Snickers is scared of the steps

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Yesterday Snickers fell down the steps to our lower level family room.  I was not home, but DH said it was pretty loud and seemed to scare him.  He probably had wet paws and with the wood floors it was slip n slide time!  So last night he refuses to go down these same steps.  Mind you he has climbed and descended the steps to the 2nd floor (which is longer and steeper) without a problem but when it came to going down the shorter stair case he wasn't having any of it.  We even brought down one of his favorite treats, and he would NOT go down the stairs.  So DH carried him down (since this is where he sleeps-where his crate is). He came up the stairs fine in the morning but then refused to go back down. So DH tells him "car ride" which means going down these steps to get to the garage entry door, and he carefully manages to make it down-then he has not tried since, he will put out a tentative foot but he can't bring himself to go down these stairs.  Again, no problem with any other stairs inside or outside the house.  Any suggestions?  DH thinks we should try and feed him down there tonight, to encourage him to go down.  I feel so bad for him because this is his favorite room in the whole house.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I don't have any experience with this specifically, but what I probably would do is sit with him on each step, coax him down one at a time with a treat. Even put his front paws on the next step and help guide him down. We did this with training our dogs to get into the ocean or pool. Really slowly, treats and coaxing by moving them forward. Good luck.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Poor thing!  First off, I want to just say how freaking adorable Snickers is!  I love the red colored doods!  I am not sure what to do about this, but I would use treats to gently (one step at a time) persuade him to use the steps again.  I think he will get over it in time really.  Good luck!

[Christine & Shelby]

Oh Snickers.... how scary!   Can you help him down, walk with him one by one or even sit on the stairs as DH helps him down.   Maybe some of those step size carpet pieces on the stairs to give his paw a bit more traction.  Sorry - I live in a step free house, so I don't have much advice.  He must have really gotten spooked!   Hope he moves past this soon....

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Could you get some kind of runners for these steps so they are not so slippery? Poor Snickers. Try putting a bathroom rug on the steps and see if that makes a difference.