Puppy wont go down stairs!!

pepsi1959

I have a four month old lhaso apso and he wont go down the stairs, i have tried treats on the top stairs, and just leaving him up there, any ideas please. If i pick him up he will go from the 5 th step down, its like he is afraid of heights?

Kimberley

Aww he will come round, just leave him to do it on his own, he will eventually. You can try just leaving tasty treats on the bottom step then leaving him alone to come down himself. Don't fuss over him or he will pick up your vibes. Go and sit in the front room, do housework etc but don't create this fuss over him. It's like if you pick up a child when it's crying to be picked up all the time, they will never want to walk on their own.

Your picking him up, so he's getting what he wants, he knows he doesn't have to walk down the stairs on his own because you do it for him.

Kerriebaby

thats because stairs are very scary when you are a bit wobbly yourself..

What breed is he?

Pepa

Puppies should not go upstairs. It is bad for their backs when coming down.

ymakesmile

Some lhasa apsos and shih tzus will actually never be able to walk down the stairs....funnily enough. One of my lhasa apso's is nearly 6 years old and has never been able to walk down stairs, so I have to carry him down. One of our shih tzus is the same too, but then we have 4 other dogs, 3 shih tzus and 1 lhasa apso that have no trouble with it whatsoever. It may just take a while before it will happen, but it's not completely unusual for it not to either...

4 months is very young for a pup to be able to walk down the stairs though, I have never had a puppy willing to go down the stairs until older than this and I wouldn't allow them to at that size either as it can be very dangerous. I would leave it a while, once your pup is bigger and more confident

suki1964

Im sorry but there is no way on earth should you be letting a four month old pup up and down the stairs - you will have its hips ruined before its a year old.!!!

Stair gates for the stairs to stop pup following you and if you do need it to be either up or down - you carry it - simple as that

suki1964

Kimberley wrote: »

Aww he will come round, just leave him to do it on his own, he will eventually. You can try just leaving tasty treats on the bottom step then leaving him alone to come down himself. Don't fuss over him or he will pick up your vibes. Go and sit in the front room, do housework etc but don't create this fuss over him. It's like if you pick up a child when it's crying to be picked up all the time, they will never want to walk on their own.

Your picking him up, so he's getting what he wants, he knows he doesn't have to walk down the stairs on his own because you do it for him.

Dreadful dangerous advice to be giving for a young 4 month old pup.Pups should not be doing stairs freely until at least a year old when their bone and muscle structure has fully developed. Insisting on making a pup do the stairs especially coming down is placing them at risk of hip dysplasia at the worst and rheumatism/arthritis at an early age

Raksha

Whilst I agree pups shouldn't be doing stairs regularly, it's a good idea to get them at least able to do it while they are this age, otherwise they may well end up totally unable to cope when they are older. Maybe one or two shallow steps outside to start with, not a full set of domestic stairs.

Errata

I have a Lhasa, and wonder if perhaps your pup is just too small at the moment to feel confident about stairs. Mine has happily been going up and down stairs on a lead at the care home we visit since it was about 5 months.
If it was off the lead it would be taking them two at a time !

I had no idea stairs were a no go area before the age of 1, neither the breeder nor the vet ever warned me about this and I have never read about it anywhere.

onetomany

do you have a mirror at the bottom i now this can scare dogs x

suki1964

Errata wrote: »

I have a Lhasa, and wonder if perhaps your pup is just too small at the moment to feel confident about stairs. Mine has happily been going up and down stairs on a lead at the care home we visit since it was about 5 months.
If it was off the lead it would be taking them two at a time !

I had no idea stairs were a no go area before the age of 1, neither the breeder nor the vet ever warned me about this and I have never read about it anywhere.

Not a total no go, just they shouldn't be up and down all day every day which young pups have a tendency to do as they follow you everywhere.

Watch how your dog does the stairs - dogs legs aren't made for them, they end up rolling their hips out, their back legs spreading wide out side their bodies if you see what I mean - this puts untold strain on the ball and socket joint.

I know that its a pain carrying bigger dogs down, which is why I always advocate the use of stair gates to stop them going up and down more times then really necessary. A small lap dog like the OP's is easily carried. I still use stair gates here to stop my lad up and down every time I move - and my sitting room is up stairs just to make life more complcated

And regardless of wether we agree or disagree about dogs and stairs, four months is still way to young to leave a wee pup alone on the stair case