|
Post by Heather (& KC) on Dec 24, 2008 11:00:50 GMT -5
I'm curious to see how many greys have mastered stairs (and perhaps how long it took!!). I've tried the one foot up at a time and gotten behind him. Down is even more interesting. And then this past weekend while visiting, I got him up and down "manually" (read: a lot of effort) and then after getting him up he was all of a sudden down all by myself. He doesn't know how he did it and there were no witnesses!
|
|
|
Post by kjw on Dec 24, 2008 12:28:17 GMT -5
You know what seems to work pretty well, is having another grey come over who does do stairs well. They seem to watch and learn, or maybe one is making fun of the other lol. I don't know why, but it often works!
|
|
|
Post by jiffer on Dec 24, 2008 12:28:33 GMT -5
All of our dogs have learned the stairs, no problem. Echo, Atlas, Icarus and Orion even had to learn a flight of open backed stairs. They took a couple days, but had no issues afterwards.
Atlas was the hardest to teach because he's very long backed and has a healed broken hock. After months of me carrying him down 8 flights during early morning fire alarms in our apartment complex, I finally forced him to learn. He's been a pro ever since.
|
|
|
Post by leeden on Dec 24, 2008 12:29:46 GMT -5
Stryder had no choice, stairs were mandatory. He hesitates a bit going down - but typically just cautious. Going up he does by himself all 20+ stairs 3-4 times a day. From his previous home I don't believe he ever really went up or down stairs but he picked it up pretty quickly. Going up - walked in front of him and kept a leash on and going down walked in front so he couldn't see how many there were to go. I've never actually manually made him do stairs. I'd say the first week was slower, and he's till cautious going down (almost 1 yr later) but he's more then mastered running up them
|
|
|
Post by sukiesiamese on Dec 24, 2008 20:27:20 GMT -5
It took Lilly a while to figure out our inside stairs (both the second floor and to the basement). This was initially a bit complicating because our mud room is in our basement and she wanted nothing to do with the slate (read: SLIPPERY) stairs - so for the first month or so we came and went through the front door and she had no trouble with the outside stairs. Then, once the snow came, I encouraged her a little more forcefully - held her harness, lots of yummy treats, and in 2 days she was up and down like a pro... no trouble at all now!
|
|
|
Post by lmcallen74 on Dec 24, 2008 21:37:32 GMT -5
Kawaii has to go up and down about a dozen hard wood stairs multiple times a day. She was nervous the first time, but is pretty good now although she has to stay in motion the whole way up or down. If he gets blocked mid way or loses her momentum then it is harder for her to get going and she is a little nervous getting restarted. In general she is good when she comes to a new style/type of stair, she just has to take a moment to get her bearing.
Lisa
|
|
|
Post by fasterthanu on Dec 27, 2008 7:26:43 GMT -5
Nero just goes up and down with out a problem. Never had a problem. He is only allowed upstairs for bath time and I just walk up and call him and up he comes. Same thing on the way down except I make sure I am right in front of him because the stairs are extremely steep and I do not want him tumbling down the stairs.
|
|
greytluck
Grey Addicted
Hobbes- Always loved, never forgotten.
Posts: 2,335
|
Post by greytluck on Dec 27, 2008 11:32:17 GMT -5
Hobbes learned to do the stairs fairly quickly with little assistance from us. Nothing fazes him, open backed, steep, slippery. He can go up and down 6 flights at our condo when the elevators are not working with out any hesitation.
I agree with KJW, another dog can really help teach them what to do. Hobbes went to my parents for one day. Their dog runs up and down the stairs all the time. Hobbes wanted to follow and presto he figured it out.
|
|
|
Post by amyunicorn on Dec 27, 2008 18:43:55 GMT -5
Ava climbed the stairs on our porch the first day np. She's been in a home before but I don't know if she had to do stairs daily or anything. She can do very long flights of stairs, open back stairs (to our back deck), slippery wooden stairs, and even stumbling on them a couple of times doesn't deter her. The only time she has a bit of an issue is if the door opens directly to a flight of stairs headed straight down, I bet it kind of looks like a pit (side door of our cousins' house leading directly into the basement kinda freaked her out), but she will comply going down/up them easily.
|
|
|
Post by armanntoo on Jan 3, 2009 10:47:20 GMT -5
I'm curious to see how many greys have mastered stairs (and perhaps how long it took!!). I've tried the one foot up at a time and gotten behind him. Down is even more interesting. And then this past weekend while visiting, I got him up and down "manually" (read: a lot of effort) and then after getting him up he was all of a sudden down all by myself. He doesn't know how he did it and there were no witnesses! Percy, my first Grey, took a couple of weeks to really get the hang of stairs. I started off as you did, one foot at a time, same for going down. After a week or so, I left him about 3 or 4 steps from the top. He stood and looked at me, and then lept up the stairs. After a few more days, he was a pro. Doug on the other hand, ran right up them. The only thing he doesn't like are concrete stairs, or open stairs. Mary couldn't care less, she was up and down in a flash, just in case she missed out on something.
|
|
|
Post by myneedlenose on Jan 3, 2009 22:53:20 GMT -5
Mayhem wouldn't/couldn't do stairs in our last house, very steep stairs to the basement in an old bungalow, spent the year carrying 80lbs of greyhound up and down those blasted things. In the new multilevel house he still wouldn't do the stairs, very frustrating. I went on vacation for five days and left him and hubby at home alone and presto! I come home to a grey that flies up and down them like he has done them all his life. Don't know how hubby did it as I had tried every tried and true method in the past with Mayhem. What a daddy's boy!
|
|
|
Post by aimstar on Jan 7, 2009 20:12:03 GMT -5
Olive runs up and down the stairs like lightning! she can even stear around obstacles (my two year old usually) on the way!
|
|
jenb
Grey Puppy
Posts: 89
|
Post by jenb on Jan 10, 2009 5:28:58 GMT -5
Pixie just this week figured out the stairs! She wouldn't go up for love or money for 10 months, and then all of a sudden - whammo! Now she has no problem. I think it was a trip to an overnight boarder that helped - she was whining at night, and the fellow there took her (carried her) up the stairs every night. It seems to have "fixed" her.
|
|
redneckwoman
Junior Grey Lover
Mom to Sierra (aka Lulu/Nokomis Nurse)
Posts: 292
|
Post by redneckwoman on Jan 18, 2009 13:48:28 GMT -5
Sierra learned the carpeted stairs within a day. Hubby decided to push our luck and immediately took her out the back door to the deck and down the stairs on her leash. She balked half-way and jumped off the remainder in a panic. She has since managed to go down the back deck steps to the lawn with encouragement, but because they are open-backed, will not climb up them. That is our goal in spring - either get her up them or close them in!
|
|
|
Post by tytojo on Feb 4, 2009 5:37:35 GMT -5
Our boy Rocky came from a foster group & aleady did stairs like a pro when we got him. JJ or Jane (Jeds Julie Jane) came from GRA & knew nothing about stairs, slippery floors, etc. Rocky taught her the stairs & floors the very first day. By the second day, she was up & down inside & outside stairs like she had been doing it her whole life. She even learned to go slowly on the floors when she first comes in from outside. I agree with KJW that learning from another hound really helps.
|
|