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08-23-2020, 10:11 AM | #1 |
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? |
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08-23-2020, 03:34 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: E.Stroudsburg, Pa.
Posts: 67,930
| I taught all my puppies how to go down steps one by one. If you have 4 steps, start at the top of the landing, put his two paws on the next step, then put his hind feet on that same step, repeat until you reach the bottom step. Repeat a few times throughout the day. Once he has learned the one step at a time then you can teach him in the same manner how to come down the normal way. Start with the least amount of steps. Hope this helps since he is not food or toy motivated.
__________________ Joan, mom to Cody RIP Matese Schnae Kajon Kia forever in my A House Is Not A Home Without A Dog |
08-23-2020, 06:44 PM | #3 |
Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md
Posts: 23,247
| The only one I had to teach to go down the stairs was Callie. She would run up them and then cry and whine for someone to come get her. I had to use treats and calling her name and it took a long time. I think with his vision issues it might be harder and more dangerous for him to do stairs by himself. You could try down at the bottom like 3 stairs up and try to get him to move down them and if he starts getting it move up a step and keep adding steps. It’s so hard with a pup that isn’t treat motivated.
__________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart! |
08-24-2020, 05:29 AM | #4 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 370
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08-24-2020, 10:46 AM | #5 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 370
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08-24-2020, 10:55 AM | #6 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 370
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08-24-2020, 07:19 PM | #7 | |
Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md
Posts: 23,247
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__________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart! | |
09-16-2020, 12:00 AM | #8 |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,448
| With a vision impaired pup, I would not bother trying to train him to use the stairs. Way too risky. Even a pup with great vision can be injured on stairs. I had one fall down an entire flight one day right in front of me.....thankfully he only suffered a sprained paw that healed without incident. It could have been so much worse. The railings sound terrifying...one fall could be the end. I would gate the stairs to prevent him from using them at all...up or down!
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09-16-2020, 09:15 AM | #9 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: North Carolina, USA
Posts: 370
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09-16-2020, 09:46 AM | #10 | |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,448
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09-16-2020, 10:08 AM | #11 | |
Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md
Posts: 23,247
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__________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart! | |
09-16-2020, 10:09 AM | #12 | |
Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md
Posts: 23,247
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__________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart! | |
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