Going up and down stairs can be scary for puppies. This little boy would not go into his garage on his own. I suggested we use pads to lessen the height between steps and make it less intimidating for him. It didn’t take long before he went down them. Then we practiced it multiple times because positive practice builds confidence. Then we could remove the pads. When he came down without the pads…we practiced some more. Now those stairs are no big deal at all.
Note: in hindsight, I should have had the leash dragging or not on him at all, as it kept him from fully moving away from the steps in the first video. Allowing him to move away and then move forward as he is comfortable allows him to be more in control of his outcomes. I want to add that my client actually did drop the leash just after the video stopped, and we took a break from the steps.
