Going DOWN Stairs?

[AlliKat]

How do we teach our little guy to go down stairs? Hah. It's driving me crazy! He is now very adept at climbing the stairs, and he certainly has no fear of jumping (jumping off the couch, off of the stoop, etc), but he won't go downstairs. I'm getting really tired of carrying him downstairs all of the time.

I obviously don't want him to hurt himself, but I am sure he can do it (he is 6 months old already). Any ideas on how to coax him down?

[bulldoggin30]

Haha! Dutchie is 15 months and I STILL have to carry him down the stairs! He fell down them when he was 4 months old and hasn't went down them since. The funny thing is, when we were at the park with my friend and her dog, he walked right down 2 flights of steps! :confused:

[mdenglund]

Hi-

Ruby rolled down the stairs in our home as a puppy:eek: , so even at 14 months she knows to stay clear of the steps. Or at least at our house, because they are some what steep. I know it can be a pain to carry her up and down them.

Your little poochie still has some growing to do, mentally and physically. Just take a little time to show them to him. Maybe use some treats or his favorite toy to coax him. And if he still won't tackle the steps on his own, maybe look at it as a good thing. Then you won't have to worry about him getting in to something on another level than you are on.

Good luck with the stairs in months to come.
-Stacey & Ruby

[BecksDad]

Beckham had a hard time with the stairs as well. And then one day at the park, all of a sudden he was running up and down them on his own! It was the cutest thing and such a proud moment for mommy and daddy. It will happen one day, just give it more time!

[Boykins]

We had the opposite "problem" with Boykins: she happily went down the stairs all on her own (first time: with the dog-walker, of course), but it took us a while to coax her to go up.

I've posted video on my blog, link below.

I agree that it's mostly just patience that will rule the day, barring any scary incidents that keep your pup away from the stairs altogether. It might help to put him down near the bottom (with only one or two stairs before the landing), then see what he does. Perhaps then you can slowly increase the distance? It always helps to tempt with cookies, too!

Good luck!

[maggies dad]

We had the opposite "problem" with Boykins: she happily went down the stairs all on her own (first time: with the dog-walker, of course), but it took us a while to coax her to go up.

I've posted video on my blog, link below.

I agree that it's mostly just patience that will rule the day, barring any scary incidents that keep your pup away from the stairs altogether. It might help to put him down near the bottom (with only one or two stairs before the landing), then see what he does. Perhaps then you can slowly increase the distance? It always helps to tempt with cookies, too!

Good luck!

Same here. Maggie is 6mo old and has been going down the stairs since early on. She then started going up the 2 stairs to our condo but all of a sudden just recently doesn't want to. We have to pick her up. A couple times I pulled on her to see if she'd go up and one time she actually jumped onto the top step SKIPPING THE MIDDLE ONE! So needless to say I am confused. And I don't think it's that she doesn't want to go in. She'll go back near the door voluntarily and wait for me to pick her up. Wierd.