Stairs

[Laura and Angus]

Random question, but when did your puppies start going down many stairs? Angus can go up the stairs okay at 16 weeks, but is still too wary to go down more than 3 steps. We have some pretty steep steps (carpeted) going up to our bedroom, so we're just wondering when we might expect him to be able to do this...

Any thoughts?

[Jennifer / Matt]

Our Zoe started going up and  down the stairs around 8 1/2 weeks even though we tried to prevent it (we were worried about it affecting her joints). We have a split level and so when one of us would have to run down the stairs to get something from the lower level she would whine because she wanted to be with both of us. She quickly realized that she could go down the stairs to get to us.

[Laura and Angus]

Oh wow! What a champ! We didn't get Angus until he was 11 weeks, but he can go down other stairs, but seems to be more reluctant with the carpeted ones. I'm sure it didn't help when he slipped at the bottom the last time he tried.

[Dexter Doodle]

We have a lot of steps going down the deck to the backyard. He started at 9 weeks. I was carrying him until a trainer came for a puppy visit. She took his leash, gave him a gentle pull, and down he went. No problems since. It may have been too young, but by now he is way too big to carry out to potty.

[Laura and Angus]

Yeah that's what I'm worried about...he's getting pretty heavy. Especially at 5 in the morning when he gets up..

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

I tried to only keep Tenley going up and down 3-4 stairs at a time until about 9 months. I'm not sure how much truth there is to it, but I always heard it was bad for their joints to let them go down stairs at a young age. One day I opened the door and let him go down the big stairs to see if he would and he went down perfectly fine. Now he is a champ at 14 months old!

[Laura and Angus]

Nice! I'm hoping he just one day does it on his own too

[Christy&Riley]

Riley is a year and a half and I still hold my breath when she gets near the bottom fearing a tumble. She gets so excited because we play ball downstairs that she almost skips the last few steps. Funny thing is that she always has to be on a certain side of me when we go up and down. I try to take her preferred side to force her to the other side and she'll just wait until I'm out of the way so she can go her normal way. Funny creatures of habit. :-)  Now that I hear everyone's stories it reminds me that Riley used to drop toys down the stairs and then whine at the top with her head hanging over the first stair. At first it was because she was scared to go get it. Then it was because we told her no. As soon as we said "ok" she would lumber down and race back up with her find.

[Laura and Angus]

Awww such a sweetie!

[Kathryn Clark]

Great question and love the answers! We have a very steep, precarious set of stairs to our backyard and my office that our 15 week old Dewey is terrified to go down but he has no problem with our full flight brick stairs in front of our house (shallow) or a five step stair to our backyard.  He goes up all of them with no issue at least. He doesn't like being carried so it's a royal pain to get him downstairs to where I work .. out the front door, in through the garage and out to the back. Guess I can't complain since I get to work from home ;-)

[Laura and Angus]

Angus doesn't love to be carried either! In the morning he doesn't seem to care as much when he's sleepy, but when he's amped up...forget about it. Of course we have no choice since he refuses to try the carpeted stairs still!

[Denise L. McCall]

I remember this so well, Sophie was happy to go up the steps but going down scared her to death, we were literally carrying her down every morning, (treats were no help) then she got way too heavy and that's when we said "that's it" (at 6 months) so I put the leash on her and made her come down right next to me so she didn't feel alone and think she could fall, she made it all the way down, it took about a week where we didn't have to push her hiney down the first step and be next to her, then she did it all by herself from then on, it's just the fear of the unknown, and some staircases have a steep pitch, and our steps are hard wood.

[Laura and Angus]

I think we must have similar pups, Denise! Angus is starting to get heavy at 4 months and I can only imagine a month from now. I'm thinking that at some point we just won't be able to carry him and we'll do the same thing :)