Your pet and stairs. Unless you had problems with stairs early in your pet’s life with you, you may not have thought much about safety on stairs for pets and their people in your own home.
Your puppy or new dog may never have experienced stairs before the stairs at your home. Was she small enough when she joined your family that you could carry her up and down? Did he cooperate, did he let you hold him, did you enjoy the closeness? Was your puppy getting heavier every day?
Eventually, it becomes obvious: The pup must learn to use the stairs on his own paws.
Is he eager? Is she wary? At the start, any indication of how the pup “feels” about stairs is information that can help his new humans to “set the tone” for introducing the pup to stairs. The pup “knows” nothing at this point, so the pup cannot be wrong—she cannot make mistakes.
Management is critical to avoiding actual harm. In other words, don’t set the pup at the top of the stairs just to see what happens next! She could tumble to the bottom. That would be a serious fail if she’s injured, a bad precedent if she’s frightened. Set it up for safety. Set it up for success!
What you want is safe behavior—safe for the dog and safe for the human.
If stairs can be a physical challenge for you, ask for help from family and friends or hire an in-home trainer.
Keep humans safe on the stairs by requiring appropriate shoes. No heels or flip-flops!
Keep the stairs safe—not at all slippery, not obstructed by objects. Close off the top and the bottom (or halfway up, if you can?) with sturdy, easy-to-use pet baby gates.
Keep your pup where you want him by having him on leash, or use a harness if you can.
Practice using the leash safely on the stairs. You don’t want to trip the dog or yourself. Use the leash kindly. Do not haul the pup around or restrain him forcefully.
Don’t you dare lose your temper!
You’ve got a long way to go with this new family member, but with training for safety on stairs, you’ll be working only a few minutes at a time, a number of times during the day.
Your puppy will enjoy it if you enjoy it, too!
Photo by Laura Thompson
Reward the behavior that you want.
He’s a puppy, a young dog, or a newly adopted adult. He’s easily distracted, she’s short-attention-span theater in fur. He’s not been introduced to clicker training yet, she’s easily over-amped by treats.
Perhaps the most valuable reward at this point will be your approval, your enjoyment of the interaction, and another chance to continue playing the “game” of learning how to do stairs.
Here’s how I want a pup to behave on my stairs:
▪ Slow.
I’d like to see paws touch every stair, not a tumble to the bottom or a race to the top.
▪ With me.
I won’t hold back hard with the leash, but I will encourage “at my pace” and “at my side” as best I can with every step.
▪ In the moment.
The pup’s goal at this point should not be to get to the top or bottom as fast as possible. The pup is achieving your goal for her when she is “slow” and “with you.” Let her know that’s what you want!
I want the stair training that I am doing with a puppy to be the basis for his good behavior as he grows up. I want what he’s learned about safety on stairs to transfer to other situations and other stairs, away from home, inside or outside, in private or in public.
I want my dog to follow my stair rules:
▪ No stopping
▪ No playing
▪ No barking
▪ No racing
▪ No cutting
▪ No bumping
▪ No toys
Your rules may vary.
I suggest rules for cats, too, rules which may apply to small dogs, especially:
▪ No sleeping on stairs
▪ In addition, for cats and any dogs of any size: No Stalling
I find it annoying and sometimes nearly dangerous when a dog or a cat “stalls out” right in front of me as we’re walking down the stairs together. Step on the animal in this unavoidable situation and you imperil both of you physically. I concentrate on encouraging continuous movement instead.
I’ve lived with three species of pets as an adult—cats, dogs, and ferrets. I’ve expected all three species to follow my stair rules, within reason (although the ferrets got to the stairs very rarely and never in the company of other pets). I expect dogs to “flow” down the stairs with no stalling—which is even more important if you have more than one dog. Dogs of various sizes adjust as they learn to stay out of each other’s way, just as they have learned to stay out of my way. Again, it won’t happen instantly, no matter the mix of animals, but it can happen. Be patient. Be positive.
I want my dog to walk ahead of me going downstairs in my home. I adjust my distance from him according to his speed. I want my dog to go upstairs in front of me, or not too closely behind me if she’s slow-ish.
Options vary from dog to dog, situation to situation. For example, if a dog does stairs at your side, which side? That depends entirely on your preference in the situation. What works best for you?
Continue your safety training for stairs as your pup or new dog grows and matures. Seek frequent opportunities to introduce new stairs in new situations. Offer your dog many chances to learn new rules that might apply under specific circumstances, to generalize the good behavior you’ve taught him at home on your own stairs, and to be safe on stairs with humans wherever the stairs may be.
Do puppy classes cover stairs? Ask!
Puppy classes often use equipment like children’s portable plastic play structures to offer pups exposure to confidence-building exercises like steps, platforms, slides. Keep in mind that agility obstacles for formal competition are never appropriate for use at their full height by puppies. Good puppy classes use equipment that is suitable to the puppies’ age and safe for their physical abilities.
5 Stair Safety Tips For Dogs by John Gilpatrick on PetMD
8 Dog-Proof Tricks to Stop Your Dog Falling Down The Stairs on DogLab
