bushnberries Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 So my 5 month old husky puppy zeus took awhile to go downstairs but he was doing it fine for 2 months. 2 weeks ago he fell twice and was just fine . Last week he fell from the very top slides on his stomach but now will not go down for anything. Not for his separation anxiety any kind of treat or scrap or his 2 songs he sings too. Even pulling him onto a step he sprawls out and cries. He lays at the top and cries. He isn't hurt acting normal for everything walking runnning. I was wondering if anyone has any advice to get him to start going down again because he is 45 lbs now and 20 inches it's exhausting carrying him down. Oh and he goes up just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Put a childs stairgate at th bottom of the stairs so he can't get up there. That way you don't have to bring him back down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 Get some small treats ready, and sit at the top stair, give him one and move down one or two steps and coax him with another treat. Repeat until you are down the bottom. Give heaps of praise during the descent and even more at the bottom and perhaps 5 small treats at the bottom. If he likes food it should work pretty quickly. You can also do this before a meal time so he will be quite hungry and it will be more likely that the food will override his fear. Just reduce the meal intake a bit to account for the treats given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnberries Posted August 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 He has never been a heavy Eater cept for treats. Going upstairs is necessary due to that is where everyone is. But I have tried wirh a treat as we know huskies are srubborn. I am scared he is in pain . He has urinated in the house quite a bit past few days has an arched back sometimes. But he runs still lol. But he didn't have one accident in a week then all of a sudden boom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 21, 2014 Report Share Posted August 21, 2014 I would get him checked out by your vet to make sure he isn't injured. If all clear you will probably need to persist with the desensitisation training or just give him more time to get over the problem - it's up to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnberries Posted August 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Haha still won't go down and now he is starting to be hesitant going up randomly idk why this happened. He doesn't fall up the stairs Cuz it looks like he climbs them. But he will only get on first step going down and cries and cries. Tried everything even the scraps he loves the most Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 The only thing I can think of right now is to work on the going up as this wasn't the main problem like before. Try putting a very small piece of sausage on each step. Put him on his leash and slowly walk him up the stairs. If it works then repeat going down. A nice cheesy sausage, or other kransky or liverwurst type sausage are often used by trainers as a super high value reward and this may give you the edge you need - The smell will be far stronger than table scraps and very enticing. Just make the pieces no bigger than 5mm cubes and give a few extras when the task is completed. Use lots of praise. I would again suggest that you do this before mealtime when he will be very hungry. If this doesn't work then it is going to be either a waiting game or you will need a professional behaviourist/trainer. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akane Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 He won't go down the last step? It's pointless to start at the top. Ask him to go up one stair, treat, go down one stair, treats, and get to 2 stairs. If he still won't go down the bottom step it depends a bit on puppy to stair size ratio but I would try to lift him halfway down and make him use his feet part of the way on the single step and then treat. Help less and less until you get back to being able to go up one step and down one step. Every motion can be infinitely broken down until you find the point the animal is comfortable even if that's lifting one foot at a time or sometimes with abused animals we settle for just leaning and thinking about trying it at first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma Posted August 26, 2014 Report Share Posted August 26, 2014 Awww, it sounds to me like he is scared so probably just needs some time to build up his confidence. Liking andys stair gate idea because when ours were little we were advised against letting them run up and down the stairs too much as it's not good for their little joints, that was a lot easier said than done I can tell you! The stairgate would have been pretty handy! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnberries Posted August 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Here huh?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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