Stairs and dogs...

This is kind of a pointless thread...but i thought some of you might be able to relate to me on this one :) Especially those of you with large dogs and a staircase in your house...

Dale is soooo clumbsy on the stairs...he looks like an elephant when he goes up and down...and can he ever go slowly??....nope....he always has to run up, or clumber down as if someone is chasing him. I just went up and he didn't know ( normally, he follows me EVERYWHERE)...and it was relaxing, going up the stairs, w/o having to be galloped over...I know he doesn't mean to be clumbsy, but he is just a big ol lug when it comes to stair climbing!! :)

Christian knows to hold the railing, b/c Dale will just plow on down, although, does generally stay to our left or right...on a day when Christian and I are up and down them a lot, I have to put up a baby gate, so Dale doesn't follow us...otherwise both of us might get knocked down...and we have 9 ft. ceilings downstairs, so that makes 16 steps to climb upstairs!!! ;)

Anyone else with large dogs have this (silly) problem with there big ol galloots!!! ( those with medium and small dogs too, you may have some stories too ) :)

Max falls down the stairs on a regular basis. I don't know why he bothers going up - they're way too steep for him. We can always hear him coming down - "kalunk, kalunk, kalunk, boom."

Shambleus Wreckus - that's what we called our Saint Bernards on the stairs. Glumpagalumpagalumpa down they go! Thumpadthumpadathumpada up behind you. We used to make sure only one person was on the stairs with a dog at the same time. The worst incident was when we were at my Great Aunt Bertha's house in New Hampshire once - the stairs to the "attic," where we girls slept, were very steep. Well, Freckles always had to be where we were at all time. She followed me up once, when I was just going up to get something, and coming right back down. Well, after I was down, I heard a muffled "mooff!" from the top of the stairs. "C'mon, silly," we said. After she stood looking down and not moving for a couple minutes, Dad finally figured out the problem. All her loose hide (anyone who has encountered a giant breed pup knows it takes a long time for them to grow into all that hide!) had rolled forward when she started down, so she couldn't see! Dad had to go up and hook a leash on her so she felt safe enough to come down the stairs with him!

Gracie, the mostly Great Dane, would wait until we were halfway down, and them shamble down the stairs past us. Every time! Thankfully, she was narrower than either Freckles or Bruni, so there was room for a human to be on the stairs without getting knocked over.

Kodie ALWAYS runs down the stairs,lol:p You should see how fast he goes when he's chasing Lucy:eek: Im gald he hasnt fallen yet:eek: He sounds like a herd of Elephants when running down the stairs.

Oh Robyn...you and Christian be extra careful with that big boy on the steps!

Katie has always done well with the steps. We have to go downstairs to the laundry room. She has never been afraid of them that I can remember. She always follows behind me on my way down and on my way up. If she feels like running up them I notice that she waits for me to get to the top before she takes off. I guess she is a polite little girl ;)

Tori has never done the basement stairs. Not once! She always calmly waits at the top for us to come back up. I figure if she is not even going to follow Katie down them then she must be terrified. I haven't tried to coax her down them either. She can be a very timid girl and I don't see any reason to scare her.

Robin :)

My grandma's JRT has a thing for chasing your ankles so it makes going down the steps a huge deal haha. He tripped me one time and I hit my head against the rail and got a concussion :o

lol Ripley aint no big dog but when you go down stairs he follows behind and purposly continuosly bounces his head off your calf lol

LOL Echo sounds A LOT like Dale when it comes to the stairs:p Tango's pretty clumsy too when it comes to stairs, but she's not very big so it's not much of a problem. Tia doesn't have any stair problems at all...

When Sadie is behind me on the stairs she pushes ahead of me then turns around and blocks me. I move her out of the way and the cycle starts again. She just doesn't understand the concept of getting out of the way.

Lately because she is older she sometimes falls and I get worried about her joints. I wish our stairs were carpeted but moreso I wish she could just stay young!

It depends for Sam. I'd say 80% of the time, she barrels up and down the stairs. When she's tired though, she'll walk up just ahead of you, turn sideways and stop - blocking you from going up. She'll stay that way 'til you adore her for a few minutes, then she trots the rest of the way up.

Friggin' princess. :rolleyes:

;)

Yes, Malone used to be awful barreling up and down stairs without a care as to who or what might be on the stairs. So I taught him to go "NICE"! Now, he won't barrel ahead of me, but stays behind me or walks besides me very nicely.

Then, Emerson has come along, and somehow, I haven't been able to drill the concept into his little brain. :rolleyes: He is quite the clutz on the stairs, and one of his favorite games is to run downstairs ahead of you, and then run up to where you are and back down over and over again until you are downstairs. :p He's so funny.

We only have a few steps at our house from the porch down to the ground. The dogs all do well on those, they are all small though. My mother-in-law has a two story house and we sometimes take one or two of the dogs over there with us. Buster is the only one who has a hard time on those stairs, he can make it up just fine, but he is afraid to come back down. He will just stand at the top of the stairs and cry, and we'll have to go up and bring him back down.

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Originally posted by Cookiebaker

Then, Emerson has come along, ......one of his favorite games is to run downstairs ahead of you, and then run up to where you are and back down over and over again until you are downstairs. :p He's so funny.

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Anna I thought Ripley was the only dog who did this! :D :D

Bella always goes halfway down and turns around to see if I am really coming because often I realize I have forgotten something and will turn around and go back up. :rolleyes:

Both of mine think that the steps are the PERFECT place for a race.... everytime!!

I know to stay in the center of the steps, and I'm okay, they both take the outside lanes! LOL!!

The funniest is when I come home and let them out of their crates that are down the basement. When I let them out, it only takes Sierra two jumps and she's at the top of the steps!!
There are 10 or 11 steps, and all she does is jump from the floor, half way up, then one more jump and she's at the top!!!

One time, (I'm sorry for laughing at your Sierra ) she missed the step half way up, and smashed into the steps head first. She was in a full out leap when it happened... she hit... then slithered down a few steps trying to shake off what had just happened. She looked at me (trying not to laugh) I kissed her head and ZOOM.... off she went!!!

We are lucky, no stairs here. I think the only stairs that Bon has encountered was at Robins and I think then it was only 3.

These stories are so cute...keep em coming :) Glad Dale isn't the only clumbsy one!!! :)

Thanks for posting this... I was embarassed about my dog's and the stairs!!!:rolleyes:
My hobby is home remodeling. I just bought a house and had decided to rip out the carpeting on the stairs. The carpet was making the stairs impossible to keep clean and they would spread the fleas. After removing the carpet the stair routine is nearly impossible. The poor dogs are having a terrible time.
Half of my dogs are physically handicapped. Scooby had a stroke and is partially paralyzed on his entire right side and Dirtnap is old, partially blind, and has arthritis. I don't expect them to go upstairs but they do.:rolleyes:
This is the funny part. EVERY morning it is a Horrible pain staking routine with the stairs to go to the bathroom.:eek: Benji is the Big dog (Border Collie) She barrells down the stairs smacking everyone with her tail. Shaggy has to stop at the landing and get a "Hug"if she is going UP the stairs. Scooby hobbles down the stair and refuses help. It pains me to see him but he insist on doing it himself!:cool: Dirtnap it take a few minutes to get him TO the stairs! THEN he slowly makes his way down. He stops at the landing and waits another few minutes.:rolleyes: THEN he usually falls down the stairs the rest of the way.:eek: If I try to help him he will freak and NOT move at all. I usually have to pick him up, dust him off, and give him some loving.:)
I am looking into putting a runner on the stairs to help them out. Their claws are doing a number on the new paint job. However, after awhile I have gotten used to our little routine and can tell each dog apart. I am just waiting to be the first to take a header out the window at the end of the stairwell! Oh and I haven't mentioned what happens if the dogs see the cat on the stairs!!!:eek: :rolleyes:

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Originally posted by Samantha Puppy
When she's tired though, she'll walk up just ahead of you, turn sideways and stop - blocking you from going up. She'll stay that way 'til you adore her for a few minutes, then she trots the rest of the way up.

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Bailey's the same way. Unless I have food...then she'll break her neck to get up the stairs before I do. :rolleyes:

Peej is a normal dog when it comes to stairs, but I do have a cat that always tries to kill me by tripping me on my way down. :D

Timber is a master at maneuvering the stairs lol. I think it's because when she was a puppy she was constantly falling down them. She goes up and down them so fast. The patio stairs she doesn't even bother stepping on, she just jumps over them when she goes up and down. She never trips or falls, but sometimes she will block you from going up them, which is quite annoying when you're in a hurry. :rolleyes:

With 2 newfys I have to make them part the sea to get up or down . They are always in a hurry . I have a hard time getting the gate open in time before I get run over the back yard.