# Stubborn or still too young to do stairs?



## Hava-Andy (Jan 5, 2014)

Our little Andy pup is only 13 weeks old, we live in a tri-level home and he will not attempt to climb the stairs.:rant: He sits at the top or bottom and just barks and whines if we are on a different level. Problem being his food and water is in the kitchen on the main level, but the bell to ring to go outside is on the doorwall on the lower level. He is welcome to follow us around the house, we are not trying to restrict him...but he won't even try. We have tried to coax him with treats and toys, and have even attempted to "show" him how to do it. No Go!! He just barks till we end up picking him up and carrying him up/down. Are we expecting too much at his age or is he being lazy?! :drama: LOL


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

I think Andy is still too young for stairs; he's just a baby. I wish I could recall how long it took Emmie to be able to climb up and down stairs, I know it took a while.

-Jeanne-


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Don't think he's being stubborn. I'm sure he's very fearful of them. I think when he feels more confident, he'll tackle them, going up first, as that is less scary. Give him time.


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## BFrancs (May 17, 2012)

I agree, he might be too young, give him time...obtw, love the name - Andy.

Vino took the stairs real quick but thats only b/c the breeder had already introduced them to him. Plus, he sees the other 3 dogs and just follows them. Now, Canela took a bit longer - she probably started climbing them probably around 4.5 - 5 month old, again she had two others to follow.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I agree that he is too young. He is just a wee pup


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree with everyone else. I also don't believe in dogs being "stubborn". Dogs do the best they can, with their level of training and ability, under any particular set of circumstances. Always. 

That said, he's still a TINY baby. Most aren't doing stairs at his age. He's also way too young to be loose in the house without CONSTANT supervision. So if he isn't being confined, I hope you are right with him, eyes on him. And if that's the case, it shouldn't be much trouble to give the little guy a lift over the stairs until he's bigger, and ready!


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

As I understand it you should positively discourage them for even attempting stairs at such a young age if you don't want to do permanent damage to their limbs; Cuba is 10 months old and still think she lives in a bungalow!


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## Den&Barb (Dec 6, 2013)

Ginger is 5 1/2 months, starting going up stairs at 4 1/2 months but we still carry her down the stairs (14 of them). She doesn't want to go down yet and I respect that. Wouldn't want her to tumble down. I first thought I would encourage her with her harness and leash on, then thought it might be too hard on her at this point. I'll let her decide when she's ready, (but not before 7mos. If not by 8 mos., I think I will encourage her).


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## Gibbs Mom and Dad (Jun 3, 2013)

Hava-Andy said:


> Our little Andy pup is only 13 weeks old ...
> 
> ... Are we expecting too much at his age or is he being lazy?! :drama: LOL


I definitely think you are expecting too much of him.

Also, I don't think Andy will all of a sudden start climbing up or down all the stairs.

Gibbs would do the same thing at our house, and we would carry him up or down. When we thought he was big enough to climb the stairs, we started by putting a treat on the first step. Once he got it, we'd put a treat on the first and second step. Once he got it, we put a treat on the 1st three steps. We did this until he got half way, then we started putting treats on every other step until he eventually made his way to the top. After a few times, he'd go up the steps whenever he wanted to follow us upstair. Once he was able to go upstairs by himself, he'd sit at the top and cry until we carried him downstairs. Downstairs training occured a few weeks later. We'd put him on the lowest step that he wouldn't simply jump from, and put a treat on the landing. Once he got that, we moved him up a step and put treats on all the lower steps. He eventually learned to come down the steps.

I guess you can call it a "Step by Step" process.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Gibbs Mom and Dad said:


> I definitely think you are expecting too much of him.
> 
> Also, I don't think Andy will all of a sudden start climbing up or down all the stairs.
> 
> ...


That's a great way to do it, and will work with a bold puppy. For a less intrepid pup, especially when teaching them to go down, instead of starting them at the top, first place them on the next to last tsp and put the treat on the floor. Then put them on the second to last step and use the treats to encourage them down, then start them one step high, then higher&#8230; etc.

This is called "back chaining" and is a useful way to teach all kinds of different things!


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## Gibbs Mom and Dad (Jun 3, 2013)

krandall said:


> For a less intrepid pup, especially when teaching them to go down, instead of starting them at the top, first place them on the next to last tsp and put the treat on the floor. Then put them on the second to last step and use the treats to encourage them down, then start them one step high, then higher&#8230; etc.
> 
> This is called "back chaining" and is a useful way to teach all kinds of different things!


That's exactly what we did, although we couldn't quite start on the lowest step because we were dealing with a jumper. He just jumped off the lowest step. We started him on either the second lowest or third lowest to teach down.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Too too young.

I would not allow Henry near the stairs, I put a barrier up.
Once he did get up there at age 5 mo. He yelled and screamed to let me know he was trapped at the top!


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## Piper's Mom (Dec 10, 2012)

At 13 weeks I wouldn't be concerned at all with a pup not doing the stairs. I don't think Piper started going up and down the stairs until she was 5, almost 6 months old. For her I think it was a size thing and she was a little scared as our steps have some height on them. She's always been on the smaller side, even now at a year and a bit she's barely 10lbs. She got to the point where she's go up 2 or 3 steps behind us but then she's stop and jump back to the bottom, so we did exactly what Gibb's Mom and Dad did. She's incredibly treat motivated so it only took a few sessions of 10/15 minutes for her to get it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Gibbs Mom and Dad said:


> That's exactly what we did, although we couldn't quite start on the lowest step because we were dealing with a jumper. He just jumped off the lowest step. We started him on either the second lowest or third lowest to teach down.


Perfect!!!


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## Hava-Andy (Jan 5, 2014)

Thank you for all the great advise. Guess I forget how small/young he really is!! He is so full of energy, chases the kids and climbs snow hills taller than my 5 or 6 step stairways, but I am sure those steps are pretty scary looking. 4-5 months seems to be average age to start some of those great training ideas.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

I agree with everything everyone here has said as is usually the case. Smart people.  I just have a cute anecdotal story to add. 

I had a Tibetan Terrier puppy who was still young, maybe 3 or 4 months? He was quite capable of bounding clumsily up and down 1 or 2 steps, but when it came to our living room sofa he just could not jump up onto it when I called him. (Its an extremely low sofa. Most of my elderly friends with bad knees won't sit on it as it's too low to get back up.) 

Anyway this little boy was so cute, he wanted desperately to be on the couch with me, but couldn't manage the little hop it required to get there. Finally, he would literally climb up like a toddler. It was hilarious! He used his front legs to pull up first one back leg, stretch out his neck to inch his way further, pause and then strain oh so hard to pull up the second back leg and finally, with much ado he'd make it. Of course he was so proud of himself and would wiggle and grin and snuggle to his heart's content. He did this for some time, maybe a couple more months until one day he decided, Hey! I can jump up there. And boy did he. He would over jump and crash into the back cushions every time. Again, hilarious! At that point I began to wonder about his depth perception. But He eventually, became very agile and accurate with judging heights and distances, so maybe it was just a maturity thing. 

Moral of the story is be patient. Everyone develops at different rates.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Karen Collins said:


> I agree with everything everyone here has said as is usually the case. Smart people.  I just have a cute anecdotal story to add.
> 
> I had a Tibetan Terrier puppy who was still young, maybe 3 or 4 months? He was quite capable of bounding clumsily up and down 1 or 2 steps, but when it came to our living room sofa he just could not jump up onto it when I called him. (Its an extremely low sofa. Most of my elderly friends with bad knees won't sit on it as it's too low to get back up.)
> 
> ...


a friend of mine posted a video of her IG (young adult) ding exactly the same thing. TOTALLY ridiculous, considering the spring we KNOW these dogs have! I was with her, with the dog another time, and she had the dog in an ex-pen, since we were outdoors, and IG's are NOT known for their strong recall.  The IG was jumping up and down in the pen, so high that her entire body as clearing the height of the pen, but she always seemed to land back IN the pen. I asked her whether she was concerned that the dog would jump out. She said, no, that the dog had still not figured out how to jump FORWARD&#8230; Just straight up and down. (which was why she was, at that point anyway, incapable of jumping onto the couch! )

Could be a depth perception thing or it could be cognitive. Either way, it was pretty amusing to watch! :laugh:


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Well I thought I could take this opportunity to show a video of Zoeys first stairs


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## DawnH (Jan 21, 2014)

Don't assume that he won't make it up the stairs without a little training. I've tried to discourage Manny from going near the stairs because I've transferred everything (I think) that he can get into up there. A couple of nights ago we found him at the top of the stairs...not sure if he would have made it back down and didn't give him the chance, but he's been bounding up and down my outside steps (7 of them) which are pretty steep since right after this post started. If they have any incentive for going up don't underestimate them because of age...Manny was 14 weeks old yesterday. I'm sure he went up because my son was up there.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

DawnH said:


> Don't assume that he won't make it up the stairs without a little training. I've tried to discourage Manny from going near the stairs because I've transferred everything (I think) that he can get into up there. A couple of nights ago we found him at the top of the stairs...not sure if he would have made it back down and didn't give him the chance, but he's been bounding up and down my outside steps (7 of them) which are pretty steep since right after this post started. If they have any incentive for going up don't underestimate them because of age...Manny was 14 weeks old yesterday. I'm sure he went up because my son was up there.


The time when they'll figure it out varies GREATLY (as you've found! )


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## Hava-Andy (Jan 5, 2014)

@DawnH~ Andy started going up the stairs within a few days of my original post and only took him a week later to figure out how to come back down :cheer2: He is 17 weeks old now and I am honestly amazed at what an awesome puppy he has been!! We have previously had large breed dogs and by now in the puppy stage they are destroying your house.....while Andy loves to steal/hide your socks and slippers he doesn't eat them just snuggle on them  BTW love your pic of Manny, so cute!!


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## Tessa's Mommy (May 20, 2011)

Tessa is 3 years old and to this day, will not go down or up our basement steps. She will go up and down the four steps that take her to the back yard and with a lot of encouragement, go up and down the three that get her into our trailer, but that's it. It also took her months to learn to jump up on the couch and she still won`t jump on or off the bed. She just wants to be picked up and put on the bed. She has always been a very nervous, shy dog so we've never pushed her to do anything like that. We have a one floor house and don't use the basement, so not a big deal. Then again, maybe we've spoiled her?


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Tessa's Mommy said:


> Tessa is 3 years old and to this day, will not go down or up our basement steps. She will go up and down the four steps that take her to the back yard and with a lot of encouragement, go up and down the three that get her into our trailer, but that's it. It also took her months to learn to jump up on the couch and she still won`t jump on or off the bed. She just wants to be picked up and put on the bed. She has always been a very nervous, shy dog so we've never pushed her to do anything like that. We have a one floor house and don't use the basement, so not a big deal. Then again, maybe we've spoiled her?


Hi, Tessa's Mommy - I'm SO impressed by using balance cushions for teaching confidence - might you have time to take a look at a thread I started called "Balance and Confidence" (put that into Search and it'll take you there); there's an article I've put a link to that is SO helpful re using this kind of thing for confidence building; you don't need all sorts of expensive equipment - just try lots of different surfaces and click and treat your dog for touching them, putting two paws on, then four, then balancing. Cuba was very nervous to begin with but this work has so improved her. There are links further on to youtube films that will help you. We did get a couple of inflatable wobble cushions and she loves these sessions. A ladder laid on the floor to step over the rungs, bubble wrap, a board with half a tennis ball stuck to one side&#8230;.lots of things to try!! Just REALLY important to let the dog discover that these surfaces are not dangerous IN THEIR OWN TIME: don't pick her up and put her on anything, just let her take a week if necessary - however long she wants - to get comfortable. You'll find it changes a shy dog into a more confident dog SO well.


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## DawnH (Jan 21, 2014)

Hava-Andy said:


> @DawnH~ Andy started going up the stairs within a few days of my original post and only took him a week later to figure out how to come back down :cheer2: He is 17 weeks old now and I am honestly amazed at what an awesome puppy he has been!! We have previously had large breed dogs and by now in the puppy stage they are destroying your house.....while Andy loves to steal/hide your socks and slippers he doesn't eat them just snuggle on them  BTW love your pic of Manny, so cute!!


Thank you! I went to the breeder with another puppy in mind but we fell in love with Manny when we saw him. I wish I could say that he's skipping the puppy chewing stage but he chews everything he sees...why I had to move things from downstairs up, but I think he's getting a little better. Maybe I've just moved most of the most tempting stuff!

I'm happy that Andy has learned the stairs. It's hard having to pick them up to go up and down for me as I have back issues and as light as they are, it's still a challenge to carry him down the outside stairs.

They are awesome! And so smart! You can see in their eyes that they understand what you want from them.


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## Tuss (Apr 22, 2012)

Puppies vary greatly from individual to individual. My havanese pup was tackling stairs from a very early age (maybe 3 months) although i was trying to discourage it. My labradoodle pup on the other hand wouldn't do it on her on until almost 6 months (and she was about 35lb at that age) and still doesn't like going down stairs and she is 4 years old! It also matters if the stairs are carpeted or hardwood. Dogs don't like stairs if they are slippery; especially if they have to go down! Every morning my doodle sits at the top of the stairs and needs encouragement to start down. It's ridiculous! I think she has fallen down a few times though...


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