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Bluebells · 08-23-2020, 10:11 AM

I’m wondering whether anyone here has any experience with teaching a small dog how to safely descend stairs.

Jax is (almost) four and a half pounds. He’s vision impaired so, in general, I keep him away from all stairs unless he’s being closely supervised. The vision impairment is a congenital defect in his corneas. His vision is cloudy, and it gets cloudier with distance. And since all the staircases (inside and outside) at my home have railings set wide enough for him to easily go through, I don’t trust that he would perceive the danger in going through them. On the other hand, though, I think he should know how to navigate stairs safely, just in case he’s ever near them without a human beside him.

Anyway, we’ve been working on it, wearing his harness and closely supervised. He’s learned to scamper up stairs pretty nimbly, considering his size. But I haven’t been able to teach him to climb down safely. All he will do is leap straight out from whatever step he’s on, legs spread like someone doing a belly flop into a swimming pool. Which is okay when he’s on the closest step to the bottom, but which is not okay when he’s further up. I’ve tried putting a toy or a treat one step down, but he ignores them and either paces back and forth across the step or crouches down and tries to leap the entire way down.

Any ideas? Or is this a lost cause I shouldn’t pursue?

08-23-2020, 10:11 AM	#1
Bluebells YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 370	Stairs I’m wondering whether anyone here has any experience with teaching a small dog how to safely descend stairs. Jax is (almost) four and a half pounds. He’s vision impaired so, in general, I keep him away from all stairs unless he’s being closely supervised. The vision impairment is a congenital defect in his corneas. His vision is cloudy, and it gets cloudier with distance. And since all the staircases (inside and outside) at my home have railings set wide enough for him to easily go through, I don’t trust that he would perceive the danger in going through them. On the other hand, though, I think he should know how to navigate stairs safely, just in case he’s ever near them without a human beside him. Anyway, we’ve been working on it, wearing his harness and closely supervised. He’s learned to scamper up stairs pretty nimbly, considering his size. But I haven’t been able to teach him to climb down safely. All he will do is leap straight out from whatever step he’s on, legs spread like someone doing a belly flop into a swimming pool. Which is okay when he’s on the closest step to the bottom, but which is not okay when he’s further up. I’ve tried putting a toy or a treat one step down, but he ignores them and either paces back and forth across the step or crouches down and tries to leap the entire way down. Any ideas? Or is this a lost cause I shouldn’t pursue?