Puppy wont go down stairs!!

Kerriebaby

depends on the breed, in my breed ( Dutch Shepherd ) they are not considered adult until 3 years old.

Differnce with rough and tumble is that the pup can make it stop if he wants, and its not for extended lengths of time ( IME ) its 20 mins of madness, and then sleep for a few hours

Raksha

There is a huge difference between allowing them non stop access to free run up and down stairs and teaching them carefully how to negotiate stairs....

Fleago

I have three large breed dogs, all of whom come downstairs in the morning and go upstairs again at bedtime and have done so since puppyhood, when they were carefully taught how to negotiate the stairs. None of them have suffered any ill effects from this.

I agree with Raksha; there's a difference between free for all running up and down stairs at will and controlled access to stairs with the dog being taught the correct way to do it. The best way to do things is usually in the common sense approach that lies halfway between two extremes.

Kimberley

supermezzo wrote: »

From the Kennel club website;
Out of bounds’ areas
It is strongly recommended that you keep your puppy away from the stairs and steep drops, as running up and down stairs can damage a puppy’s delicate growth plates, causing longterm damage. Even jumping off chairs, sofas and beds can cause unnecessary damage, and puppies are best kept off these. A suitable gate at the bottom of the staircase should prevent this. You should also lift them in and out of cars, and be careful not to play fetch games on slippery floors, or encourage them to jump about or twist themselves, for the same reason.

It's the same with kids, you can't do this, you can't do that, you musn't let your kids get dirty or play Conkers etc.

It's all about common sense really, i've had not one dog that has grown up with health problems and they all went up and down the stairs alright.

It is however responsible to keep them away from the stairs, nothing wrong in that, it's just that sometimes you cannot stop them.