtexan]

8. Cheese

I used cheese to lure my dog up and down the stairs until he got used to them. Took about 5 minutes.

[LisaM]

10. Our dogs were afraid of stairs for awhile when they were pups

but eventually got used to them. Two things were hard for them: 1) the basement stairs that didn't have backs; and 2) slippery stairs. They got used to the un-backed steps - but if your other stairs are slippery, you may want to put a rug or some gripping materials on them. 6 months is pretty young! She'll figure it out.

[tridim]

11. I found that praise works better than treats

with scary things. Don't just say "good pup", really mean it when you give praise. My pup was scared of thunder, so I started praising her every time there was thunder, now she gets all frisky during storms. Take it one step at a time and gush with praise every time she makes it up one step.

[welshTerrier2]

12. a puppy tale

when i first got my little welshTerrier puppy, she was afraid of the stairs ... but we viewed this as a good thing ... it allowed us to keep her in the upstairs or the downstairs without having her wandering all over the house ...

when she needed "conveying", we happily carried her ... as she got a little older, she gradually got used to going up and down the stairs ... she's still not totally comfortable with them but she uses them many times everyday ...

we also had an issue with cars when she was a puppy ... we could walk her on quiet side streets without a problem ... if a single car went by, we stepped a few feet off the road ... no problem ... but walking on busy streets with lots of cars was a major problem ... we often had to pick her up and carry her ... what a wimp ... but we saw this as a great bonding opportunity also ... she knew we were protecting her ... after she got a little older, she got used to the cars ...

it's all about giving your dog time to build up her confidence ... a supportive parent is worth its weight in gold ... take your time ... let your puppy grow up at her own pace ... she'll get there ...