I live in a second story apartment.
I’m afraid of the stairs and quickly becoming too heavy to carry.
Charlie The German Scardydog | Dog Shaming
I live in a second story apartment.
I’m afraid of the stairs and quickly becoming too heavy to carry.
Amanda McCracken
Lots of treats and another dog to show him how! It took my two gsds a while to get stairs too. Good luck 🙂
jere
Treats???? No, just stick a cat up there and then yell their name to send ’em down.
Ginny
What a beautiful boy! Is he really afraid of the stairs, or does he have a medical issue that causes him pain when he uses them?
Stacie
Too cute! Going through this with my Golden Retriever, but I learned the trick is to wait at the bottom (I sit in a chair b/c sometimes it takes awhile) and eventually he comes down on his own. Started this when 25 pounds at 6:30am was just ENOUGH!
Michele
I had an Australian Shepard who was afraid of stairs too. One day I picked her up and carried her halfway down the stairs, put her down, and continued walking down the stairs leaving her there. After she cried for a sec, she slowly followed me down. Once she realized stairs were no big deal, there was no holding her back!
JennM
Our GSD was afraid of stairs when she was little too! Thankfully she’s totally obsessed with my husband, and the doggy anguish of not being in the same room as him forced her to face her fear. You might try standing at the top with his favorite toy or treats and seeing if you can coax him up.
Cheryl
My trick was to put a treat (small) on every stair. Food will do the trick every time! That GS is beautiful. Love that breed!
Piperwest12
This is exactly what I was going to suggest, I also have a scaredydog. Buy a “special” stairs only treat. Something that he will only get when going up or down the stairs, not at other times. My dog love little buts of cheddar cheese. Good Luck
ceidefields
Oh my goodness. Same in our house. Even now she’s really awkward on the stairs but manages fine.
Liz
I have a big dopey chocolate lab that cannot go down stairs without an escort. He will go up 2 flights of stairs but is afraid to come down, so he sits at the top and whines until one of us goes up to walk down beside him. Big BABY! LOL
Reba
Our little Jezzy (16mo old German Shepard) is also afraid of the stairs. She will go up and down the 2 steps to come in or out but wont go down to the rec room (basement) so she lays at the top and cries for us.
rynanne
Pour chihuahua did this too. And the shiny tile floor in the kitchen. We just kept having her do it. Then she would switch, afraid to go up, afraid to go down. Just keep at it. He’s so cute!
Napole
Yup, the best teacher for a dog is another dog. Just make sure the teacher dog is a properly trained one 😉
jere
Oh, oh! THAT IS JUST UNREAL! Let us all join forces, hold hands, and turn our backs on this scaredy dog for the ultimate shaming!
Rachelle
Scared of the stairs…or scared of slipping and falling on them?
Bobbie Grumbling
If you were a “good mommy” you would move to an apartment with NO STAIRS! (just kidding!)
Helayne Hecht Beavers
Be brave, little dog. I’ve taught three greyhounds to go down steep stairs and didn’t lose one of them.
Bubbles
Depending on what kind of flooring you have, it may be a traction issue that scares your dog. My dog wasn’t so scared of the stairs, but he did have trouble keeping his footing on the hardwood treads. I put some traction tape on them and he’s good to go.
Joann
I agree with BubblesMarch, it could be a traction thing. My dobby, Cass, has actually fallen on the 2 concrete steps from my kitchen to garage. I put some carpet squares down and he no longer fears them. Not sure how you’d go about that in apartment. Your baby is younger so the treat thing, if it works, sounds good.
danelady
I have a Great Dane who was terrified of stairs…which I found out when we moved into a 4th floor walkup. There was no way I was carrying 140lbs, so a short course of Xanx and some training with enormous rewards did the trick. He’s still a little nervous, but he does it.
Jill Marks
Charlie is a handsome boy. I think placing treats on every stair may help do the trick. Also build his confidence in increments based on his reactions. If he only makes it down one stair on the first attempt, tell him he is the greatest, most courageous GSD ever! And leave it at that for the day.
If things become really difficult ask the vet about Xanax and find a good dog behaviourist. (words from experience — we had to live in a hotel for a year after a house fire and our beautiful German Scaredy Dog had to use stairs and even an elevator!)