Problems with stairs

[Britz]

Well   zeus is  going to be 3mths ol on july 2. Well  HE will not  climb s tairs he is like scared of them.  HE will climb  two  steps likein to a camper, but  he will not  climb the  stairs in the house. LAst night  Ethan  let  zeus in and I was  upstairs putting the groceries away.  Well I noticed  Zeus fly past the stairs so I  called him.  (he's not allowed  to run  free in the house yet he has to  be on a leash or he will probley  disstroy everything lol) Well I  whistled  for him and before i could put  down what I had in my hands to go to him he bolted half way up the stairs well once  he noticed he was  up  more than the first  two  steps he stoped and slid down  on his belly.  Never  hurt him self at all.

Is/Was and one else pups afraid of stairs?
Its around a flight  of 11 steps not  narrow or anything.. Are pom  got use to  them in no time and  would bolt up and down them by the time he was  Zeus's age, and Zeus has been  upstairs lots now but I  have to carry  him up and down. In all seriousness i  really  dont want to pack a 100+ dog up and down the stairs once he grown.

Like even  when  The kiddos  call him to come up  he will just  bark  because he is sooo scared.
What should I do to  help him  get over his fear of  the stairs?  HE has never  fallen  down them except  yeserday  and  he  never  fell he seriously  sent  down them on his belly like a lil  kid does going down stairs.

[Duramax]

first of all i wouldnt make a big deal out of it around zeus. they tend to get more anxious when they know we are. boog just mastered them himself. what i would do. is just let him figure it out on his own, but help him buy doing this 1) leave little bits of treat on every other stair 2)have family encourage him to follow them up the stairs but dont sit at the top and beg him. if he doesnt come after a minute go out of site. sometimes that motivates him to go more than if he knows you are going to stay there and wait for him. even if he barks. always ignore the barking. otherwise he knows it'll get him what he wants. in my experience once they've mastered the stairs the first time it's cake after that 'for the most part' so just get him to go up them once. and it'll prabibly be down hill from there.

[Britz]

first of all i wouldnt make a big deal out of it around zeus. they tend to get more anxious when they know we are. boog just mastered them himself. what i would do. is just let him figure it out on his own, but help him buy doing this 1) leave little bits of treat on every other stair 2)have family encourage him to follow them up the stairs but dont sit at the top and beg him. if he doesnt come after a minute go out of site. sometimes that motivates him to go more than if he knows you are going to stay there and wait for him. even if he barks. always ignore the barking. otherwise he knows it'll get him what he wants. in my experience once they've mastered the stairs the first time it's cake after that 'for the most part' so just get him to go up them once. and it'll prabibly be down hill from there.

I was thinking about  doing the treat thing lol  I will try that later and see if it works

[Duramax]

love the new avatar!

[Britz]

love the new avatar!

Thanks ..  Zeus  was watching my son  being a butt  and wasnt sure what to do about it lol

[shangrila]

There are really only two ways to get rid of a fear: desensitizatio n (getting used to something happening by havingit happen frequently in increasingamou nts) and pairing it with a positive (with dogs usualy a treat).

What I would do is combine the two by using treats and starting with frequent treats then fading them out as he gets desensitized. Start by standing right by his side and holding the treat as you walk up the stairs, giving him a treat after every couple stairs. Then start to spread out the treats so that he has to go more stairs to get the treats. Once he has mastered it with you next to him (which should make him feel more safe and provide more incentive since he can smell the treat), I would start to have you go up the stairs first. Have him smell the treat, then keep it where he can see it, climb the stairs, and call him. Eventually you wont need to give him a treat because he will think the stairs are normal

[Sillygoose]

He'll get the hang of it with alot of encouragment. Treats will work beautifully. I really wouldn't worry about it. And I don't blame you I wouldn't want to be carrying 100lbs up and down the stairs either. lol

[Ice Blue]

Remy never really had any problems with the stairs, one day he just did them. Well actually no, I'm getting a head of myself, let me start over.

When Remy was about 10-11 weeks (I think) he could go down the tiny flight of stairs, which consisted of 3 steps, from the kitchen to the living room. A couple of days later, he got the hang of going up the 3 steps. A day or two later, I was upstairs relaxing and he wanted to be with me, so he braved the normal flight of stairs. The only time he's ever hesitated was when there was stuff sitting on one of the steps, other than that he's been find. Even when the Copper snapped at him and he fell down the small flight, I didn't make a big deal of it (even thought I was freakingout on the inside) and made him go up so he wouldn't be scared of the steps. If he did contract a fear, I would probably use some primo treats to help with a good association, and help him forget about the fall.

[Britz]

Well he  did it  first time  alot of  treats  each step I stuck  by him  and he  did it then  last night  I  quickly  ran up the stairs to get my  book  to read and he  came  up  .. wooohooo  all  by him self.. LOL then last night  right  before  bed and after his pee breack  before  bed  he  hot  shooted up the stairs slowly  but he did it.

[Duramax]

yaayyy! once they break that mental barrier it's cake!

[Ice Blue]

Awesome! yay for Zeus!!!

[shangrila]

That's great