Help with stairs

[spyro]

It's only the 4th day I've had Sandy, my 2 1/2 year old rescue in my house. She has adjusted rather fast and is doing good in all areas except the stairs up to my bedroom. The problem is that it is a spiral staircase (the kind that are basically all open), and she is deathly afraid to walk down them. Up is definalty not a problem. What makes it even harder for her I think is the fact that she walks down stairs with only 3 legs. She holds up her left hind leg while going down for some reason unknown to me as of yet. Her foster family told me about it and said not to worry. Yesterday I had the stairs blocked off so she couldnt come up, but I cant do that forever, plus if I go up and she cant follow she sits at the bottom and cries (of course this is understandable). Treats dont seem to do anything in trying to coax her down. She will walk down the first 2 steps and then turn back and panic. Ive tried doing it with her on a leash and thats even worse...she wont move. The first day she was in the house she came down on a leash with my girlfriend and myself, but slipped on the last 2 or 3 steps. Since then she doesnt even want to attempt them. I've carried her down a few times but dont want her to get into that habit either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[spyro]

I forgot to mention that she has absolutely no problem with any other set of stairs in the house. The steps to my basement have a slight turn and she does that fine. But the turn is only a few steps and leads to a small platform, then a straight set for the rest. Yesterday I tried to have her get used to walking down the turn part as much as possible hoping she would be a little more comfortable with that type of step. But today is the same story with the steps to me room.

 

[Jan]

Originally posted by spyro
What makes it even harder for her I think is the fact that she walks down stairs with only 3 legs. She holds up her left hind leg while going down for some reason unknown to me as of yet. Her foster family told me about it and said not to worry.

I would worry! Dogs don't hold up a leg for no reason. I would take her to the vet and find out what is wrong.

The fact that the stairs are open (much more scary to a dog) and that they are curved would make it more difficult to negotiate, especially on 3 legs.

You could continue what you are doing. Take her up a couple of steps and have he go down. Gradually increase the number of steps. If she gets uncomfortable, go back a step. Eventually she should be able to go down the stairs.

Good luck!

 

[spyro]

little update.
she made it down the steps twice so far today.
what i did was take a sheet and cover the left railing. This way she cant see how high it is, and i figured it may take away from the openess and make her feel more comfortable. once she got down i was so proud of her. i knew she had it in her :D
oh and btw she comes down the spiral steps with all four legs, not three. you think the three legs on the straight steps might be a weird habit? either way im gonna get her to a vet in about a week, after she has totally settled into the house. i know some might say not to wait but she shows no signs of pain at all in the leg, and walks and runs totally normal.

p.s. any reason why my posts were set back to 1?

 

[douma]

At work we have a iron stair,it's like backstairs and it's all the stair open,you can see down ..... there are 4 steps and then a small platform and a corner which leads to the other 20 steps

First, i had to cover all the stair because Avra refused to come down if i didn't go up and walk beside her
and second at the corner,she would holds up her right hind leg while going down and it's for her balance

When she was puppy she cought her leg there and since then she is afraid to come down if the stair is without cover.

Sophia and Avra

 

[basak]

Sophia, Krose is the same way!!! If he feels hesitant about a stair, he insists I walk down the stairs with him can't do anything without mommy:D

basak

 

[Clover's Mom]

We tried to get Clover to go down the steps on Sunday and she refused, so her papa sat behind her and slowly put one little paw in front of the other to show her how it's done...but she didn't catch on. She goes up the stairs just fine, but won't go down. Any suggestions?

 

[Jan]

Going down steps can be pretty scary for a young puppy. Start off by putting Clover on the botton step and get her to go down just the one step. Use a treat to lure her down if necessary. Gradually increase the number of steps one by one.

Good luck, she will figure it out.

 

[tshirttruck]

too young?

I appreciate your advice all those above. My pup has been going up the stairs for only about a week, is there an approximate age I can expect him to start walking DOWN? He's getting heavy/awkward to carry down for late night potty breaks!!! (he's 12 weeks old)

 

[Jan]

You can start teaching him now, by starting at the bottom step. See the previous reply. Do the training when he's not desperate to potty.