Anonymous wrote:thanks for the responses! He is 11 months old. I am embarrassed to say that I have been sleeping on the sofa with him so he won't be alone! He is such a big lovey!

I have done that with many of my fosters too! Nothing to be embarrassed about. Is he listed on Petfinder (or the rescue website)?

My dog is 2 and still needs an escort for the steps inside. Some dogs are quirky.

Anonymous wrote:thanks for the responses! He is 11 months old. I am embarrassed to say that I have been sleeping on the sofa with him so he won't be alone! He is such a big lovey!

Don't be embarrassed. When my dog had surgery and wasn't allowed to use the stairs, I slept on the couch downstairs so he wouldn't be down there alone. lol

thanks for the responses! He is 11 months old. I am embarrassed to say that I have been sleeping on the sofa with him so he won't be alone! He is such a big lovey!

Give it more time. We got ours as a puppy and she didn't do stairs till a year and a half and a lot of coaxing - lots of favorite foods.

Anonymous wrote:PS it's ok to leave the dog to sleep alone downstairs in crate, most of my fosters are perfectly fine sleeping in separate room overnight

Agree! And being able to handle regular separation from his people is really good for him. Dogs who get bounced around from home to home can be prone to separation anxiety.

Just keep on with the coaxing up a few stairs with treats. With a bit of time he'll lose the fear and start heading up and down them.

PS it's ok to leave the dog to sleep alone downstairs in crate, most of my fosters are perfectly fine sleeping in separate room overnight

Yeah, I see that with every single puppy I foster (I do babies mostly, 3 months and up). First couple of days - stairs are scary, but they curiosity takes over and they climb up. Usually takes 5-7 days to learn how to go up, and up to two weeks to go down.
Current foster (5 months old, 30 lb) finally figured out downstairs today, 7 days in, yay! My back is safe now, lol

How old is the dog? Any chance of sore hips?

Anonymous wrote:I have never had a foster not figure it out. FWIW, expect that he’ll get stuck at the top and you will have to carry him down until they figure it out.

I hope that doesn't happen, he is over 50 pounds!! LOL!

I have never had a foster not figure it out. FWIW, expect that he’ll get stuck at the top and you will have to carry him down until they figure it out.

Just be patient. When we adopted ours she was petrified of stairs so we just gave her time and now she's fine.

It's a new environment so it will take the poor thing 4-6 weeks to settle in properly.

Awwwwwww

Just be patient with him. He’s still a puppy in a new environment. And lots of love!

We are fostering the cutest dog, he is afraid to go up the steps to the upstairs of the house. We tried putting treats on the steps (which worked for 2 steps and that was it), we sat on the steps and tried to coax him up, didn't work. I have been sleeping on the sofa to keep him company. We have only had him 3 days. Not sure what to do. He is about 11 months old.