Things You'll Need:
- the dog's trust
- a gentle voice
- patience
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Step 1
Take your pup outside to do his/her business first, because you don't want any accidents to complicate the process.
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Step 2
Encourage your pup to be at ease. Use a gentle and confident voice. Put your pup onto the first step of the stairs. Stand back a bit and call her to you. When she comes off of the step to you, praise her.
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Step 3
Put your pup onto the third step of the stairs. Step back and call her to you. If she comes to you off of the stairs, praise her. If she just sits there then pick her up and put her on the second step and call her again.
When she comes to you, praise her again. Begin to make this into a game. -
Step 4
Repeat step three. Each time she comes down from the step she is on, praise her. Do this until she has come a third to half of the way down the steps.
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Step 5
Now put her on the floor of the stairwell. Walk up four of the steps and sit down. Call her to you. She should be able to com up to you without hesitation.
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Step 6
Once she comes to you as in step five, walk up two stairs and call her to fallow. Repeat till you reach the top of the stairs. Once she is at the top of the stairs, walk down a few stairs (four or five) and sit blocking her view of the rest of the downward stairs. Call her to you. Repeat this step until she has followed you all the way down the stairs.
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Step 7
Now, encourage her to follow you up the stairs. Do so until she either falters or attains the top of the stairs. Encourage her to follow you down as well. If she hesitates or shows signs of fear, take her down to the last place she was when she was successful. Follow steps two through five until she is comfortable with traversing the stairs.
