Behaviour
He braces at the first step, freezes at the top on the way down, or has stopped climbing after years. Each version has a different cause and needs a different plan.
Worth knowing. A dog who has climbed stairs for years and now refuses, hesitates or skips steps is most likely in pain in the hips, knees or back, or is losing his sight. Vet check with your own vet first, exercises after.
You live on the third floor with no lift. The dog you adopted two weeks ago walks up to the first step, braces all four legs and will not go up, whatever you try. Twice a day you carry him, all twenty kilos of him. Maybe you have a puppy who bounds up happily but freezes at the top on the way down and whines. Or, harder to watch, your ten-year-old who has climbed those stairs thousands of times has started stopping halfway. Behind the refusal there may be fear, a lack of practice or pain. Work out which one first, then go gently, one step at a time.
Dogs raised in a yard, in the countryside or in a shelter can reach adulthood without ever setting paw on a staircase. To them a run of steps is a strange object and they have no idea where to put their back feet. With rescue dogs, this is the most common reason.
Open-backed steps where he can see the gap underneath. Polished marble or tiles that his claws skid on. A dark stairwell that echoes, with doors slamming. A staircase you never give a second thought to can tell a dog, through everything he hears and feels there, that it is dangerous.
He slipped once and hurt himself. Someone trod on his paw on the stairs. The front door of the building banged shut just as he went past. For a sensitive dog, once is enough.
For a small dog or a puppy, a standard step is as tall as a wall. Going up is hard work, going down is a leap into nothing. And at any size, down is harder: the dog's weight goes onto his front legs and he sees the drop right in front of him. Plenty of dogs climb without any trouble and only freeze when they have to come down.
A dog who used to climb stairs and now refuses is in pain until proven otherwise: hips, knees, back or paws. In older dogs, fading eyesight makes the edge of each step hard to judge, especially in poor light. There is more on this in the medical section.
Hauling him up on the lead. He braces harder, all the strain goes through his neck, and the stairs become the place where he gets dragged by the collar. Next time he stops at the front door.
Getting him used to it by force. You lift him and plonk him halfway up so he can see there is nothing to it. A frightened dog dropped into the middle of what scares him does not calm down. He just learns there is no way out. Some freeze, others struggle and fall.
Luring him from the very top. You at the top of the stairs with a piece of sausage; him at the bottom, panicking. Some dogs rush up and get even more frightened when they arrive. Others decide that piece of sausage is out of reach for ever.
Telling him off. For being a scaredy-cat, for weeing on the stairs out of fear. Fear does not shrink because you scold him.
Carrying him for ever without practising. In the first few days carrying him is the right call: you are not forcing him and you are not giving him another chance to get scared. But if you do not work on the stairs alongside, two years from now you will still be carrying twenty kilos of dog with your back.
If he used to climb and has stopped, or if he is old, see your vet first. Doing the exercises below on a sore knee teaches him one thing only: stairs hurt.
Carry him carefully, one hand under his chest and the other under his bottom, rather than lifting him under the front legs. For a big dog, a harness with a handle on the back lets you support him without lifting him right off the ground. If there is a lift, use it until you start working on the stairs.
Pick a quiet moment when nobody is coming down. Put a few pieces of whatever he loves most (cheese, sausage) on the floor next to the first step, then a few on the step itself. Let him eat them at his own pace. You stay at the bottom beside him, relaxed, without calling him. When he puts a paw on the step, praise him warmly. After three or four minutes, off you go for a walk. Next day, the same again.
Once he stands calmly with his front paws on the first step, move the treats to the second. Then the third. Never go faster than he can. If he stops, drop back a step and finish on something he managed. Three steps climbed happily do you more good than a whole floor climbed in fear.
Coming down you build from the bottom up. Lift him onto the last step, the lowest one, with the treats on the floor a pace away. He steps down and you celebrate. Next time put him on the second-to-last step, and so on. Always stay below him, at his side, so you can catch him if he slips.
Once he goes calmly up and down a run of five or six steps, move to the stairs in your building at quiet times of day. One floor, then two. To begin with, praise him on every landing and give him something good.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Vet check if he used to climb and stopped, or if he is old. Carry him; harness with a handle if he is big. |
| 1–2 | Good treats next to the first step and on it, 3–4 minutes, twice a day. |
| 3–5 | Front paws on the first step, then the second, then the third. Stop before he gets scared. |
| 4–7 | Coming down from the last step, then from the last two. Non-slip strips if possible. |
| 7 | Take stock: how many steps he climbs calmly, how many he comes down. His pace tells you how many weeks are left. |
Some dogs manage a whole floor after ten days, others need two months. Speed does not matter. What matters is that he does not get frightened again along the way.
A dog who has climbed stairs for years and now stops, hesitates, skips steps or bunny-hops up with both back legs together is most likely in pain. The usual causes are arthritis in the hips or knees, a kneecap that slips out of place in small breeds, ligament problems and back pain. Back pain is common in dachshunds, French bulldogs and beagles, whose spinal discs give way more easily. In older dogs, eyesight comes into it too: if he hesitates more in the evening on a dark staircase, he may no longer see the edge of the step clearly.
See your own vet if the refusal came on suddenly, if he is limping, if he is slow to get up in the morning, if he holds his back hunched or whimpers when you pick him up. And with a dog over eight or nine, ask for your vet's view before you start the exercises.
With large-breed puppies, also ask your vet how much stair climbing is sensible in the first months. Some studies in large breeds have linked frequent stair climbing in the first three months with a higher risk of hip dysplasia. That is why, in flats without a lift, many vets recommend carrying big puppies.
A trainer or behaviour specialist will come to your stairs, see exactly where your dog gets stuck and adjust the steps. Sometimes it all comes down to a detail you have stopped noticing, such as a door that creaks on the second floor or a landing where the light keeps going out.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
In rescue dogs, most often because they have never seen a staircase and do not know where to put their back feet. Slippery or open-backed steps, a dark stairwell and a bad experience also play a part. In a dog who used to climb and has stopped, the main reason is pain or failing eyesight.
Going down is harder. His weight goes onto his front legs and he sees the drop ahead, and for a small dog every step is a jump. Practise it separately, from the bottom: set him on the last step and let him step down to treats on the floor, then start him from the second-to-last, and so on.
Without pulling on the lead. Put good treats beside the first step and on it, let him come up by himself and praise him when a paw lands on the step. Add one step per day or per session, at his pace, in sessions of a few minutes. Non-slip strips, good light and a well-fitted harness help a lot.
Most often, pain: arthritis in the hips or knees, back trouble, sometimes failing eyesight. See your own vet before any exercises. Until then, carry him properly or support him with a harness with a handle, and put non-slip strips on the steps.
For small breeds, a few steps at a walk are fine. In large-breed puppies, some studies have linked frequent stair climbing in the first three months with a higher risk of hip dysplasia, so in flats without a lift many vets recommend carrying them. Ask your vet what suits your puppy.
A behaviour that appears suddenly or changes for no apparent reason can have a medical cause. For full details, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
He hides under the table at every doorbell or trembles at lorries. Exposed "to get used to it", he got worse. Confidence comes from distance and his own choice.
He runs, lifts a back leg, goes three steps on three legs and then carries on. In small breeds it is very often the kneecap slipping out of place.
Up in two stages, refusing the stairs, bunny-hopping at a run. Joint pain shows in what the dog stops doing, long before he whimpers.
He lies in the corner of the hall, will not eat and jumps at every noise. An adopted dog needs calm and routine first; training and visitors come later.
An assessment session tells you where you stand and which plan makes sense for your dog. The behaviour programme then works step by step, reward-based only.