# Stairs or no stairs



## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

Ellie is three months old now. We have had the stairs gated off-And recently she’s been standing up and leaning on it only to be able to climb up over it and get it up the stairs while we grab her just in time. Do any of you have recommendations for really securing a dog away from the stairs or training recommendations? Or do I let her go up the stairs and make sure all the bedrooms are closed and she’ll be bored by seeing an empty hallway? Want to make sure that she won’t just find another place to P as she’s not fully potty trained yet and we take her out every 20 minutes to a half hour. Very frustrating as she is very very stubborn and when I grab her scruff and yell “no!!!!! “ she just goes right back to it ...no guilt at all. Please help I’m getting worn out on this because I need six eyes on my head to watch her. Thanks so much love you guys


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## NJGoldenMom (Jan 11, 2018)

I suggest finding a better gate for the bottom of the stairs. We were originally using old baby gates to keep Mia in our kitchen but by the time she was 3 months old she was almost able to jump over them. We found a 41"high gate on Amazon with a swing door. It works great in the doorway and it came with an extender so maybe it would be wide enough to use at the bottom of your stairs. 
https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Delux...pID=51nE9EHJJXL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

NJGoldenMom said:


> I suggest finding a better gate for the bottom of the stairs. We were originally using old baby gates to keep Mia in our kitchen but by the time she was 3 months old she was almost able to jump over them. We found a 41"high gate on Amazon with a swing door. It works great in the doorway and it came with an extender so maybe it would be wide enough to use at the bottom of your stairs.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Delux...pID=51nE9EHJJXL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch




I like the looks of this Gate but our problem is one side is a stair large spindle and the other side is the wall










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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

You have a lovely home........ 

If it were me, I would get a gate that fits the second area of steps and leave the four steps and landing open to her. She's going to have to learn how to go up and down the stairs at some point in time anyway. These four would be a good start for her, once she's older, you can work with her on the other set of stairs which looks to be several, but this is just my opinion........


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Walmart has a variety of baby gates, some are pressure fitted, others are attached to the wall. 

I use one like this: https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/safety-1st-wide-sturdy-metal-sliding-gate/6000197954523 to fit a wider than normal opening.


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> You have a lovely home........
> 
> If it were me, I would get a gate that fits the second area of steps and leave the four steps and landing open to her. She's going to have to learn how to go up and down the stairs at some point in time anyway. These four would be a good start for her, once she's older, you can work with her on the other set of stairs which looks to be several, but this is just my opinion........




Lol oooooo kkkkkkk... sooooo Ellie is on the stairs now and loving it- no stopping her now- 


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Zeke1 said:


> Lol oooooo kkkkkkk... sooooo Ellie is on the stairs now and loving it- no stopping her now-
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


A new adventure for her for sure. I'd just keep a very close watch on her while she's going up and down them so she doesn't take a tumble down them.

I have four stairs in my house and I have wood flooring. As my guys became Seniors, I put a rug at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom to make it easier for them., my stairs are also wood. When my bridge boy was 14-14.5, we made a carpeted ramp for him to use when going up and down the stairs.


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## GoldenIke (Jun 28, 2018)

Ike was ready for the stairs about a week into coming home.. lol. 

I've been letting him go up and down on his own (my stairs are carpeted, so they're soft) for about a month now. I do have gates and I block it off when I'm downstairs and don't want him going up on his own. But when we go up to bed or for nap time, he runs right up on his own and comes down when we go back downstairs. I just make sure all the doors are closed upstairs so that if he does get up there without me watching him, he only has access to the hallway and can't get into anything in the rooms. 

Now that Ellie got her taste of the steps, there's no going back.  

As long as she's supervised, I think it's okay to let her learn them now. If I remember right, she and Ike are pretty close to the same age, and I know he's doing fine with them so I'm sure she'll handle them just as well.


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

GoldenIke said:


> Ike was ready for the stairs about a week into coming home.. lol.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks !!











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## ken71 (Jun 15, 2018)

Just be careful of her joints. I was advised not to let my puppy use stairs until they were almost fully grown. I think going down puts a lot of strain on their joints.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Zeke1 said:


> I like the looks of this Gate but our problem is one side is a stair large spindle and the other side is the wall
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You can get a banister mounting kit that lets you mount the gate without drilling into the banister

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CEN62...b699-e2d20d740b45&ie=UTF8&qid=1534450132&sr=2


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

ken71 said:


> Just be careful of her joints. I was advised not to let my puppy use stairs until they were almost fully grown. I think going down puts a lot of strain on their joints.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Correct. A lot can happen on their joints in the first 6 months of life. I would personally not allow stairs on growing pups. I use 6 months even though not fully grown but the height of the stairs has to do to with the height of the pup and how they use those developing joints to go up and down on them.


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## GoldenIke (Jun 28, 2018)

So, in another thread, I was told repeatedly "Don't pick up your dog" 

Here, now I am reading that puppies aren't supposed to go up and down stairs until they are 6 months old because it is bad for their joints. 

If you have to get a dog up to a bedroom at night or up and down stairs in general, what exactly are you supposed to do?


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

cwag said:


> You can get a banister mounting kit that lets you mount the gate without drilling into the banister
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CEN62...b699-e2d20d740b45&ie=UTF8&qid=1534450132&sr=2




The thing is we have a wall on one side and the banister on the other?


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## ken71 (Jun 15, 2018)

GoldenIke said:


> So, in another thread, I was told repeatedly "Don't pick up your dog"
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I think the “don’t pick up your dog” comment was in the context of when your dog was misbehaving as you would may be bringing your face into close proximity to a potentially stroppy dog.

We only let our pup upstairs for the first few weeks before moving the crate downstairs but during that time I carried him up and down. I must admit he was getting pretty heavy. Now he is not allowed upstairs.

A solution may be to put a harness on her and help her down slowly by using the lead or handle on the top to take some of the weight. Also, if she is only coming downstairs once in the morning and not charging up and down all day I can’t see it taking too much toll on her joints.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

LOL Stairs aren't an issue for a puppies joint. Hell, they put more stress on their joints running and jumping. What you aren't supposed to do is let them jump up and down (really down) from high places like a couch or bed.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

Maggie'sVoice said:


> LOL Stairs aren't an issue for a puppies joint. Hell, they put more stress on their joints running and jumping. What you aren't supposed to do is let them jump up and down (really down) from high places like a couch or bed.



Stairs are certainly an issues for developing joints. Please note stairs are listed in the second graph as part of the environmental factors for hip dysplasia. https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/managing-the-risks-of-hip-dysplasia


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## Jmcarp83 (May 4, 2018)

My almost 9 week old golden stands at the top of the stairs (thankfully In house only 3 and to get out of house 7) and stares. I’m not encouraging her at this time to attempt them and she hasn’t.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

Claudia M said:


> Stairs are certainly an issues for developing joints. Please note stairs are listed in the second graph as part of the environmental factors for hip dysplasia. https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/blog/managing-the-risks-of-hip-dysplasia



Jumping down off couches, off of beds, from the back of an SUV is something they should not do. I have never had a dog have hip or join issues (3 Goldens, a Boxer, 190lbs and lean Great Dane) and never had an issue with hip or joints from them going up and down steps. You cant let them run down the steps but just normal up and down will not hurt them. For example if your dog is running down steps and jumping off the last 3 or 4 steps to the ground, that is obviously a no-no, but just doing up and down steps has never been an issue.


Point is to have common sense. A puppy running and jumping will have more impact of the joint development then just walking up and down stairs.


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## Ladoo (Aug 12, 2018)

Maggie'sVoice said:


> Jumping down off couches, off of beds, from the back of an SUV is something they should not do. I have never had a dog have hip or join issues (3 Goldens, a Boxer, 190lbs and lean Great Dane) and never had an issue with hip or joints from them going up and down steps. You cant let them run down the steps but just normal up and down will not hurt them. For example if your dog is running down steps and jumping off the last 3 or 4 steps to the ground, that is obviously a no-no, but just doing up and down steps has never been an issue.
> 
> 
> Point is to have common sense. A puppy running and jumping will have more impact of the joint development then just walking up and down stairs.


Being an anxious new novice puppy owner I am now concerned for my pup. He is too fast for us and just jumps on and off the sofa. (He is 14 weeks old today). for the first 2 weeks we had him he was not allowed onthe sofa at all.but then we felt so sorry for him - looking at us with those soppy eyes - so we decided it was ok to get on the sofa. and now he jumps on and off all the time. we try to tell him "no" when he is about to jump but he is off already. and then yesterday he gave us a scar. He suddenly got onto the dining table while no one was looking (photo below). so i was running towards him to carry him down and he just jumped down. he has been completely fine - but should i take him to the vet to get him checked out?


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

Ladoo said:


> Being an anxious new novice puppy owner I am now concerned for my pup. He is too fast for us and just jumps on and off the sofa. (He is 14 weeks old today). for the first 2 weeks we had him he was not allowed onthe sofa at all.but then we felt so sorry for him - looking at us with those soppy eyes - so we decided it was ok to get on the sofa. and now he jumps on and off all the time. we try to tell him "no" when he is about to jump but he is off already. and then yesterday he gave us a scar. He suddenly got onto the dining table while no one was looking (photo below). so i was running towards him to carry him down and he just jumped down. he has been completely fine - but should i take him to the vet to get him checked out?





If he's not limping he should be fine but the problems that can occur from that type of jumping down is cumulative, so make sure he can't do that again. Just push the chairs in and what I do when they start getting brave and jumping off a sofa is put things on the seats to discourage them from jumping on them. I only allow my pups/dogs on the couch if they are covered and with me. Any other time it isn't allowed so that type of jumping down doesn't happen.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Ladoo said:


> Being an anxious new novice puppy owner I am now concerned for my pup. He is too fast for us and just jumps on and off the sofa. (He is 14 weeks old today). for the first 2 weeks we had him he was not allowed onthe sofa at all.but then we felt so sorry for him - looking at us with those soppy eyes - so we decided it was ok to get on the sofa. and now he jumps on and off all the time. we try to tell him "no" when he is about to jump but he is off already. and then yesterday he gave us a scar. He suddenly got onto the dining table while no one was looking (photo below). so i was running towards him to carry him down and he just jumped down. he has been completely fine - but should i take him to the vet to get him checked out?


 I think you have a goat, I have one as well and it can be heart stopping!

I really think that common sense should prevail, a healthy puppy shouldn't be damaged by normal every day activities done at the puppy's pace. Puppies climb on things and jump off them, though we would never expect to find our puppy on the kitchen table, it happens, but should be prevented from doing it again. They run and play, tumble and fall, given the opportunity play with others of their own kind, as a natural way of learning how to use their bodies and minds, and build coordination, strong joints and muscles - laying a solid foundation of skills for their future. 
'Forced' and repetitive exercise such as walks that are too long, routinely running/jogging with a puppy or dog on hard surfaces, exercise 'drills' repeating the same behavior and over again, on a daily basis, possibly _could _result in problems in their future.

We need to find a balance between keeping them safe, and giving them the opportunity to learn to be dogs. To learn about the world and experience life, to behave naturally at their own pace, to learn to problem solve, to rest and 'reboot' when they need to - so that they can grow to be healthy adult dogs physically, mentally and emotionally.


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## Ladoo (Aug 12, 2018)

Thank you Charlie and Maggie. Yep we have fixed the table issue so there should be no repeat of that. Can’t wait for puppy classes in 3 weeks!


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