How Do I Teach My Dog To Go DOWN The Stairs From The Bed

NickNack · ‎03-10-2010

I am having surgery soon and won't be able to pick up my 22 lb. Dog, Ava, for about six weeks. I brought some steps in from the garage so that I could teach her how to get on and off the bed.

She can easily get on the bed now with the steps but hasn't learned to go down them. I Googled how to train her to go down the steps and found that you put her on the second step from the floor and let her go down to get a treat. Then put her on the third step, etc. I've been doing that for about a week, but she wants to jump from about the third step.

She's a French Bulldog, and they can have spine problems. It would be very bad for her to jump off the bed or from any height at all. I need to have this mastered before my surgery. My surgery date will be scheduled this Wednesday, and I'm hoping it will be soon.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me as to how I can teach her to go down the stairs? She does know how to go down regular stairs, but just not from the bed. These are narrower than regular steps.

Here's a picture of the steps. My cat, Henry, doesn't need them obviously.

UPDATE: See Message #11. I have ordered a ramp.

The Bluebird Carries The Sky On His Back"
-Henry David Thoreau

Goldenmother · ‎11-18-2021

Maybe Ava would prefer a ramp.

sceniccoast · ‎03-09-2010

@NickNack

I was going to suggest trying a ramp but I see someone else did. Just so you know, I purchased one for my cats a couple years ago, particularly for my Ginger as she has arthritis in her hips. She wouldn't use it. I tried it for a week only though & am thinking of trying it again.

Good luck in finding something that will work for Sweet Ava.

Gosh, looking at Handsome Henry makes me want to reach out & cuddle him. What a handsome face & love is well-groomed winter coat.

I sincerely hope you're able to get a quick surgery date. Best of luck.

m0rgan · ‎09-30-2012

@NickNack I wonder if you put treats on each step and then after that every other step and then graduate to putting the treat at the bottom. Put treat all the way on left of the first step and then all the way on the right of the next step and so on. Not sure if that will work but just a suggestion. Good luck with both Ava and your surgery.

gizmogal · ‎05-09-2014

I would start her from the top step, not increase the steps starting at the bottom,which is very confusing. Make her take a treat at the top step. She's there, so now you put a treat on the next step. She goes down and you have her watching you put a treat on the next step. Every time she's on a step she gets a treat to motivate her to the next step. You praise her every time she goes down a step, one to the next. Top to bottom. Isn't the goal to get her to go top to bottom? So teach her top to bottom!

Now don't walk away if she manages it once. Put her back on the bed, do the exercise exactly the same, making her walk down every step motivated by a treat and praised greatly each time. If she jumps down to the floor before she gets to the bottom step, put her right back on the step, no praise, and start it again. She will figure out she has to walk down every step.

The idea of repetition isn't just one step routine done three times a day, it's over and over for about 15 minutes each session, 4-5 times a day. And she gets treats only for using the steps, no treats for any other reason. Treats, elaborate praise, extra affection only for using steps. You can be sweet and loving as usual, but magnify your behavior especially for steps training. She needs to connect pleasing you and being rewarded as something that happens when she uses the steps. If her whole day is full of treats and praise, then the steps are not different. You want her to connect her joy and showing you her loyalty to using those steps. And she has to start at the bed and go down each step.

If it's a young dog it might need a couple of hours over two days of repeats and repeats. If your dog is older than 5 or 6, you needed to have started longer ago because it needs a lot of repeats, a lot of treats and praise, and more like a week.

If this is important to you and there isn't time to hire a trainer, then you will have to stock up on treats and accept the tedium of working with her several sessions, several times a day, 15 minutes at a time. Top to bottom over and over. Older dogs will learn, but they are just not that eager to please you compared to going out for a pee or taking a nap! So they need a lot of motivation and repetition and unique praise.

Suppose she doesn't catch on or refuses to cooperate?? An alternative to steps training is to just put lots of piles of pillows or mounded blankets/comforters/towels on the floor around the bed. She can't have any hard landings that way if she gets down on her own and ignores the steps. You only want to protect her from a hard landing right from the top of the bed. If you can't teach her not to jump down from the bed by using the steps, then simply keep her from being injured when she does what she wants.

Hope your surgery is successful and you heal quickly and comfortably. I think your dog will be quite ok and you can worry less about her. It's easy to transfer anxiety about surgery to overly focus on your dog's sudden danger. She's safer than you think and she'll be ok while you're restricted. Get well and have confidence it will all be ok.

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

Thereeeeeeeeeee's Henry LOL

Thinking - I have to jump MY way up to the table.....and the dog gets stairs.

stairs.....carpeted no less.

pupwhipped · ‎03-11-2010

Oh dear, @NickNack, the steps do look narrow in depth and I can see why Ava just wants to jump. I hope you get some ideas here on training...maybe you just need to keep at it for awhile. Or maybe put a leash on her and guide her more down the steps one at a time. And probably you should have an alternate plan. Do you possibly have another bedroom with a bed that is lower? Is there anyway Ava would sleep on the floor in a cozy bed for the six weeks? I know most of my dogs would paw on the side of the bed till the cows come home to get up on the bed. They were real terrier stinkers and would never give up! I will keep thinking on this and look for others to give you good advice here. We will figure it out and all will be well.

eddyandme · ‎09-24-2011

Probably not a great answer, but I'd just put the sofa cushions around the bed where'd she'd jump..... that way at least she'd be landing on a soft surface which should cushion and protect her spine from a hard landing.

Sometimes ya just gotta go with the flow - at least, I have too!