How to teach your puppy to safely negotiate stairs and steps.
By Sally Bradbury
Very young puppies should be prevented from going up or down stairs because of the possibility of falling or slipping and the impact on their joints.
Always have a safety gate top and bottom.
If you do need your puppy to go up and down stairs safely it’s a good idea to start whilst they are still small enough for you to carry especially if you have a large breed puppy. Wait until at least 12 – 14 weeks old before starting this but before they become too heavy to carry.
GOING UP
Start by carrying your puppy up the stairs and very carefully putting him down with his back feet on the last stair and his front feet on the landing floor. Stand behind him, hold his harness/collar and encourage him to carefully move forward onto the landing.
GOING DOWN
Carry him down and gently place him with back legs on the bottom step and front legs on the floor. Hold his harness/collar and guide him down.
Once he is confidently doing one step at both ends with you holding his harness/collar and stood behind him or beside him going up and in front or at the side going down you can move to two steps at both ends.
Continue with this pattern moving on only when your puppy is happy, confident and negotiating the steps sensibly. Some pups will learn this very quickly. Some will take longer if they are nervous or too confident and want to race up and down.
There must be no running, no jumping and no missing steps. Take your time and continue to hold him and guide him until it is a well established and safe habit for using stairs.
