Today’s Daily Diary training tip is “how to train a dog to walk up the stairs”! More on that below!
Day 4, December 15 2011 of Lincoln the Pit Bull‘s Daily Diary
We woke up excited again today and I took the pup out to potty before going to breakfast with dad again. The routine was the same as yesterday; I went to work and dad watched the pup for me. He had a good time playing with Dad’s Pomeranian Coco again although he might be getting too comfortable because Dad said he got on Coco’s nerves a bit working her over too hard. She is a tough cookie for a small thing and I definitely think she likes it as you can tell in this short clip;
I picked him up after work and we came home and that is when it happened;
See I live on the 2nd floor and have my own private carpeted stairway, about 20 steps high. Lincoln the Pit Bull was always afraid and unable to go up the stairs so I would carry him after letting ‘em cry a bit at the bottom.(but after he stopped crying and sat, of course) Pit Bulls are afraid of stairs! How is that for a Bully Breed myth??
So I knew I had to figure out a way how to train my dog to walk up the stairs, and I would try luring him with treats or letting him cry at the bottom as I walked up. Since he was just a puppy I would carry him as long as he sat down to ask please. But with his harness on I would sometimes pull him up, letting him use his paws to touch the stairs pretending like he was walking up them which planted the seed in his mind on how to actually do it. I was able to lure him up a couple steps one day or the next but never the entire way up.
Anyway I opened the front door to walk inside and before I could close it behind me Lincoln the Pit Bull was miraculously hopping up those steps one at a time like a little bunny rabbit! He made it all the way to the top and as he stood there, clearly impressed with himself, I couldn’t help but think of the “Stallone-Rocky” reference! so looks like I had the right plan on how to teach a dog to walk up stairs I mean I was so proud of him and it was one of the first big challenges he has conquered.
We celebrated for a couple minutes and went to training with the clicker, he is making good progress. We hung out the rest of the night and ended it on a good note!
I was glad to see I had the right plan on how to train a dog to walk up the stairs, now I just need to train him to walk down the stairs! (coming soon!)
Tips on how to make your dog walk up stairs;
- Treat your dog on or around the stairs to associate positive feelings.
- Try just getting your dog to put it’s paws on the stairs and giving it a treat. Slowly work you way up from there as days go by.
- Try using treats, toys or praise to lure your dog up the stairs.
- So long as your dog is wearing a snug harness use it to slowly pull the dog up the stairs, one by one. Showing him/her how its done.
- Make sure you don’t put too much pressure on an adult dog, a puppy will overcome the obstacle eventually anyway but an older dog may create a “fear wall”.
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