Elsie and the stairs

We have had many dogs in the flat over the past years we train/teach them to do stairs in easy stages as being on first floor they need to be able to up and down safely.

Everyone has learned the same way we put them on the bottom step and let them step down then the second step and step down 2 steps building up to the full set, same going up one step then 2 etc.

Elsie took longer than most to figure out going up but does it now really well, but coming down we have trouble.

One step, fine, two steps fine right up to 12 steps, but asking her to step off the landing onto the top step just isn't happening. She is completely freaked and scared. We have approached it calmly, kindly with treats and toys and sat on the landing for ages for her to get used to the area but that initial step down just isn't happening.

It's not just she doesn't know how to do it she is really scared. Any ideas would be helpful as she has to do it we can't carry her forever but also don't want to have her unhappy or scared.

Incidentally she does the stairs out doors absolutely confidently no problem it's just the interior stairs she is scared off.

Aw poor thing! Bella wouldn't come downstairs at my daughter's last house. The stairs were slightly over high and had those nose bits - all wooden staircase and the noise didn't help much either. She'd just stand at the top and yip!

How about a treat on each step?

Or failing that a little stanna stairlift for dawgs.

We have done the treats but the stanna may be best idea !

A chute like they have for emergency exiting aircraft! I'd quite like going down that myself!

Julie! Can you believe they actually sell them lol!

Cheaper version!

I think given time she will do just fine. She's just not big enough yet for it not to daunt her. Nigredo did stairs by himself immediately with no problems. But I got him at 3 months and his legs were long enough to manage ever since I got him.

Now bolting up and down the stairs like a loon is another problem altogether. He has fallen down and wrenched a leg, has fallen over Jade and the cats, and has gotten underfoot, causing me to almost fall down the stairs.

He is a Muttador, so has a bit in common with your Elsie who is a Labrador. My last Muttador did the stair bolting thing, too. Did it his entire life. Can be a problem, more so than puppy fear of going down IMO.

She will get used to the stairs as she gets older. Right now she is scared, I think that she will just need time. Don't think coaxing will work.

It's like holding a million dollars out to someone who is afraid of heights and telling them to bungee jump to get it. Not gonna happen, they are too terrified and the money means nothing.

One day you'll be surprised, I bet. You'll go down and slowly... she will plod down behind you (maybe with some whimpering) and SUCCESS!

I find big dogs simply don't like coming downstairs much at all because all their weight is thrown forwards and it's a really odd sensation for them. Teddy my Pug doesn't like the stairs either though, he's great at going up but coming down for some reason he insists on doing both back legs together instead of alternatively, he sort of bunny hops down, which means he's almost doing handstands on the way down and freaks himself out because he thinks he's going to topple over, his solution is to do as few steps as possible and take a flying leap down the rest.

Bella, with short legs and quite long body, has the same problem going up. Esp. where the stair treads are shallow. As she hops her back legs up, she almost topples backwards.

Having a good chuckle at Henry!