My parents have a black lab and have had him since he was a pup. Recently my parents have separated and I will be taking the dogs. My parents did not have stairs in their house. I do in mine. We have a lot of trouble with Chester getting him to go up and down stairs. Our stairs are a little slipperey and Chesters paws are so big that he slides easily. He will cry when he wants to go up or down, it takes a lot of encouragement to get him to do so. I think that any dog needs a lot of patience and love to overcome their fears. I don't think that medicine is the answer.