My 6 month old Lab won't go down the stairs. This is a problem as the only way out of our front door is to go downstairs 1st. He can go down the outside front door stone steps (about 6 of those), but won't go down the indoor flight of stairs. He won't go down the outside stone flight of stairs in the back garden either though that would lead to the garage/cellar as an alternative way out to the street. However, he happily climbs up all stairs indoors and outside. The indoor stairs are wood topped. I've tried encouraging him down with treat rewards and even went down on all fours to demo to him (and that was a sight to behold), but he just puts one or 2 paws down the 1st step then goes back up and runs back and fourth getting overexcited. I'm afraid I have to carry him down the stairs to go for walks etc. and he's getting too big and heavy for that! Any advice would be most welcome!!
Hi @km Welcome to the forum. I'm not trying to give you short shrift but about 8 (?) months ago there was a very extensive post on here about trying to get a dog to go down an internal set of stairs. From memory it included a range of different suggestions. I suggest you use the search function. Please let us know how you get on. Or if you cannot find the thread. Find it within 5 minutes https://thelabradorforum.com/threads/lab-afraid-to-walk-through-tight-spaces.25689/#post-384005
Maybe he is afraid or maybe in the past he has fallen down some stairs. Did something happen like this? Well my dog was also doing the same, to overcome this I gave her a treat for every step that she would take and finally she made it, maybe you can try this.
