Train to go down stairs? My yorkie is almost 8 years old but I just recently adopted her 3 months ago. She is the sweetest dog and wants nothing more than for me to hold her and to sit on my lap. The only problem is that I can't get her to go down the back porch stairs and thus she goes potty in the house (at least she knows to go on her pee pads). I try to take her outside every few hours but that has gotten old very fast. She goes up strairs perfectly fine, but I'm afraid she may have fallen down the stairs when I first got her when I wasn't looking and now she is traumatized. I have tried everything; we made a ramp, we laid down fluffy material that might help her feel more secure, we used treats, nothing works. Even when I take her front paws and put them on the step below it will take her several moments before she will bring her back paws down too. If I put her on the second to last step she will jump from that step straight to the ground. What can I do to get her to overcome this fear? |
Ok this is how you train for stairs. Take the dog and put the dog on the last step of a staircase. Call the dog, upbeat voice, and reward. Repeat going to the second stair. Now the dog must come down two stairs. Repeat going down three stairs. Etc....... I would do as many levels as the dog is comfortable with. Start each day and each time with the very bottom of the stairs, so the dog has confidence. You have to start at the BOTTOM of the stairs, and not the top, and that's how we trained ours to do stairs as young pups. Good luck! Feel free to PM me for more detailed info if you get stuck. You can do this! |
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Also, I see your new, so wanted to say hello and welcome to YorkieTalk! |
I actually prefer that Rizzo doesn't go down stairs, he is always in a hurry and once lept from the bottom step and must've hurt his foot. He was okay after a few minutes but I thought I was about to have a vet bill from it. So now I pick him up and carry him downstairs and then let him run and be free, lol. Yorkies don't weigh much, just consider carrying instead, it's better for their little joints anyway. |
Hot Rod has not issues going down porch steps but does with ones in the house. when he was a puppy he fell down a couple of steps due to my not knowing that I should have blocked him from them. I felt awful, I heard a thud and then a yelp. this was 3 years ago and he is still afraid. I literally go down the stairs backwards in front him and place my hands on the step below so he can see the depth of the step. I also think he cannot make out the depth as they are dark wooden steps. Maggie May has never had any fear and she flies up and down them. I can't keep uo with her. lol |
Shadow just discovered going up the stairs. She hadn't attempted it till now at 8 months. My husband and I were going crazy looking for her. We looked everywhere! In closets, under furniture, I was getting frantic. It never ocurred to us to look upstairs, but I did and there she was at the top of the stairs wagging her tail. Now I'm working on getting her to go down, but she's not crazy about it. |
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