# GSD puppy and the stairs.



## CarLooSHoo (Feb 26, 2009)

So Meesha finally learned to climb up the stairs! But she still can't go down; she's too scared.

I was so excited that she learned to go up that I emailed the breeder I got her from telling her. She replied with something along the lines of that is good to hear, but really Meesha shouldn't be climbing stairs or jumping off couches until she's older (at least a year) due to their hip and shoulder bones. Meesha doesn't jump off couches, and she's only just learned to climb the stairs, so I don't want to make her keep doing this if it really is risky.

Has anyone heard of this? How long did it take for your dog to climb the stairs, and did you allow it when they were puppies? I'm new to all this so if my questions are stupid I'm sorry, I promise I really am just trying to learn.

Thank you


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i agree with the breeder. puppies are clumbsy, and even though some can climb stairs and have no fear of them, they can fall, and get hurt. i don't know how steep your stairs are, but i still wouldn't let the pup do it right now. although i also would freak out if the pup goes near the stairs, just redirect. if you have a doable set of stairs somewhere maybe that contain a few steps maybe 3 or so, you can eventually practice going up and down by putting a yummie treat on each step. this is not uncommon for pups to be leary of steps and making it a positve thing with food, they will get over it.


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## MelissaHoyer (Sep 8, 2006)

We live in a quad level house, which means 3 sets of stairs. There was no way for either of my GSDs to avoid stairs. In fact, my Grace just loved to climb them as a pup and she is now 7 years old - still runs like a puppy and even does agility. She has no joint problems.

It's one of those everything in moderation things...but there is nothing wrong with her learning to do stairs now.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I made my puppy learn right away.It took her a few weeks to learn.If you avoid everything in order to hopefully prevent injuries your going to end up with a 90 lb dog that is helpless or scared to death of everything.I treat her like I did my kids.If it is a definite hazard I kept her away but if it was something she needed to know we taught her to do it safely.What's next,you can't play with them till after there a yr old because they might hurt there bones,no you just play easier......


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## Elmo's Mom (May 21, 2007)

Your questions are not stupid at all. Feel free to ask any of your concerns on this site. You will get all sorts of information/feedback.









I agree with the breeder. You don't want to put extra stress on a puppy's joints while they are still growing. When we got Elmo, we carried him up and down the stairs until he got too heavy. Then, we made sure he wasn't jumping off the last few steps as he went down the stairs. 

If you have an SUV or a high car, I would help your pup in and out of the car also. Basically, avoid any jumping if you can. 

Debbie has some great advice on how to teach your pup to go down the stairs.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i agree that they need to learn stairs. i was more concerned about being supervised while doing it. and i think learning on shorter stairs is more positive. kinda like progressing slowly, to a more advanced type of thing. other exercises can help a pup find its back legs since gsd's take a while to find that area as far as coordenation. things like walking through ladders laying down. palets. etc. you can set up a pup playground with different obsticles to build confidence, etc. better yet, their are puppy classes that incoorperate some basic agility for pups which helps alot.

debbie


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

> Quote: but really Meesha shouldn't be climbing stairs or jumping off couches until she's older (at least a year) due to their hip and shoulder bones.


Not true. 

Don't do it repetitively, like playing ball using the stairs as the playing field. But if you are normally doing the stairs in the day, and the pup follows, that is normal.

Specially when they learn to do them right, they will balance, learn their front/back feet location, and take the stairs PROPERLY. If they don't know how to do it, that's when they fling themselves down the last 4 or 5 just cause they want to get it over, and that may be more stress on their shoulders then is good.

Use tons of food, be patient, go slowly initially and they will learn. It's really a big deal for many pups. The coordination involved with those 2 back feet/legs that they can's see IS hard for many dogs, and IS something they have to learn. But they can do it.


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## CarLooSHoo (Feb 26, 2009)

Thank you everyone. Great advice. 

I definitely watch Meesha when she goes up. My husband is usually in front of her, and I'm usually in back just in case something happens. We don't play on the stairs, the only time she will go up is if I go up, and really that's maybe 3 times a day. I'm really glad she's learning and I don't want to keep carrying her if she knows how.


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

You need to be aware of stress related activities and manage them to avoid undue or repetitive stress on their joints as MRL pointed out. 

Lancer was climbing stairs two days after I brought him home. So in his eight week. One of those pictures I posted this weekend here: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=991467#Post991467. Look at the second and third pics in this series.

Didn't really have a choice as we live in a split level with the backyard three stories down but if you see the picture, he's not really hesitant about it. So no probelm with him going up from the start. However, he was carried down the stairs for several weeks until he got a little larger and could go down without hopping from stair to stair. At that point, I put a leash on him to control his descent-he wanted to chase big sister down. And when the leash came off, I put up barriers at the bottoms to discourage any launching off the bottom stairs.


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