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Puppy Training: Introducing Your New Puppy To Going Up & Down The Staircase

When you are using a stairway it can be a very fun and positive way to train your puppy. When you are first starting out you should try to use a short stairway so you do not cause them any anxiety or strike fear into them when dealing with their first stairway. If you have no choice but to use a long stairway, then simply start with the first five or six steps from the bottom. (Note: these techniques can also be applied to teach your dog how to use a new set of dog steps or a dog ramp)

Using a short stairway in the beginning will prevent your puppy from literally freezing in fear when on higher stair levels. Since your puppy senses have not yet developed fully in the means of perception and depth then you will have to avoid rushing them up and down the stairs too quickly. This can result in injury and may induce an association of fear with any staircase that she may come across, even as an adult.

One Step At A Time

Your going to have to start with motivating your puppy to come with you up or down those stairs. Using treats in this situation is a great solution. When feeding you puppy these treats limit them to how many they get. If they happen to get a full belly in the middle of this exercise then they will also probably lose interest in the motivator and not want to follow you up and down the stairs anymore.

Now all you have to do is place to treat one step above or below where your puppy is at. It is advisable to start with your puppy at the bottom and work her way up before descending down. When I first attempted to teach my Chihuahua to climb up and down stairs, I made the mistake of placing her at the top and it was extremely hard to get her to climb down. But once she followed the treats up the stairs from the bottom, it seemed natural to her to follow them back down.

At each step that your puppy reaches the treat, be sure to praise her enthusiastically with your tone of voice as well as a lot of petting. As with any training technique, praise and admiration is the key to getting your dog to want to do it again. Repeat this technique until your dog can successfully move up and down the stairs without trouble.