We had a similar - seemed-like-fear - problem with one of our dogs once. She went up and down stairs at home with no problem. She was a St. Bernard, and just shambled up and down, never a hesitation. Well, then one day we brought her with us to a relatives house in the mountains. It was a big, rambling place, everything on one floor, but the attic was big, and all we girls slept up there on a row of old steel-framed beds. Well, we went up there, it was a narrow steep stairwell, and Freckles followed. We came down, and she stayed at the top, front feet down a step, and whimpered. Wouldn't budge. We called her and called her, and she just cried and stood there. Finally we got my Dad to come over, and he walked up the stairs and took her by the collar and lead her down. What was the problem? we asked him. When he got to the top of the stairs with ther, he noticed that the stairs were so steep that when she had started down, the extra loose hide that St. Bernards have slid forward and was obstructing her vision - poor baby couldn't see! Once she knew it was okay, anyway, she went right down with Dad there to "help."

I would do as Carrie suggested, and otherwise not worry about it too much, I bet if you do that, and she has the added incentive of the cats taunting her, one day she'll just be so annoyed she'll chase the cat and forget that those are scary stairs!

Dad's current Saint, Bruni, won't go down the basement stairs, though they are at the same angle, pitch and width of the upstairs stairs which she goes up and down quite happily. His theory for that is that not only do monsters (furnace, washer, dryer) live down there, but also that there's no railing, and that's just too scary - those monsters could just grab her right off the stairs! When I'm there and go to the basement with him, she stands with her front feet on the second stair down, dripping drool on the third step. Every time. Silly girl!