One Year Old Puppy & Stairs?

Question

Our puppy is a bit over a year old. For some reason we cannot get him to go down the stairs to the basement. We have tried everything. When he goes outside he will go down two steps. Our basement is where we hang out the most my family. the tv, computer.
Any suggestions...................

I forgot to say he is too big to carry.

Also he is over a year old

Answer 1

My only suggestion is not to baby him. If you carry him down the stairs all the time at this age, he will NEVER learn to do it himself. Then how will you carry him once he is older/bigger? But also, are the staris too big for him? Are they his size or is there maybe a reason he wont go down them?

Answer 2

That's odd, it seems like he'd be naturally curious and would want to follow you guys down.

Try picking him up and carrying him down the stairs just once or twice so he can see that the basement is ok. Or just lead him by the collar and put a little piece of dog treat on each step to encourage him to go down.

I can't think why your dog would refuse to go down stairs, unless it has arthritis, but I should think that a puppy wouldn't have any problems moving about. Mention this to your vet the next time you take your dog in, maybe he'll have some suggestions.

Answer 3

I have two big Golden's here and when they were about 5 to 6 months old they were still afraid to go down the basement stairs. I just walked down with them and after a while they were doing it them selves. I think it has something to do with the way the stairs are made too much room or no walls on either side of the stairs throws them off.
Good luck and just keep practicing with him.

Answer 4

try asking at unclematty.com they are a dog training and petcare website.
It may help to reassure him if one of you is sitting there on the stairs coaxing him down and another of the family is above him at the doorway. Or you may just have to put him on a leash and walk him down the stairs with you so that he has no alternative but to follow your lead. I assume the dog is big enough to manage the stairs? If it's a shorter dog it may be that he's uncertain about the stairs because he can't see them in front of him? . Take him for a regular walk outside up the street for a few minutes, then walk him indoors and down the stairs to the basement. If he trusts you and/or has no choice because he's on a leash he will go downstairs, even if he resists and tugs backwards. Maybe set out his favorite treat on the second, third, fourth stairs so it's a food hunt for him going downstairs too, or if he's on the leash praise him and maybe reward him too.
If you make him a spot with a few of his toys or a blanket/towel that is his then leave him on the leash and you hold the end while he's sitting near you or secure the leash under a table leg or chair leg, but still sit near him it might work. It sounds harsh, but you are only training him to stay with you and your family when you are relaxing/hanging out in the basement family room.

Answer 5

Well, try to get it to do it one small step at a time. For some reasons, some dogs just can't go down a stair. One of my dog had this problem once. First, we put her on the fourth step, so that the distance between her and the ground didn't seem to far away, she could just jump that four steps to get down. After she did that, we gave her some encouragement and treat. Then we take her further up where she couldn't just jump (unless she wants to break her legs). This is when she froze. We tried to use the treats to encourage her, by putting one treat on every step, so that she has to move down one step a time to get the treats. But she still wouldn't budge. That's when we try a different approach: teach her how to do it. We took hold of her front legs, then place them one step lower, making sure she didn't fall, then we let go of her legs. She'll just pull them back up to her original position. We kept repeating this over and over again until finally she gained enough confidence to move down one step and gobble up the treat. And before we knew it, she went all the way down to the bottom. We do this two more times and finally, we place her up on the top step and ask her to come down. And she did.
Just be patient and give your dog some positive encouragement, try what we did and I'm sure your dog could do the same. And don't ever say you can't teach old dog new tricks. My dog was 6 years old when we taught her to go down the stairs.

Answer 6

Bribe him with food. Put a piece of lunchmeat or something on every stair until he's down in the basement

Answer 7

I had the same problem with my rottweiler puppy and the way we got him over it was that we took him to one of the state parks by our home with has about 10 million stairs and basically made him go down them and ever since he has no problem going up and down them

Answer 8

Dogs are VERY sensitive. Maybe there is something in your basement that frightens him. THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! He'll eventually get lonely and surprise everyone by coming on down. :>)

Answer 9

I have a grown dog and he is 3 yrs old=dog yrs and he can race down the stairs fast but I dont think puppies are able to do it yet,but you never know...

Answer 10

my dog is seven and still wont go down the basement steps .. he goes up and down the second floor steps as well as the attic steps .. i think he may have been tramatized by the basement because even when i carry him down he shakes .. its so strange