Stairs

[JudyN]

It's been a couple of weeks or so since Jasper struggled with getting downstairs so we stopped letting him upstairs. Since then, he's come on in leaps and bounds - almost literally!

His weakness and wobbliness in his rear end is still there, but he seems a lot less stiff, and though I don't think he was in much discomfort beforehand, he just seems more jaunty on walks.

Should we have stopped him going upstairs sooner? In general, should people aim to limit stair-climbing before they have to? Maybe it's breed/type dependent, and might be more important for long-limbed dogs? I must say, I really didn't think he'd adapt as well as he has to not coming upstairs to sleep in the spare room at night, join us in the early hours, and supervise Mr N in his spare-room 'office'.

We might have overdone it a bit this morning - the humans have done over 8000 steps - but we made it up to the woods, where he hasn't been for months, and we all enjoyed being there again. Hopefully he won't have a relapse.

 

[Tinytom]

I have the same problem with Tilly although she only goes upstairs at weekends ...
I started road walking her as she was struggling to get into the back of my car but she seemed so miserable not being offlead that I am taking her back to the woods ...she does get stiff after her morning offlead walk /run at the woods but her overall quality is much better....

 

[JudyN]

I'm so lucky that we have a park close by with playing fields and wilder 'nature reserve' areas. And also that J does seem happy with on-lead walks as long as there's plenty of interesting sniffing opportunities - he often chooses routes that mean he has to stay on lead.

 

[Hemlock]

The stairs thing is a moot point, but sooner or later, there comes a time when stairs aren't a great idea, especially with long-backed dogs. Apart from my current lurch - who was never allowed upstairs anyway - they have all made the transition from sleeping upstairs to staying downstairs remarkably easily. I suspect a big part of an easy changeover is in doing what you have done and supplying a super-comfy alternative. Too many people expect a dog to change to a lesser situation. Also our home is not centrally heated, so changing over as winter approaches is a great incentive to remain in the only warm room.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

So glad Jasper has a spring in his step.
Roxy doesn't climb stairs at all and hasn't for a good 8 years, she gets carried up and down the stairs ...and she knows this, if she's going upstairs/downstairs with me she'll wait at the top/bottom for me to pick her up.
I think it is a good thing to consider no matter what age the dog is as like Hemlock said there comes a time when they may not be able to do them anymore and trying to adjust them when they get to that stage can be more complicated than limiting it to start with. I've known dogs that have got to that stage and then would cry at the bottom/top of the stairs whenever they wanted to go up/down haha maybe not something you want.